Tech EDGE
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Tech EDGE is a channel on YouTube that talks about integrating technology into classrooms. The video I chose to watch was called must have early childhood apps. I think this video would be most beneficial to those wanting to teach younger grades (K-2). In this video Guy Trainin discusses 4 different apps that would help young children with reading, math, and other things. I will talk about some of the apps in more detail farther down the page. I liked this video and channel because I think that he explained each of the apps well and clearly stated what each app does. He explained why that particular app is helpful to the child. He also offers suggestions for how to use the apps. This channel has over 248 videos so I'm sure anyone could find something helpful and of interest to them, I highly recommend this channel!
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PBS Kids Video |
PBS Kids video is the first app I downloaded that was talked about in the video. This is a free app from the App Store, although in the app you can make purchases such as buying more episodes. In this app children can watch shows that are on PBS such as Arthur, Curious George, and Nature Cat, along with many others. Each show has episodes that the child can watch for free. There are also other episodes that you can purchase if you desire. This is a great app because PBS is a station that shows educational shows. These shows are both fun and informational for children. This could be used in a classroom if you found a show over a certain subject or lesson that you were teaching. You could show the short episode as a hook to get the students interested in the lesson.
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Learn With Homer |
This app is called learn with Homer. This app is to help children with literacy and creativity. When I was playing around on this app the first thing I did was a game on pickle wickle island. In this game you had to choose the correct color, shape, letter, or sound on the pickle and feed it to the animal. To play on this app a parent or teacher will have to make the child an account. The app itself is free but to continue playing after 30 days there is a fee. In the app it said that accounts are free for teachers, in their account they can track up to 32 students progress. Parents get a free 30 day trial period then after that period will have to pay to continue using. This app is for children 2-8 years old. I think this would be a good app for children to use in classrooms during a center activity because they could work on their own and at the level they need. I can see myself using this in the classroom someday. I thought this app was cute and fun I can really see how children would enjoy this, it makes learning fun.
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FarFaria |
The last app that I reviewed is called FarFaria. This is an app of children's books. It offers hundreds of books for an abundance of age ranges, although I think it would be best for kindergarten and younger ages just starting to learn how to read. There are different islands and books in that island that go with the theme. There's an animal island, adventure, classic, make believe, and fairy tale island as well as others. I think the islands make it fun and easy for children to find the type of book they are wanting to read. This is a free app to download but there are in app purchases. To use FarFaria you have to be subscribed, you can pay a monthly, yearly, or a lifetime subscription. I would make sure this is something your child will really use before purchasing the yearly or lifetime subscription. This would also be an app teachers could use for centers, because children could read different books right on their iPads or devices. Kids do have more choice and control over their reading this way.
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