Measurement

Price: $1.99 for iPad, $.99 for iPod
Grade Recommendation: PreK - 1st
Subject: Math
Specific Skill: Measurement
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: Both

This app was designed to cover very basic measurement skills.

It's comprised of 5 activities:
1. Crazy Clock - Students have to touch and rotate the minute hand of the clock (which automatically moves the hour hand) to show a time announced orally in a sentence. As an example, the app says "I play with my friends at 9 in the morning."
2. Scale Tale - Students choose which object is lighter.
3. Fill Me Up - Students drag and drop items (such as sand) into containers, then select which container holds more or less.
4. Long & Short - Students choose which object is longer or shorter.
5. Action Month - Students drag and drop the letters of each month onto their matching outline.

At this price point, the activities in this app are way too simple. I recommend locating a measurement app that also includes more difficult tasks.

Pocket Zoo HD

Price: $1.99
Grade Recommendation: PreK - 5th
Subject: Science
Specific Skill: Animals
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: iPad

This is one of my new favorite apps! Over 50 animals are featured. After clicking on one, students can read a 'Fun Fact' and a short description. They can also hear the sound the animal makes and learn its scientific name, location, diet, size, lifespan, and survival status. Short videos and even links to live web cams are also available for most of the animals.

Featured animals - African elephant, alligator, baboon, beaver, camel, cheetah, chimpanzee, dolphin, emu, gibbon, giraffe, golden eagle, gorilla, grey wolf, grizzly bear, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, Indian elephant, jaguar, killer whale, koala, leafy sea dragon, lemur, leopard, lion, lynx, manatee, meerkat, moose, orangutan, ostrich, panda, penguin, platypus, polar bear, Przewalski's horse, puma, red panda, rhino, seal, shark, snow leopard, tapir, Tasmanian devil, tiger, wallaby, walrus, warthog, white rhino, and zebra

The variety of animals, combined with the embedded video clips and links to live web cams make this app a must-have for use with elementary students.

Dragon Dictation

Price: Free!
Grade Recommendation: All
Subject: Writing
Specific Skill: Oral language
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: Both

Dragon Dictation turns voice into text. After hitting the 'record' button, you speak into an external microphone (or aim at the built-in mic). You tap the screen to stop recording (for up to 60 seconds). After a few seconds of processing, your text appears on the screen. The app is quite accurate (especially when you speak loudly and clearly). However, you're also able to edit the text once it's done being processed. Once you're satisfied with the text, you can email it or copy/paste it into another app.

The processing takes place 'in the cloud'. Therefore, you must have an active internet connection to use this app.

The app can even 'learn' new vocabulary (such as proper nouns) over time. You can also say things such as "next line" and "period". The more you do that, the less editing you'll have to do.

I envision this app as an intervention to use with students who have difficulty with the physical process of writing. It's also a great way to have a written account of an oral storytelling activity.

PBS

Price: Free!
Grade Recommendation: All
Subject: Any
Specific Skill: N/A
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: Both (separate version for each)

This app provides access to more than 300 full-length programs shown on PBS. I'm most impressed with the episodes for the program 'Nature', but can see many more applicable uses in a classroom setting.

The app allows you to save your favorite programs or episodes for even easier access. You can also watch previews for upcoming programs.

I recommend simply obtaining this app and browsing the programs to find ones that meet your needs.

Please note that this app is rated 9+; it's possible to encounter programs that may be inappropriate for students under the age of 9. No matter the age level you teach, be sure to preview any program you wish to show to students.

Geared

Price: $2.99 for iPad, $.99 for iPod
Grade Recommendation: 3rd and up
Subject: Science
Specific Skill: Physics
Levels: 200
Players: 1
For iPad, iPod, or Both: Both

This app is actually a pretty cool and interesting game. Students use one or more gears to 'power' a blue gear already on the screen. With 200 levels, it obviously gets more difficult as the game progresses. Visual-spatial learners will especially enjoy this app.

While it's a worthwhile app to have installed, skip it if the price tag seems too steep for your needs.

The Presidents

Price: $3.99
Grade Recommendation: 2nd and up
Subject: Social Studies
Specific Skill: U. S. History
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: iPad

This app is a must-have for any classroom that studies even a small portion of United States history! An aesthetically-pleasing timeline runs across the bottom of the app when you open it. The timeline begins in 1789 with The American Constitution and ends with the presidency of Barack Obama (listed as 2009 - 2013).

The title is quite misleading. It certainly covers all 44 U. S. Presidents. But it also covers many major events in our country's and the world's history - from the ratification of the Bill of Rights to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The app also includes relevant territory maps (Thirteen Colonies, Civil War, etc.) and documents (Declaration of Independence, U. S. Constitution, and speeches by Presidents).

Students can also take quizzes on the 5 major time periods - Early Republic, Secession, Gilded Age, Early Twentieth, and Late Twentieth.

Some events are simply listed on the timeline while others link to a pageful of information and sometimes even outside links. Perhaps this app's developers will continue to add information about each and every event listed. But even now, this app is worth the price tag.

Screen Chomp

Price: Free!
Grade Recommendation: All
Subject: Any
Specific Skill: N/A
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: iPad

This is one of my favorite apps! I'm glad it's free, but I'd definitely pay money for it!

Simply put, it's a way to capture both an audio and visual account of what students do within the app.

The background initially appears as a plain white screen. But you can also import any image you already have saved in the native 'Photos' app. Once you have the background set, students can hit the 'record' button and draw and/or write on the screen. They may also choose to talk about their work. Screen Chomp is recording both the audio and the visual aspects. Students will then need to press the 'stop' or 'pause' button.

Once 'stop' is pressed, the screen capture immediately starts to play back. You can then delete the capture or send it to Screen Chomp's website. I recommend then copying and pasting the URL into a note-taking app (or into Pages). You can then email it to yourself so you'll have access to the URL where the capture is housed.

This app has endless possibilities! I can see students using it as 'Ticket Out the Door' to show and explain their learning. I'm incredibly impressed with this app and can't imagine why you wouldn't choose to include it on the iPad(s) in your classroom!