EDU 364.01 Spring 2014

Cloud Tools & Apps

We Like

Duolingo Duolingo is a free

language-learning app

available online, on

iOS, and Android

platforms. Offers

visual, verbal, and

auditory questions,

explanations, and

examples. Levels

increase by difficulty

and weekly challenges

for each user based

on personal skill.

Easy, fun, and free to

use.

Positives: Free, easy set up,

easy to use, extremely

effective, can be used for

young children as well as

adults. Enables you to

speak, write, understand the

language. Utilizes pictures

and detailed explanations

for what you want to know.

Does not let you move on

to the next level until you

pass each test. These tests

are challenging but helpful

and give the correct answers

with explanations.

Negatives: In order to move up a level

the tests can be very long and tiring for

certain levels. Questions repeat once in

a while (but not too often). Only

effective if the user is dedicated to using

it every day.

Duolingo provides a

variety of examples that

can be used to teach

Spanish. I could use these

examples and change

them around to use in my

classroom and for

homework assignments. Alexa de la Torre

Standards: Offers many

different ways to learn the

language as opposed to just

memorizing words. This

helps all styles of learning

for all ages. All levels have

different categories that

must be tested before

increasing levels.

Used for elementary level and up

Story Jumper www.storyjumper.com

Arabella Trofemuk

General Information Suitable for students from K – 5th grade.

Could be used in social studies, or in ELA

Could be used by students to take turns creating stories they have written in their journals.

Printable worksheet can be used to accommodate more students.

POSITIVES

Easy to use

Lots of prompts to help

imagination.

Speedy process

Appropriate for many

different age groups

NEGATIVES

× The cost of ordering a

hardback book is

expensive

× Students can get

distracted by all the

illustration options.

What the Website does The website lets parents, students and teachers create stories on the computer that they can illustrate and then have made into real printed books.

How you could use it Mini lessons on paper that then get put into the website Writing buddies can take turns adding to the story Easy to use at home so can be set for homework

• The App is recommended for children five and under, teaching them the first steps of drawing figures, matching colors and categorizing according to color and shape.

• The best part about the app is how colorful it is and the way the friendly avatars make you want to play the game. I would definitely continue looking for a similar app but with some accommodations; for example: more shapes to draw, and being able to pass the level without having the shape be so perfect.

• The app would be helpful to get more practice after the lesson on shapes, colors.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frugoton-shapes-colors-education/id661075031?mt=8

Nicole Rodriguez-Baez

Edmodo: The Social Network of Education

Fun, simple, easy to use;

geared at high school students

Purpose: Collaborates student, teacher, and

parents to a common place to access all

educational information for a specific class

What I Like: Classwork, homework, grades, list

and dates of assignments all in one place

This app can be used anywhere; home, school,

work

This tool creates a social yet educational

environment that helps all parties maintain

organization and utilize instructional technology in a

changing world

Personalized interaction accessed from

smartphones, laptops, and tablets

What I Don’t Like: Has the possibility

to remove some verbal communication

between parents, teachers, and

students

Kristie Kosinski

Courtney Glasco

EDU 364-01

Feebruary 6, 2014

*

What is Kid Blog? KidBlog is an app designed to be used in the

classroom for students to blog. It is set up

for grads K-12. The blogs are set up and

managed through the teachers. They are

private and can be reviewed by the

students in the class, the teacher, and even

the parents. The parents are able to sign in

and access the class that their child is in.

Main Page The teacher sets up a class blog, inviting all

of the students in the class. The main page

of the blog is seen to the left.

Students Blog Each student has their own main page and

they are able to start blogging! This is a

great way to introduce what exactly

blogging is especially for younger students.

In their blogs, students are able to

incorporate slideshows, videos, and even

other apps.

As a teacher, I would use this app to create

weekly blogs. I would give the students a

topic each week to blog on. I would also

require them to comment on their

classmates blog. As the school year went

on, and the students learned to use

PowerPoint, and other apps, I would ask

them to include them in their blogs.

At the end of the year, these blogs on their

KidBlog can be reviewed as an e-portfolio

for them and for their parents to see. It is a

good opportunity for them to used the

internet and as a showcase of their work.

How Can KidBlog be Used in the Classroom?

