55 thoughts on “iPad Apps for Accelerating Learning in Elementary School”

1. The Ipad makes a great learning tool for schools.

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2. Wowowow, Outstanding, I would love to have this program in my school to inspire my students to read and comprehend the elements of literacy. Each child has a different level and they could increases their own potential by the use of the iPad program. How can I find a federal proposal to back up our school in Puerto Rico.

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   • Hi Janett. I don’t know of any specific grants but you can look at this link as a resource Thanks for your comment Lindsay. http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/financial_aid/grants/

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3. I am the Instructional Technology Coach at our school. So far we have been able to secure 10 iPads with grant money. I have show teachers how they might use it demonstrate there lessons using this medium. I believe that mobility is the wave of the future and we as educators have to adapt to the ride.

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   • I work in the special education department and have been hearing about grants for Ipads. Does anyone have a link on where to go to begin. Ipads would really benefit our classroom.

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     • I don’t know of any specific grants but you can look at this link as a resource Thanks for your comment Lindsay. http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/financial_aid/grants/

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4. May I suggest a new math flash card app called “TurtleCards”? You write with your fingers, just like on paper!

   Here is this website.

   Thanks!

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5. I am an intern at a new IPad software development company. We are just getting started, and currently have four apps out for download and one more coming out soon. The are all education games, so far we have two games geared towards English/Chinese vocabulary building, and two for math. The games are designed teach kids by repetition, adding new challenges as you progress through the game.

   Math Ninja: for kids 6-12. They can practice math-at the most basic using simple addition and subtraction, all the way up to more complex problem solving. The questions can be answered either by selecting correct answers or eliminating wrong ones. It can be used as a teaching tool or as review.
   Kitty Work: for kids 2-12. This game can be used for a variety of purposes. It can be used as a vocabulary builder for English speakers–spelling, word recognition, vocabulary, or it can be used at as and ESL teaching tool or to begin learning Chinese, whichever the child needs. The player travels through an imaginary world and is challenged to use the appropriate words in each new scene.
   The other part of our games that is unique to Kitty Pad is the Parent Dashboard, which is still under development and will be built into our games and can be accessed online via our website (kittypad.com). The Parent Dashboard allows parents to monitor how long their children are using IPad applications and which applications are being used (educational or otherwise).
   The Lite versions of these applications are available for free download!
   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-ninja-lite/id432768464?mt=8

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6. I am looking for a good Spanish Language app for 3-5th graders. The ones I have found are either too technical or too primary. Any suggestions?

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   • Hope this helps!

     http://www.blueplanettales.com

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7. A new education game for the iPhone and iPad was recently released called “Story Wheel”. It is an interactive game that helps kids build their imagination as they create new stories. Players spin the story wheel and land on an image, they then have 30 seconds to record a portion of a story that is built upon by the other players. At the end of the game, you can play back your story while you enjoy the beautifully animated images.

   Best of all, it is free and available on the app store.

   http://youtu.be/4Nsr0xjCEpA

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   • The Story Wheel app store link is http://itunes.apple.com/app/id437068725

     I hope you enjoy!

     Cliff

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8. Same comment here, our application http://www.icelsius.com transforms the iPad into a digital thermometer. Great to teach children how to do temperature measurements and understand what temperature means, what units are (C/F), digits, graphs, etc.

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9. Thanks for all the great suggestions for aps. We’ve just purchased 24 iPads for our school and I’m responsible to train. If there are any excellent literacy aps available for grades 3-5, please post them.

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10. For anyone doing Readers or Writers Workshop, the Confer app is a must for teachers. It not only is a time-saver, but also a way to be more responsive in a timely way to the differentiated needs of learners. If you want to know how it works, there are great youtube demos available.

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11. The iPad is a fantastic tool for the classroom. We are using iPads in our 3rd grade with a foam holder that makes the ipad like part of the desk. Kids use it hands free and it changes the focus to be more about the lesson. The company donated 15 to the 3rd grade class. iphomeproducts.com

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    • I love this idea. Can you upload an image of foam holder?

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12. I teach 4th grade at a title I school. I have created an app
    to help kids with spelling, phonics and vocabulary.
    Here is the web site http://www.wordconnex.com

    Check it out the first person to get it can use this free promo code.

