Ten Terrific Apps for the Younger Set
Teachers With Apps has highlighted some TERRIFIC APPS for anyone with an iPad and a youngster. These apps cover a variety of different skills and all are engaging, entertaining, and extremely educational! You'll find these apps are appropriate for a wide range of interests and abilities - the levels span from toddler to preschool to the early elementary grades. Check Them Out! Felt board, by Software Smoothie, is an app that brings us back to much simpler times via a virtual felt board. Unlike traditional felt boards, this digital version offers many opportunities for customization due to its large selection of characters, props, and backgrounds. Ready to Print, by Essare LLC, was created by Diane Reid, an Occupational Therapist with over twenty years of experience. Little Bee’s ABC, by LisbonLabs, is yet another ABC app to hit the shelves. Pip and Posy: Fun and Games, by Nosy Crow, is an activity book chock full of entertaining play for the younger set and will not disappoint.
Digital preschool
A local preschool integrates iPads into the classroom to equip young children with the necessary technological skills for their future. At the school, children are introduced to using the iPad from as young as two-years-old. As digital technologies become ever more pervasive, a preschool in Bryanston, Johannesburg, has implemented iPads in the classroom. The Bryanston campus of The Little Ashford Preschool (The LAP), which opened in September 2011, has the motto: “Innovatively equipping your kids for the future” and introduces children to new technology early on, while also using it to improve parent-teacher communication. The school’s principal, Marli Hoffman, says the school offers entry-level, 16GB iPads with WiFi access, at a subsidised rate of R3 000 for its 37 children. “We do daily reports on the iPads for each individual child to let the parents know how their child is doing and what they did that day at school.” Age-appropriate Positive results Push-back Balance Long-term impact
Waynflete uses iPads in preschool
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- For a long time, only older children have been using technology in school. But now tablet computers are opening new possibilities for the youngest learners, while some people wonder how young is too young. Waynflete School in Portland introduced iPads to its preschool program last year, and the teachers feel the devices have been a huge success. With the help of a teacher, 3-5 year olds have been composing music using the GarageBand app, and using QR codes to access websites their teachers have chosen with videos on a certain topic. Teachers Bob Mills and Gretchen Schaefer said the devices allow students to work more independently, and give them self confidence. Some parents were concerned about using the devices with such young children, but the school has not had any push back since parents have been able to see what has been happening in the classroom. You can learn more about those recommendations by clicking here.
Frankie Lemmon School
Overview The school’s intense focus on development of communication skills is clearly evident in the portfolio of innovative techniques and technologies used which include: Custom Programmed Voice-Output Devices: Big Mack single switch device for short phrases; Compartmentalized Communicator for combination object/picture/voice relationships; TechTalk , TechSpeak, and Seven-Level Communicator devices using… Continue » Tech & Young Children In its position statement titled, “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) states, “For children with special needs, technology has proven to have many potential benefits. Continue » Life Improvement Grant In 2012, Frankie Lemmon School became the recipient of Ikea’s The Life Improvement Project grant for the project Special Technology for Special Kids. Continue » Matching Technology Continue » Apps for School
Apps for Professional Development
Twitter App (free) Twitter is one of the most active and beneficial social networks on the web. All educators would be wise to join the conversation. If you haven’t used Twitter yet, I would recommend that you read these excellent blog posts: Google Voice (free) Text and call for free! Skype (free) A beautiful app that allows you to make and receive VOIP calls on your iOS device. HeyTell (free) A fun “walkie-talkie” app for quick voice communication. Consumption Apps FlipBoard (free) A beautiful app that turns your RSS reader (such as Google Reader) into a magazine. Zite (free) Similar to FlipBoard, however instead of just providing a beautiful interface to view content you select, Zite tries to introduce you to new content sources based off of sources you currently read. QR Code Readers Quick-Response codes are the strange black and white boxes that have begun appearing everywhere. Diigo (free) Research Apps: Genius Scan (free)
Early Childhood Education and the iPad
I was fortunate enough last weekend to receive an invitation to the Sydney Catholic Schools Early Years Conference. I was interested because the conference was centred around creating a clear and coherent vision around Early Years pedagogy. I was also intrigued to see how the iPad fitted in with this vision. One of the sessions I attended was Technology in the Early Years - Apps and iPads by Kate Highfield a Lecturer in Early Childhood from Macquarie University Sydney. Kate was certainly an engaging and passionate speaker but what really impressed participants was a scaffold by which we could evaluate the apps that are used within the confines of our own classrooms. Kate and her research partner Kristy Goodwin have developed this scaffold from their research into educational apps. Kate suggested that we could plot apps on a educational continuum depending on where the different apps contribute to cognitive development. PuppetPals: FREE Create your own animated stories. StoryKit: FREE
All in One Apps (Pre-K, K)
Language Arts Apps (Pre-K, K)
Math Apps (Pre-K, K)