ABC Mouse is a website/app that aids children in better understanding various subjects that are taught in school

It can be used as an extremely useful tool by teachers who have children who are struggling in their class

The site and its apps, that are available for download on apple and android devices, are geared toward early childhood

One game was called ABC Zoo, and the game lets children interact with different animals in the zoo. Each time a child touches one of the animals, which walk around and make noises as if the child is at an actual zoo, a fact is told and displayed about the animal that the child touches.

Another app that was available was ABC Music. This app allows children to click on a letter of the alphabet which then plays a song about the letter and displays pictures and words that start with that letter.

Dan O’Brien

The Read Me Stories App

allows you to preview books

for children while reading the

stories out loud.

This app helps children

practice their listening and

reading skills!

This app is ideal for children

who are entering preschool.

I like how this app gives you

the option to read the stories

out loud to you and has fun

and exciting stories!

I do not like that the words

are too small and not

victualing appealing.

This app uses language arts

standards for listening and

reading.

BITSBOARD By Kelsey Baumann

EDU 364.01

BITSBOARD • Bitsboard is a educational app that helps

children learn reading, sight words, numbers, etc. using educational games, and flashcards.

• The app has more than 10 great learning games in one convenient app such as flashcards, true or false, memory cards, match up, word builder.

• Some of the topics in the app are emotions, exotic animals, famous places, first sentences, learn English, learn Spanish.

• The grade level is 2nd and above. They cover the main subjects such as English, Language and Social Studies.

• I really like that they have so many different types of games in one app so it makes it easier for the child to learn and make it more fun. There is nothing I did not like about this app.

• As a elementary school teacher, I would use this app to give assignments to my students and to help them practice their vocabulary words and other skills that will help them learn better. This will make practicing vocabulary words more fun as they are presented in games.

GRAMMAR BASE • GrammarBase: A free app that allows individuals to

upload their work, have it evaluated in areas such as plagiarism, grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. This app helps individuals correct errors that were still present after being proofread.

• Individuals of all ages are able to use this user friendly app. As long as you have a document that needs evaluating, this app is ready for you to use! However, if students were using this app, it would be most likely used for English classes or Social Studies classes, classes in which students are required to write papers.

• In my opinion, I liked that this app allows people of all ages to use this app, it is not directed towards one particular age group. I also like that this app is user friendly and free! However, I don’t like that individuals may use this app to correct any and every error without being able to proofread on their own.

• As a teacher I can use this app in my elementary class to encourage students to double check their work after they have proofread their assignments.

http://www.grammarbase.com/

Standards: 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

Kathleen Cox

BrainPOP • Kaitlyn McCormack

• BrainPOP consists of videos explaining topics in Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Art & Music, Health, and Engineering & Technology

• This app is useful for students in Kindergarten to 12th grade

• I like that there are videos that explain the topic and then there are quizzes and activities after to see what the student learned. The only downfall is you need a password from your district to have full access to the app

• I would have the videos in part of my lesson. Then as a class we would do the quiz and see who understood and who didn’t

• BrainPOP has state standards and the common core standards as well

• Myths and Legends is an online database overf lowing with colorful stories from the past, spooky tales, and well kept secrets.

• Language Arts students anywhere from 3 rd to 7th grade, depending on the chosen story.

• Used as a worldwide collection of folk tales and stories from a variety of cultures. Students and teachers are able to collaborate and write/enter stories about their own hometown.

Likes: • Extremely user friendly • Wide variety of stories • Interactive • Encourages global learning • Teacher friendly

Dislikes: • Limited activities

Standards: • Myths & Legends meets standards 1-3 by

effectively encouraging creativity as students write their own stories, creating original works, and then submitting them to the cite for students around the world to enjoy.

• This site teaches students how to communicate and create through technology, collaborating with other students, and researching tales from various cultures.

Michelle Lopes

Blu Graphing Calculator

• It is a scientific and graphing calculator

• It has 24 trigonometric functions, complex numbers support, constants, variables and more

• You can create anything using your hands

•

Description of App

• It would be appropriate for math at all high school grade levels

• There is many things I like about this

This app is like having a graphing calculator in your hands, they are one in the same because it is a virtual version of a graphing calculator

Instead of having to bring your calculator to class you just bring the tablet the school has to offer

Forgetting your calculator isn’t an excuse anymore

• There wasn’t anything I disliked about this app

• It could be used to do everyday problems in math class for a high school student

• This tool addresses the standard ISTE NETS of Creativity and Innovation

the students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology

• http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/blu-graphing-calculator/764cce31-8f93-48a6-b4fc-008eb78e50d4

Meagan

O’Connell

EasyBib is an app for a

phone or tablet. This

app was made to help

students cite books for

papers they need to

write. To use the app,

the students open it and

are able to take a picture

of the barcode on the

book and then choose the

style they are writing

their paper in, APA, MLA,

Chicago Style. Students

are also able to search

the name of the book in

the app, and select it

that way.