    43NLR6MM3PFR

    Thanks
    shirley sharp

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13. My grand son is one and a half and can operate his mother’s iphone perfectly to the point he can call me, he just can’t talk yet. I think we maybe overlooking the real advantage of these devices. The primary benefit for children is to teach them how to learn fast. Learning fast is the most natural addictive drug. Even the “parent hated” war games turn out brilliant minds that don’t go to war. Programs should be consistent, humorous, rewarding, interactive, and exploration oriented. This is a huge educational opportunity and could lead to a much lessor time to receive and education, saving the govt a lot of money in education, and providing many more brilliant minds. It is also just what the ADD mind needs, that no human can keep up .

    David Reynard
    dreynard@sprintmail.com

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14. I am interested in identifying a small group of teachers who would like to receive free download codes to be used at the iTunes store in order to install educational apps that I have been designing and developing. The apps span a variety of curriculum areas. The number of codes available is limited.

    http://www.venturaes.com/ipadapps/

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    • Thanks Fred! I’m sure a number of people will take you up on your generous offer. Michael

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    • I am a fourth grade teacher and our school just recieved 30 iPads for each grade. We are trying to figure out apps now. I am leading the search on my own at this point and would love any input.

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      • How did your school receive funding for the iPads? I’m trying to integrate iPads into my classroom, and wonder how I’m going to raise the funding?

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      • Hi Amy,

        Our “TurtleCards” (http://youtu.be/gbzfO5gpSU4

        If you are interested in trying out TurtleCards, please let me know (lingji.chen@gmail.com) and I will be more than happy to provide you with a promo code. The app runs on iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.

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    • I’m interested.

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15. Hi Michael,

    I came across your blog and appreciate your enthusiasm for the iPad as an educational tool! My name is Marissa Gloria, I’m an educational psychologist and Co-Founder of TRTL BOT. We design eco-friendly, BPA Free, family-friendly Apple accessories. I’m writing you today because my husband and I created an iPad 2 case that is perfect for students and educators. Our case is designed to be durable and has a built in retractable home button protector. With the Home Button Protector, students remain engaged in the app instructed, ultimately transforming the iPad from a recreational device into an educational tool.

    We were recently featured in TeachingAll.blogspot.com where Patrick Black, a special education teacher states that “power of the home button (protector) is overwhelming…this feature continues to be useful in a special education setting”

    This is a true passion project of ours and we are raising funds through Kickstarter.com to bring our iPad 2 case into reality. Please check it out at: http://kck.st/pxcAli.

    My husband and I would sincerely appreciate it if you could donate and share this project with your friends and colleagues. We believe your readers will love our new iPad 2 case!

    Looking forward to hearing from you!

    Sincerely,
    Marissa Gloria

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    • If I would like to purchase just one case for my personal computer to use in class, how much would 1 case cost? Our school district has been hit w/ budget cuts and I’m having to bring personal computers to school.

      Lindabaza@ yahoo.com

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16. Hi,

    We at Boreaal think the enclosed information can make a real difference in children’s education, and we hope you will agree. Thank you for your time and attention, and please don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.

    Best regards,

    Mr. Ton Baan, director
    Boreaal Publishers
    the Netherlands
    _____

    Game Beats Parents and Teachers at Handwriting Instruction

    The season of letters to Santa once again highlights the deficits in handwriting education. A small Dutch publisher has created a solution for this large social issue: LetterSchool, an educational app that competes with advanced games.

    Watch LetterSchool on YouTube: http://youtu.be/4sDZqBMqG-4

    Alkmaar, the Netherlands (LetterSchool.com) December 6, 2011—Boreaal Publishers thinks it’s high time for a new approach to handwriting instruction. The need for one is high; in the United States and other Western countries, handwriting quality is deteriorating. Boreaal says that LetterSchool, the educational game it released yesterday, can provide better instruction than parents or teachers.

    In LetterSchool children between 4 and 6 learn all about letters and numbers: writing, counting, phonics and more. It is a universal application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The makers have invested heavily into high-quality graphics, effects and animations at a level not easily found in educational apps for this age group. Young children work magic as they write letters and numbers with sparkling candy, squealing tires, cuddly animals, whistling trains and humming lawn mowers. The wide variety of games captures the child’s attention and keeps young players practicing their letters and numbers, over and over again. At home, at school, in the car and everywhere else, children can learn at a comfortable level and at their own pace.

