This video is a bit of a general State of the Union for Apps. With a record-breaking 1.3 Billion apps downloaded Christmas week, 2011, by owners of smartphones and tablets, the app space sure is looking bright!
Apps prove gold rush for Silicon Valley
Check out the great deals from several independent developers of pirate-themed apps (click above). Also visit the Talk Like a Pirate Facebook page for swashbuckling pirate-y jokes and a chance to win ye some treasure!
This article written by Moms With Apps Co-founder Lynette Mattke of PicPocketBooks about how homeschoolers are using apps. Lynette approached Terri Johnson of Apps-School for leads on families who use apps in their home-based-classrooms, and found four moms to share their stories. They include Kim of Phoenix Arizona, Tracey of Fairbanks Alaska, Mary of Atlanta Georgia, and Kimberlie of Alvarado Texas, who all have their own opinions and implementations on apps for learning.
A marine scientist counted 6 Dolphins which were joined by 92 more. What was the total? It is a typical word problem for a student, but it is not coming from a teacher. Eight-year-old Jacob correctly calculates the answer to the question posed from the iLive Math Oceans app on his iPod touch as his mom drives him to baseball practice.
More and more schools are including mobile devices and apps in their budgets and in their classroom routines. From pre-school educational games to high school dissection labs, we are hearing how teachers and students are using apps. It is no surprise that homeschoolers across the country are saying that they are also turning to apps to replace workbooks and online educational programs.
I’ve collected responses from several homeschooling families to learn specific ways in which they are using apps to augment homeschool lessons. Even if you are not homeschooling, their stories may give others some ideas about using apps as educational supplements at home. Especially with summer vacation coming up, parents may also choose to use apps to keep skills and concepts fresh to combat the “summer slide.”
Apps for review and preview:
-Kim, a homeschooling mom of 5, says that she uses math drills on the iPod Touch to reinforce the basics. She explains, “it has been especially beneficial for my 9 year old right brain learner who could not ‘get it’ using flashcards.” Her 5-year old used apps to practice his letter formation and cursive. She continues, “For my 5 year old, apps have replaced a lot of the workbook-like things that I did with the older boys. He plays Math Bingo and Spelling Bingo and can learn falling off a rock so these things stick with him. I have a struggling learner and two easy learners and the apps are mutually beneficial for all of them. It’s brilliant how apps can appeal to all types of learners.”
-Kimberlee, a homeschooler from Texas, uses apps with her 10 year-old to reinforce concepts or material that need extra practice, like fractions, and has found the Stack the States app perfect for U.S. Geography. She has also found that apps are a fun and effective way to introduce topics they’ll be covering next year, so she’s stocked the iPad with Solar System HD, Geo Walk, and Spanish language apps.
-Tracey likes to use apps as warm ups before lessons or transitions to the next subject, for example, using Fish School to lead into a math lesson.
The role of apps in Time Management:
One challenge with homeschooling can be the task of keeping a younger sibling busy with a constructive activity while working one-on-one with another child. Kimberlee has found that apps like Starfall ABCs, iLearn 123 and iLearn Words can keep her 2 year-old busy for up to 15 minutes at a time when her older kids are doing lessons.
She organizes her iPad with a folder of educational apps, and the kids can choose from any of those in the folder on car rides to get some extra learning time in and to take advantage of waiting times.
Another family notes that they use educational apps anywhere they are sitting or waiting to maximize learning and practice time – even while watching TV.
Apps as rewards:
- Kim explains her approach to using media time as a reward: “If they do their lessons willingly and cheerfully, they’ll get an hour after lessons (anytime during the rest of the day) to play electronics. They already spend hours per day outside swinging, jumping on the trampoline, roller blading, swimming, playing baseball at the park and doing tae kwon do. So I think that we have a nice balance between electronics and the rest of our lives. My boys have learned that when the timer goes off, so do the electronics. And if they complain they lose their gadgets for a week.”
Parents and kids like it when the apps are both entertaining and educational. Several families mentioned apps that fit that bill, notably Stack the States and Stack the Countries (even grown ups like to play!), and “Contraption.” Kimberlee says, “One of our favorite apps right now is “Stack the States” (which I found from the MomsWithApps website last week). It sparks many conversations about states and historical events that are the source for the name of a landmark. “Contraption” also sparks a lot of conversation about physics and how one action will result in another reaction, etc.”
“Educational apps can be a way to bridge the gap between entertainment for children and the parents’ desire to stimulate their children’s minds. And it makes it not seem like academics which can be so encouraging for the kid who thinks he’s not as smart as others,” adds Kim. She also points out that apps seem to be especially engaging for boys (she has 4 of them, so that’s important!)
Most of the families noted that they have not needed to set limits on iPad use: the kids are able to self regulate.
Turning to apps for reference:
- Mary sees apps replacing other formats, “We mostly use flashcard apps instead of traditional flashcards. We also use the maps extensively (Nat Geo Maps is our favorite) instead of consulting the physical atlas. Wherever we are homeschooling we have the iPad or my iPhone with us and can access SO MUCH through apps that just wouldn’t be possible otherwise.”