EasyBib would be

most useful for High

school and College

students.

High School they

would probably only

need the app for

their English Classes.

College students

have to write a paper

in almost every class,

so they will us the

app often

I always have trouble citing my sources, so

I think that this is a great app. I Like the

fact that the app allows students to email

themselves the books they have cited, that

way they never loose the citation.

I am going to start using

this app for the rest of

my college career, its

extremely helpful. In

my career as an Early

Education Teacher, the

app will not be

necessary for my

students.

Patricia Villalta Description This App allows teachers to have everything in one place. It allows teachers to set up a gradebook, upload lesson plans, assess their lessons, and arrange seating charts.

Who Would Use it? Teachers are able to use this website to create their lessons, students are able to look up their assignments and parents are able to see their child's grades.

Standards the app addresses: • NETS 2.B– Communication

and Collaboration. • With this app they

may collaborate with their instructors.

What I like/ dislike about it: I like that it is organized appropriately and gives the options to help teachers become organized. What I don’t like is that it doesn’t give the students a place to upload any assignments.

How Could I Use it: This could be helpful if I want to keep an online record of what my students grades are.

STORYBIRD “CREATE, READ, AND SHARE VISUAL STORIES”

Storybird is a website/ literacy tool used to create visual stories

It caters to students, teachers, parents, and artists

It can be used by children and adults of all ages and is perfect for reading and writing

I like it because it is a fun, creative, and innovative way for teachers to engage their students

I would use it as a literacy tool and a way to entice my students to interact with their peers and co-author stories

This website promotes student exploration and allows them to discover the writers within

http://storybird.com

http://storybird.com/

According to the ISTE NETS for Students, the standards used for this site would be creativity and innovation (1), communication

and collaboration (2) and research and information

fluency (3). Rebecca Ponce

STARFALL Starfall is a educational app that allows students to practice their reading and math skills. It is a excellent app that includes a combination of text formats

(stories, songs, poems) games and engages the learner.

Starfall addresses: Reading Common Core Standards:

Phonological Awareness: RF.1.2a,b,c,d Phonics and

Word Recognition: RF.1.3a,b,c,d,e,f,g

Mathematics Common Core Standards:

Operations& Algebraic Thinking: 1.OA.A.1,2,/1oA.B.3,4/1.OA.C.5,6/1.OA.

D.7,8

Starfall is good for children preschool to

second grade.

This app is good because it helps students practice

their academic skills while having fun. What could be

better about this app is if it could service children in

grades three to five.

This app could be used in centers to reinforce

concepts learned, foster positive self-esteem and success

and provide independent learning. This app can be also used in small groups

that need help with a specific skills. Simone Oxford

http://www.starfall.com/

WORDLE By: Thomas Falbo

What is Wordle? • wordle is a toy for generating

“word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like.

Who would use it? • Wordle can be used by

anyone. It can be used by any age group, and in any content area. It is a good cloud tool that can be a fun way to learn.

What are the Pros/Cons? • Pros – Wordle is quick and easy to use. Creating a

Wordle will take only a few minutes and it is not complicated.

• Cons – Wordle is too simple, all you do is add the text you want in your word cloud and Wordle does the rest of the work for you.

How could you use it? • Children could use Wordle to tell other

classmate all about themselves and their interests

• Children could use Wordle as a study tool by putting vocabulary words into their Wordles.

What standards does it address? • 1a,1b • 2a,b • 4b • 5a • 6a,b

OverDrive

Casey Filippone

About OverDrive

➔App available for any mobile device, e reader, and most computers

➔Allows access to public libraries

◆With this, comes access to books and audiobooks

➔Able to sync your books with multiple devices

➔Not age specific

◆ Books ranging from children’s books to college textbooks

➔Can be useful to teachers at any grade level

➔Allows for easier access to up-to-date material

Why OverDrive?

➔Very easy to navigate ➔Entire library available, at any time ➔Would prove both time and cost effective ➔Gives teachers more freedom on books

they can have students read