    In the app, young children practice each letter or number in four steps combining different learning approaches. They first play every letter and number in the silver level, then play them again in the gold level with greater challenge. To put their acquired skills to the test, players write their very own letters in the final free-form writing game. This extensive practice on two distinct levels ensures children’s letter knowledge takes permanent root. LetterSchool makes exclusive use of visual information to demonstrate the letters: American studies indicate that visual clues are easier for a young child’s brain to process than verbal instructions. And visual interaction is exactly where mobile devices are very well suited for.

    At home, parents rarely know how they can best help their children learn to write. At school, overfull curricula leave little room for handwriting lessons. Moreover, those lessons often make less than optimal use of the available time. There are several reasons for this. Many schools consider handwriting skills a lesser subject. In studies, many teachers indicate that they received poor handwriting instruction themselves. The quality of LetterSchool’s instruction is constant and independent of the person, place and time. These are a few reasons why LetterSchool provides better handwriting instruction than parents and teachers.

    About the creators:
    Boreaal Publishers and PiMZ.com formed a select team of specialists for the LetterSchool project. The contributors have decades of combined experience in education, publishing, software development and computer graphics.

    Downloads:
    You can install the free lite version, which will allow you to reach the gold level and test-drive the free-form writing game more quickly.

    CONTACT
    Boreaal Publishers
    Mr. Ton Baan, Director
    http://letterschool.com/

    LINKS
    LetterSchool website: http://letterschool.com/
    iTunes, LetterSchool: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/letterschool/id435476174?mt=8
    iTunes, LetterSchool Lite: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/letterschool-lite/id481067676?mt=8
    YouTube movie: http://youtu.be/4sDZqBMqG-4
    Boreaal Publishers: http://pimz.com/

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17. Hello!
    I am an elementary teacher, ell teacher, and preschool teacher. I am also the reading specialist at our school.

    I am wondering where and how I can go to find information on how to write a grant for ipads.

    Thank you!

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    • I don’t know of anything specific about writing grants but you can look at this link as a resource about grants for iPads and other technology. Thanks for your comment Angel. http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/financial_aid/grants/

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18. I am starting a pilot program in my school for teachers to use an iPad for formatvie assessment collection. I spend a great deal of time researching best apps for students to use, but am struggling to find apps for formative assessment collection on the teacher’s side. Also, here is the kicker…….we don’t have wifi, so our use is limited. Any thoughts, or leads to a resource that can help me?

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    • Hello Jen M –
      I’m a Pittsburgh, PA company that has been taking teacher effectiveness forms or teacher observation/walk thru forms and duplicating them as an iPad application for schools. In addition, we manufacture student planners and we are looking forward to launching our digital planner. We’re looking for some beta partners to help us develop the planner. Please feel free to reach out to me if any of this is of interest to your school.
      Stephanie Squibb/Squibb-It!

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      • Hi Jen! I deeply recommend Nearpod, it’s an app that synchronizes content shared in class. You can add activites to it and control the slides. You should actually see it for yourself 🙂
        I’ve been using it for weeks and it’s awesome. I leave you the link: http://www.nearpod.com

        good luck!

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    • I recommend Explain Everything.
      This app does not require wifi and its applications are endless.
      I teach grade 2 and I’ve been able to use it as a formative and summative assessment tool for math, literacy and our Units of Inquiry. Also it has been effective for teacher, peer and self assessment and feedback.

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19. Why are there no apps for collaborative learning?
    It worries me that the apps on iPads are so individualistic. There are so many great games but games are so much more fun when shared.
    Check out this game ‘I have, who has’, its for 4 players and it helps kids improve their mental arithmetic http://www.interface3.com/?portfolio=ihavewhohas

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20. Been using Templates for Primary Schools (uk) – http://goo.gl/d2mUv – to get groups of Yr6 pupils started.

