The 4th Grade iPad Pilot Program has expanded the educational repertoire for teachers and transformed the classroom into a lush, engaging learning environment for students. With applications like KeyNote, abcNotes, and YourTeacher, students create projects and presentations, actively respond to reading, and practice problem-solving, auditorily, visually, and kinesthetically.
In addition to the aforementioned, the Apple Store offers a variety of applications geared to accommodate students with executive functioning challenges and learning differences. Listed below are my "top picks” utilized in the Lower School Teaching and Learning Center:
Typ-O: This note-taking application blends a language model with a spelling error database that provides both common spelling errors and predictions of dyslexic typing errors. Within this application’s settings, students can rate their spelling (as fair, bad, and terrible) and select the level of vocabulary (including tiny, small, medium, and big) to broaden the range of word predictions. Typed notes can be emailed, copied to the clipboard, and/or printed at a student’s discretion.
Phonics Genius: Based upon the Orton-Gillingham method, this application presents words in flash card format grouped by sounds. The emphasized phoneme is highlighted, and a voice-over dictates the word. Teachers and students can easily manipulate the application; flash cards can be added or deleted and word lists can be created or reorganized based upon class lessons. As with most iPad applications, the size, font, and color of words can be tailored to accommodate students’ learning needs and personal preferences.
Spell That!: All three learning styles are engaged using this spelling practice application. Students create spelling exercises by adding words and recording their pronunciations. Spelling words can be practiced by arranging provided letters in order and/or by typing freehand. Spelling is assessed in small chunks (with a maximum of six words per quiz) to ensure mastery.
myHomework: Serving as a daily planner, this application allows students to schedule their classes and extracurricular activities, record homework assignments and upcoming quizzes/tests, and prepare for long-terms projects and papers. Students can program their daily routines and responsibilities and sync their calendar of events to their iPads, iPhones, and computers through an online account (www.myhomeworkapp.com). The application, itself, is user-friendly, with color-coding options, academic reminders, and late/missing assignment alerts.
ShowMe: This application is an interactive whiteboard that allows teachers and students to write and record voice-over lessons of varying topics. Teachers and students can upload their tutorials online and browse an array of lessons created by other users. Mr. Dacy introduced this application to his Grade 4 Math students (and me), finding it both multifaceted and user-friendly.
Dragon Dictation: Similar to Dragon Naturally Speaking, this voice recognition application allows students to speak text and email messages. Like many iPad applications, Dragon Dictation is popular for social networking, including Facebook and Twitter; however, its “speech to text” note-taking functions also support the academic needs of students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other reading and written expression differences.