- Kimberlee echoes that sentiment, “The “Words with Friends” app has brought up conversations about words and many trips to the AED Dictionary app. I can’t imagine living without my iPad or iPhone. They have both become more important than our computers.”
Apps as a springboard to other projects and activities:
The homeschoolers pointed out that apps often inspire them to move on to other (non-digital) activities. Everyday Mathematics’ Baseball multiplication app gets Kim’s homescholers reaching for their bats and mitts. She also offers, “After playing a game, like Blokus, on the iPod Touch or iPad, we’ll get out a board game. The drawing apps tend to make us break out pens and paper later.”
-Tracey shares that Stack the States has gotten her family planning a trip across the country.
-Kim says that using apps for homeschooling has made the family start thinking about ideas for developing their own app, maybe something with flying fractions!
Thoughts for the future:
By finding ways to incorporate educational apps in their homeschool routines, parents and kids alike are benefitting from the independent and individualized learning possibilities that apps can offer. As more and more material becomes available on affordable mobile devices it is likely that educational mobile apps will overtake traditional workbooks and online computer programs in homeschool environments.
Several families noted that while there are lots of choices for alphabet and counting apps, the selection of educational apps for older kids (grades 3-12) is more limited. Homeschoolers are looking for apps that challenge kids in the upper grades: Algebra? Flying fractions, anyone?!
Mrs. Torres’s 4/5 grade class at Zuni Elementary Magnet School for Communication and Technology in Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of the growing number of elementary schools across the county that has access to a set of iPod touches for the classroom.
Michele Torres recently contacted PicPocket Books to let us know that her students have been working with a number of our apps for reading. Mrs. Torres uses the book apps to get her students excited about new titles and subjects and they write book reviews in their writing journals, record reviews in Photo Booth and also present book recommendations to their classmates and “Reading Buddies” from younger grades. Mrs. Torres noticed that the recommendations from the more advanced readers and the inherent appeal of the iPod touch device are successful ways to get reluctant readers more motivated and interested in reading.
In addition to book apps for reading, the class uses several apps for math. The students do math drills, complete story problems, and listen to math lessons. Torres uses lessons from iTunes U to supplement some of the concepts they are learning in class. “If a student isn’t “getting it” I look for a lesson to download and have them complete it on their own,” she says.
Michele says, “I love that the kids are so excited about using these amazing little pieces of equipment. Using the iPod Touches engages my students in learning and increases their motivation. I am able to accommodate the many learning styles of my students by finding different apps for the students to use.”
The flip side of having a huge variety of specialized apps in the App Store is that finding appropriate educational apps in Apple’s vast collection takes some research. “I didn’t want apps that the kids would just play a game on, I wanted to use the apps to supplement what the kids were already doing in the classroom,” explains Torres. For age-appropriate and subject appropriate recommendations, she turned to MomsWithApps. Through their popular website and catalogue of apps, MomsWithApps brings developers of family friendly and educational apps and app users like educators and parents together to share best practices and feedback.
Visit the MomsWithApps website for info and articles about family-friendly and educational app
A recent day found students from Mrs. Torres’ class reading and discussing PicPocket Books’ Human Body Detectives: The Lucky Escape, written by Dr. Heather Manly, N.D. Because of the contact information for the publisher and the author is included in the app, Mrs. Torres was easily able to contact PicPocket Books and the author to provide feedback and ask questions – most importantly, “When is the next book in the Human Body Detectives series coming out?” PicPocket Books directed Mrs. Torres to online resources on the author’s website to supplement science lessons and also let the class know that the next adventures will be published as apps in the early summer of 2011.
Human Body Detectives: "Battle With the Bugs" now available on iTunes
A number of factors make this kind of communication with the readers, author and publishers of book apps much more direct and immediate in comparison with previous models form the traditional print world. Publishers are benefiting from reader feedback, and readers feel that they can be more connected by giving input on what kind of content is useful for them.
Torres’ students have an “iTouch Notebook” to record their notes and feedback on apps and iTouch activities. Torres added, “I love when the kids come to school and tell me, ‘Mrs. Torres, I did some research last night, and I found a couple of apps you should check out for us.’ Most of the time, the apps are very appropriate for what my goal for them is, and that is to learn.”
This article was originally published on the MomsWithApps website, on May 7, 2011.
A sixth grader uses his new school-issued iPad in the classroom in Scottsdale, AZ. Photo by Joshua Lott.
With the beginning of the new year, a growing number of schools are turning to iPads as a powerful and versatile educational tool of choice for students from Kindergarten through high school and for subjects from math to history.
A recent article from the New York Times explains that, “educators laud the iPad’s physical attributes, including its large touch screen (about 9.7 inches) and flat design, which allows students to maintain eye contact with their teachers. And students like its light weight, which offers a relief from the heavy books that weigh down their backpacks.”