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21. My son, a recent CS graduate, has developed an iPad and iPhone app called Timed Test Arcade. A local primary school did a 30 days pilot where 3rd and 4th grade students took one 100 problem timed test each day. Student accuracy improved by over 40% and speed of answering the problems improved by over 25%. The students were motived to use the app both at school and at home as they were rewarded with 2 gaming tokens for each 100 problem timed test taken. The teacher loved the app as she could see the students progress each day without manually grading each test or subjecting her students to grading each others paper. This is a great app and it works great in helping students gain proficiency in their math facts. Check it out a. Thanks! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timed-test-arcade/id515358594?mt=8&uo=4

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22. Hello! Our elementary school just received iPads for all second and fifth grade classrooms plus one Kindergarten room. We are trying to figure out apps now. I am helping research for geography for the fifth grade classes and would appreciate any suggestions. In specific we are looking for an atlas (in addition to Google maps) that has the additional features:

    * Maps that go from simple to complex (continents to detail)
    * Include information about the country (flags, photos etc.–not just maps)
    * Can plot latitude and longitude
    * Can access information online, but will also run offline.
    * One atlas I saw allowed you to print maps. That might be useful.
    * I am sure there are other features that I haven’t even thought of or am aware of.

    I have also had difficulty finding specific social studies apps for our grade level. We study ancient North and South American cultures (Anasazi, Mound Builders, Inuit, Aztec, Inca, Maya). We also study European Exploration. I have found some resources through iTunes U, but they were not appropriate for our grade level.

    Any help would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

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24. There is a nice new math iPad App for schools, it is called Multiplication Table Fun.
    I recommend it.
    http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/multiplication-table-fun/id547712549?mt=8

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25. I am recruiting participants for my senior study on the benefits of the iPad for elementary instruction.

    Provided is a link to my survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JC62ZLW.

    I would appreciate it if if you could take a minute to complete my brief demographic survey. I will contact you to set up an interview to talk about how you use iPads in your class room. Thank you for your time!

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26. Our school rolled out 1:1 iPads for G2-5 this school year.

    Our context for the use of iPads has been that they are a tool, like paper, pencils, books, laptops, scissors etc, for learning. As teachers we must use the iPads for learning and understanding.

    With few exceptions, apps need to be use for generating and creating. This concept relates to blooms taxonomy and children working at higher levels of thinking.

    An example of this is the use of the app Explain Everything being used for students to solve a math problem and explain their working as they go. Teacher and student can then view their work and evaluate and assess HOW they got their answers. Students can also view the thinking of others in the class by watching how they completed the problem, listening to their explanation. This has proven to be a rich way of learning providing deeper insights into student learning and understanding than a student score in a math app. Another benefit of this approach is that the work can be loaded to Vimeo and a link emailed to parents, siblings, friends (anyone with an email address) from class. We now have students as young as 7 sending and receiving emails, generating and loading content, self and peer assessing and learning and sharing new strategies to solve problems.

    To our school we view this as relevant and real life learning.

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27. Good quality picture books are important apps on the iPad.
    Have a look at ‘My Mom’s the Best’ for ages 3+ featured in best apps for kids dummies book 2013. Easier to find on our website than iTunes. http://Www.snappyant.com. Happy give out some codes. Great discussion.

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28. I’m the founder of Spinlight Studio. We have a growing catalog of educational apps including AlphaTots, TallyTots, Operation Math and Geography Drive. Please take a look at http://www.spinlight.com when considering educational apps for your school. We’re trying hard to make a positive contribution to this exciting tech revolution.

    As a software developers we have many questions for the education community. We’d love to hear how you choose your apps and how you budget for them. Getting the hardware is the first step, but then comes the search for software. I’m guessing it’s a challenge. We’d love to find ways to help make it easier. What barriers are in your way?

    I welcome any direct contact from educators at matt@spinlight.com or 217-351-6700.
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    Matt Hutton
    CEO + Co-Founder

    Spinlight Studio®
    3356 Big Pine Trail, Suite A
    Champaign, IL 61822

    V : 217.351.6700
    http://www.facebook.com/spinlightstudio

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35. New apps are rising, let this is the one new school app http://www.schoola2z.com/ make easy parent and teacher communication.

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36. We found free application PHONICS from iTunes App Store to learn how to read for kids. Our girls, age 4 and 6, love it and enjoy making steady progress reading. Cute, completely free and effective so far. Here is the link to check it out:
    https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/phonics-free-learn-to-read/id1164302436?mt=8

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