This TECH entry assignment was to review several apps from a list of apps that were provided. One section is apps for literacy and the other section is iPad apps for particular disciplines or subjects.

For the iPad literacy, I selected three apps to review.

The first was Dictionary. This app works just as it states, like a dictionary. The user types in a particular word, don’t worry if you can’t spell it correctly, it will give you suggestions close to how it was spelled. Once a word is selected, it will give you however many definitions of the word, how to use it in a sentence, pronunciation and has a link to Thesaurus for words similar to it. All and all a good app for iPads in the classroom to aid students in understanding what they are reading or to provide a tool for writing papers or reports.

The second app was called Drawing Pad. This app would be geared toward more the younger age but is a good drawing tool. The menu is all picture based allowing students to navigate through the app with ease. You can then save any drawing and send/share through email or text message.

The final app was called Puppet Pals. This is an interactive app that allows you to use characters to create a movie in which your voice can be recorded for it. The free version only comes with a few characters and a wild west theme but you can purchase many other characters or create your own backgrounds or characters. This app would be good for story plots.

For iPad Disciplines, I have three apps that I reviewed.

SpellBoard is an app that is used for spelling. You can customize your spelling lists and then allow the student to participate in various activities with the vocabulary presented. This would reinforce spelling techniques in which the student can then take a spelling quiz to grade progress and practice.

The Stories(Read Me) is a story app that allows students to read books or have books read to them. I was unable to get to in-depth with it and the questions I have would be how wide the selection of books and level of reading the books would cover. But for reading purposes, this app has a lot of potential to be a good tool to reinforce reading and listening skills and how to reinforce ideas and plots found in stories.

The final app I reviewed was Stack the Continents. This was a Geography app that allows the user to play interactive games while testing their knowledge of geography principles. This could be a great app. I was unable to see or grasp anyway to customize the game and I am not sure if you could tailor the game to a specific region but still a good game that has potential.