The Times article cites examples of teachers using the iPad as replacements for textbooks, apps for illustrating step-by-step animation of complex problems in math, and apps that include all of Shakespeare’s plays for Literature classes.
Many of the school districts are paying for their iPads through federal and other grants, including money from the federal Race to the Top competitive grant program, which administrators in Durham, N.C., are using to provide an iPad to every teacher and student at two low-performing schools.
“It’s not about a cool application,” said Dr. Brenner, a Roslyn Heights, NY superintendent. “We are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.” He said the iPads would also save money in the long run by reducing printing and textbook costs; the estimated savings in the two iPad classes at his school are $7,200 a year.
“It’s not about a cool application,” Dr. Brenner said. “We are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.”
A page from Eric and the Enchanted Leaf: When Earth Grows Warmer, by Deborah Frontiera
2010 was the hottest year on record, according to NASA, which uses data going back 131 years, and the 2001-2010 decade was also the hottest on record. In 2010, more than a dozen record high temperatures were set, including a high of 128.3F in Pakistan in May of this year. Wow, that’s hot!
Our newest title in the Eric and the Enchanted Leaf series by Deborah Frontiera is When Earth Grows Warmer. An accessible introduction to the problem of global warming for kids, this app offers some practical suggestions of things that even young readers can do to help the environment. Frontiera’s story, coupled with great pictures of the polar regions, tropical rain forests and cities illustrate the importance of taking care of our earth home. The app is available for the iPhone or the iPad in English and Spanish versions.
A Reuters article from September 30, 2010 points out that as kids spend more and more time using cell phones and other mobile technology, the time that they spend reading for pleasure decreases.
The article reports results from a study conducted by the Scholastic and Harrison Group with the following findings:
1. 40% of parents think that time spent online and using mobile digital devices would reduce time for books and for engagement in physical activities.
2. 33% of parents are concerned that technology would detract from time spent with family
3. 33% of children said that they would read more books for pleasure if e-books were more available to them.
4. 66% of children claimed that they would still read print books even with greater e-book availability.
Francie Alexander, the chief academic officer of Scholastic, believes that e-books can have an important educational role. She explains, “If we can meet kids where they are and get a third of all kids, many of them struggling readers, to spend more time reading for fun on e-books, that additional time spent building fluency and vocabulary will not only help them become more proficient at reading, but will help prepare them to tackle more complex texts that they will encounter in high school and college.”
Ms. Alexander’s statement really resonates with my belief: if having kids’ books available on your iPhone means more exposure to stories and enthusiasm for reading for kids, then we consider that a success!
What is a bookapp? With the advent of new digital technologies, publishers, authors and readers are revisiting the definition of a book. Does a book have to have a cover and paper pages? Is it the physical format, the content, or the way the material is read that makes a book a book?
A “bookapp” is a term that we have coined within the MomsWithApps group to describe a book that is downloaded as an app (from iTunes) and displayed to be read on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Some bookapps have animations and other interactive features. Most have audio recordings. Over at MomsWithApps we have used the term “bookapp” to distinguish apps that are books (storybooks, picture books) from apps that are games on the iPhone. We have been spreading the use of the term within the group and beyond the group through Twitter and conversations with the Media.
photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
With the growing popularity of iPhones, the iPod touch and the now extremely popular iPad, publishers and app developers are recognizing the advantages of publishing books on the iPhone platform. These bookapps can take a variety of different forms and sport different features. They may be previously published books (that is, you can also buy them in print versions), or the books may be specifically made for the iPhone. The large majority of PicPocket Books’ titles are previously published books: they are also available in traditional print form. Most of our bookapps have audio recordings, animations, interactive features and personal settings. Bookapps are available in digital form through the iTunes App Store from PicPocket Books and also other bookapp publishers like Lyn and Line LLC, Touchoo, Winged Chariot, Watsomaflip, Out To Play, and others. With the digital platform, publishers are able to take advantage of a number of additional dimensions that are just not possible in a print book. Because the digital interactivity is new and different it does draw some criticism and skepticism from some traditional publishers and educators, but others are definitely embracing the new possibilities.
We’re entering into a new interactive art form,” says Rick Richter, formerly the president of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and now a digital media consultant. Freed from rules about page count and paper weight, digital creators enjoy great flexibility. In the process, they can appeal to nonbookworms, such as computer and game geeks. “If anything, it will lead a lot of kids to books,” says Richter.
"I Can Do It Too!" originally published by Chonicle Books. Bookapp published by PicPocket Books.
I predict that the future will bring a much greater acceptance and familiarity of bookapps. After all, reading is so much fun, and if having bookapps available on your iPhone means more exposure to stories and enthusiasm for reading, especially for kids, then we consider that a success!
Huffington Post: iPhone Apps by Moms, for Moms
Never underestimate a mom with an iPhone. While most mobile developers are men, a growing number of opportunistic women are venturing into app development to create apps catered to other women. And many of these women are part of a group called Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers who share best practices on making and marketing mobile apps.
The new Huggybird app from Viva la Media via PicPocket Books will be available in English, Dutch and Spanish.
