Mind Snacks: French

Mind Snacks: French

Mind Snacks is a free app for the iPhone. It is designed for beginners in French. The app provides free lessons that begin with a learning protion and a testing/game portion. The learning portion shows a word, has a picture to demonstrate the word, and the app says the word if you click on the picture. The learning portion is a great way to practice prononciation and to study vocab words. The testing/game portion is a set of 9 games that test the student's mastery. The games are: Swell, Belly, Word Birds, Bloon, Slider, Bubbler, Dam Builder, Stacks, and Totem. The games combine vocab recognition through either showing a word, picture, or having the app say the foreign word. In the classroom I would suggest the app to low performing students because the games are fun and helpful. They put the material on a simpler level and engage the user.

https://www.mindsnacks.com

Tap & Say

Tap & Say

Tap&Say is an educational app on the iPhone. It is free! it doesnt have a online portion, but it is great for students who struggle with or would like to practice pronunciation. This app is a great way to practice verbal skills in a foreign language class. It has Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, and German. Within each language there are 14 tabs but Favourites, Greeting, Essentials, Numbers&Colours are the only free tabs. Within each tab there are sayings that you click on the hear the foreign equivalent. For example in the French section, Tab Greetings, you would click on "Hello" and the app would say "Bonjour." Again this app would be a great way to practice speaking the foreign language.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap-say-speak-phrase-book/id491648052?mt=8

Tres Bien

Très bien is a free app on the iPhone. It is an app for French learners. It can also be accessed online. The teacher cannot create anything on this app, but he/she can reccommend the students use it at a study guide. It can also be used in class as a game or as a listening activity. The app is split into 7 categories: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Grammar, Travel, Business, and Medical. Each categorie has 20-25 lessons. (Some can only be accessed if you buy them, but you can access most of these lessons online.) Within each lesson there are vocab words, phrases, verbs, 2 games (hangman and matching), and a lesson that speaks a word to you and you find the definintion. This app would be great for a study tool. It's also great for listening activities or for students who struggle with pronunciation. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learn-french-tres-bien/id381394919?mt=8

ExitTicket

ExitTicket is an app that is free to teachers and is compatible on Apple products that have iOS 4.2 or later. This app is a great formative assessment tool that extends beyond traditional ‘clickers’ used in the classroom. ExitTicket can be used to give immediate feedback to questions, polls, quizzes, and exams. I would use this app in my class after I had covered a lesson. For example, if I had just taught a lesson on animal adaptations, I would use the app to ask my students to define what an adaptation is. This way, I know if my students got the main idea of the lesson. Based on the results, I would be able to see if I needed to revisit the topic or continue on to my next lesson.

How it works:

After downloading the app, teachers are required to recreate an account. Then, they will be given a code in which students can use when they login so that teacher can oraganize and seperate their classes. The teacher can launch questions onto the app, and the students can answer from any device that can be connected to the internet. There are many options once the account is set up. Teachers can use real-time responses to differentiate instruction, or use drive instruction to get immediate classroom checks to modify the lessons for the day. ExitTicket also offers an option to align learning targets with common core. Lastly, students’ results can be assessed for over long periods of time and sent to other teachers in the school system.

Links:

http://exitticket.org/?gclid=CMK69tTi_MACFZJr7Aod_CkANA

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/exitticket/id618649934?mt=8

Brainscape

Brainscape is a free app on the iPhone. I can also be acess on the computer. A teacher can create flashcard sets on his/her phone/computer then share it with her class. He/she can make his/her students make their own flashcards for an assignment. The app also has free sets of flashcards than are in every subject from Math to French. The app also has sets of flashcards to buy, but instead of buying the sets, a teacher could just make one. The app will send you reminders that say "Do you remember the word "merci"?" if you allow it. This allows you to study the cards throughout the day without actually accessing the app. The app test how well you know the words by how quickly you respond, and will show you words you struggle with more often than those you have mastered. The app also has a blog section that posts about your specific interests and other informative artivales about teaching and learning. 

https://www.brainscape.com

LitCharts

LitCharts is a useful app from the iTunes store that has compiled information on over 150 different texts. The app features mostly classical literature such as1984 and Lord of the Flies. The app provides not only summaries of the texts, but also analysis, quotes, and characters. I would use this app in my classroom to help students find background information about the texts we are reading, as well as encourage them to diversify their reading palate.

