Before I got Iphone 5 I had an Android telephone. For those who are not that oriented in mobile technics Android is a kind of operating system launched by Google, while iPhones, iPads and iPods have an operating system called iOS: iPhone operating system launched by Apple. These are the two software that the devices are built upon. Android was a nice operating system but I felt that the iOS was more advanced and developed than Android.
If I were to give you an advice if you are new in the ‘iPhone jungle’, my advice to you would be to go into ‘App Store’. There you will find everything you need and everything you thought you didn’t need but needed anyway and so on. There are a lot of things that are for free or to little or almost none cost at all. With ‘things’ I mean applications or they are more known as apps. Applications are programmes invented by companies, institutions, associations or private persons. You may find apps about food, health, games, employments, job offers and I could go on forever.
I then wondered if I could combine these apps with my English teaching with my Swedish students. I started to look and searched for English pedagogical apps and I find a few for free which caught my eye.
I find this app suitable for children in kindergarten up second grade. If you wish to pay some amount of money you may find other categories suitable for older children.
Another app I found was this one on the right called 'Engelska för barn -English for kids'. It is for free and is built up as a game with three different levels: 1. Hello! 2. More! 3.For Big Kids (5+)
I find all three levels suitable for children in kindergarten up to second grade.
On the first picture you will find some sub categories in the first level. The second picture shows you how the app works. You will get two,three och four pictures. The picture the game is looking for is written on the top and a voice will pronounce it for you and you will be able to repeat the word after the voice. After repeating you will have to choose
which photo/picture that belongs to the word written and spoken. All games can be played as many times as you want. I feel that the benefit
with this app is that the student will see a picture and at the same time see and listen to the word connected to the picture. A lot of senses are included and both crebral hemispheres will be included and hopefully activated. ;)
The last app I wanted to share with you is the one called 'Fun English'. The negative part is that you can only work with colours for free but a whole lot of other categories is available if you want to pay a share. If you want to buy the whole lesson pack it will cost you 75 kr which isn't a lot.. But still..
For each category there are a lot of things to do. You can play 'Bubbles' which aim is that a voice will pronounce a colour and your goal is to click on the bubble with the right colour and get points for every bubble you catch.
The Memory game is almost like the 'Awesome Memory App' but you will hear each colour everytime you choose a square, even though you may be wrong.
In the Color game you will get a picture which is in black and white and it is your purpose to colour it. A voice will tell you a colour and you will now click on all the things in the picture and guess which colour that belongs to which item.In the game called Palette you will get a picture and a voice will tell you which colour the item is supposed to have. You will get a palette with six colours and it is up to you to mix them in order to get the right colour.
In the game called Two by two it is up to you to pair pictures together in pairs or in groups of three in order to get points and 'buy' more time. You will play the game by rearranging the order of the items in order to get the pairs.The last game called 'Spellbounce' you are supposed to spell different colours. You will get all the letters that are supposed to be included but they are in the wrong order and the background is coloured in the colour you are supposed to spell.
I think that using apps in my teaching will help my students to evolve and strengthen their knowledge they learn in class and where I fail to plan my lessons using different kinds of learning processes, these three apps can help me with that.
Some things to bare in mind is that in order to be able to use these apps you will have to have an iPhone or an iPad and an internet connection. I don't know if there are available in the Android system but it isn't impossible. One other thing is that some of these apps are limited in the free version. In order to get the best out of the app you will sometimes have to pay an amount of money. But it will not ruin you - I will promise that!
//Jonna Lengstedt
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ReplyDeleteThe second app is like an interactive dictionary with pictures, audio, and a quizz game which the kids navigate using their hands. That is a great way of learning new vocabulary, I think. It could really be used in schools. You can also let kids work together with one Iphone to solve the quizzes as groups. That will really get them “activated”. Maybe they even get a bit competitive the way young children often get, fighting about who will be correct most of the times and taking turns to answer the questions.
ReplyDeleteThe other apps look good too and might be worked with in the same way. In a classroom, not every kid is blessed with super concentration and I find most kids get distracted by what the other kids are doing around them. One way of working around this would be to have them cooperate. Especially with these creative apps, which are intellectually stimulating and challenging, putting many brains together seems like a natural cause of action for the little ones and is sure to get them firing on all cylinders.
Finally, I think that in this age where everything is about technology, it is such a good idea to let the kids use the Iphone in their first school years. If they have the possibility to have their own Iphones, sitting alone and rubbing their fingertips on that screen seems like a perfect way to teach them English, because: 1) They will enjoy it 2) It is very natural for them, because their parents and family no doubt use these machines all the time. They will be relaxed and then more receptive. This is perhaps a better way to teach kids English than using the white board. I think that if you as a teacher bring it on yourself to emulate the kids’ creativity – if you are like me not so used to Iphones – then the young pupils will be more successful for that. There is a trend to ban mobile phones in classrooms, but why not start right now and just let these kids go wild with them? It is second nature to them, after all. They are just as familiar with Iphones as with any other toys.