How it works

LitCharts can be downloaded free from the iTunes store. When first opened, the books are organized in a grid, but can also be viewed by title and author. When you select a book, the information is organized as follows: Background Info, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Symbols, Quotes, Summary and Analysis, How to Cite. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/litcharts/id867311750?mt=8

Poems by Heart

Poems by heart is a free app in the iTunes store that assists you in memorizing poems. Poetry is studied in every Language Arts classroom in nearly every grade level. This app can be adopted by students in the classroom who need a little extra help in memorizing poetry or who just enjoy learning classic poems.

How it works:

When you first open the app, you can choose between “new” poems and “suggestions.” When you click on “suggestions,” the app puts the poems in order from the easiest to the most difficult. However, these poems cost 99 cents. This may well be worth it in some classrooms. The poems under the “new” section are free. When you click on the poem, you can choose to have it read to you in either a male or a female voice. Underneath each stanza is a bar that says “learn this.” It then prompts you to fill in the missing words in the poem. It gives you a score, which makes learning the poem feel like a game. There is also a section called “Poetry Shop” where you can purchase more poems. They are organized by poet or by topic.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poems-by-heart-from-penguin/id577789325?mt=8

TED

TED is an app that leads you directly to a myriad of TED Talks videos. TED Talks are becoming frequently viewed in classroom settings. With the TED app, students will be able to view these videos on their own time with just the click of a button. Videos are tagged and can be found easily using the search button.

There is a wide variety of videos, and there is something for every content area. This app would be especially useful for compiling background knowledge on a subject or to relate the content to the students’ lives. For an English classroom, students can search the tag “poetry” and find countless videos to suit their needs.

How it works:

TED is a free app in the iTunes store. The main screen features a variety of videos that are trending. The menu bar along the bottom includes 5 buttons: Featured, Surprise Me, Discover, My Talks, and Search. There is also the option of listening to TED on NPR through the app. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ted/id376183339?mt=8

Science360

Science360 is a free app that provides images and videos that can be used to engage students in science and engineering topics from around the globe. Also, Science360 provides breaking news on topics from NSF, scientists, colleges, universities, and NSF science and engineering centers. This app could be used to help bring in real-world applications to science material taught in the classroom.  As a teacher, I would use this app to bring in visual learning into my everyday lessons. With information being easy to share from this app, students could use app for research and projects as well.  

How it works:

This is app is compatible with iPads. After downloading the app to your iPad, you have the option to start streaming videos and viewing images (if connect to WiFi or 3G connection). The videos and images can be shared on Facebook, Twitter or via email. It is easy to look through content with the app’s 360 view or search for items via keyword with a two finger touch. If you find something you really enjoy, you can save images and videos within the app for fast access with just a single touch.

Link to Science360:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/science360-for-ipad/id439928181?mt=8

Nearpod

If in a classroom where students are provided tablets or computers, this app would be awesome. Teachers can create or download interactive presentations and then share those interactive lessons with the students. Students can submit responses through any mobile device or computer and a teacher can see their work in real time. These responses can be measured on an individual or class basis – which would be a great assessment tool.

Here’s how it works:

First teachers will need to create or download a presentation. Teachers can integrate quizzes, videos, polls, drawing tools, audio, slideshows, etc. into their presentations to promote student interactions. These presentations can be shared through “teacher mode” to the student devices or with colleagues. Once the teacher has opened their presentation, students may now launch the app and sign in with their first and last name. With this login information, teachers will be able to view student responses in real time. As the teacher scrolls through the presentation, the students’ presentations will sync without the student even having to swipe. I think the thing I like the most about this app is that it makes the teacher mobile. If the teacher has a device with his/her presentation on it and students all have access to a device with the same presentation, there is no need for a teacher to be stuck in the front of the room at the interactive white board. Teachers can now walk around the room as they give their presentation without having to sacrifice the interactive portions of their lesson.

http://www.nearpod.com