USING APPLICATIONS

IN THE CLASSROOM

Apps for Science Standards

NC Standard: 4.L.1

Chosen for Grade 4, but

appropriate for all grade
levels
The Project Noah app allows students students to get involved with local and
global conservation efforts, explore what is in their own backyard, key life science
principles, etc.

Classroom Examples
The class could use the app to discover was real people are helping to
conserve nature, then post their own efforts to the classroom page.
There is also a place to have the kids identify and document the animals they
find in their own backyard!!

Pros:
This app offers students the chance to learn about conservation, and
how they can get involved. The interactive documentations also allows
the students to keep track of their own wildlife "sightings"! It is a great
way to get students involved with local and global wildlife efforts. I also
feel that this app provides the best of both worlds; technology meets the
great outdoors!

Cons:
I found very few concerns with this app. My only worry would be a few
fearless students might get hurt trying to add pictures of certain wild
creatures to their "sightings" (getting stung by bees, for example).

CLASSIFY IT!
Appropriate for grades
3-8

The Classify It! app allows students to learn what different organisms have in
common, and teaches them how they can be sorted and grouped.

Classroom Examples
The class could use the app to help explain the differences among animals of
the same population (environment changes, etc...)
The app allows students to earn "Creature Cards", which they can then use to
learn more about certain animals. Then, the class can discuss how the animal
meets their needs in order to survive.

Pros:
This app allows students to learn about the classification system, as
well as identifying different types of animals and their environments. It
is a wonderfully interactive app that covers everything from amoebas to
zebras.

Cons:
One difficulty with this app is that it is very involved, so it is commonly
used as a part of group assignments, rather than individual study.

AppsforTechnology

NC Standard: 2.SE.1

Digital Passport for Kids

Appropriate for ages
7-11

This app is all about online safety and correct usage. Once the kids complete all
the levels, they are awarded a Digital Passport. The program covers: passwords,
cyberbullying, privacy, search, etc...
Classroom Examples
The Digital Passport would be a wonderful way to enhance student's digital
citizenship. The educator could use this app to enforce correct behavior online.
Another classroom idea could be to enstate a class "rule" that no child may use
the internet without first having obtained their "passport".

Pros:
The pros for this app outweighs the cons by leaps and bounds. Digital
Passport covers the whole spectrum of internet use, points out the
dangers that need to be avoided, and how to avoid them. In a digital
world, this app covers important topics that need to be discussed.

Cons:
This app is optimized for iPad use, so it wouldn't be available in schools
that use Windows.

Webonauts Internet Acadamy

Appropriate for ages
8-10

This app teaches kids all about online safety and digital citizenship. It can be used
online and offline as well. Each scenario confronts issues regarding identity,
privacy, credibility, and web safety.
Classroom Examples
Webonauts Internet Academy is another option to use as a springboard to
correct and safe internet use.
The completion of certain levels could be used as a preliminary assessment for
technology standards.

Pros:
Another good choice for classroom implementation to enforce good
behavior online. It covers most of the important topics that need to be
taught at an early age.

Cons:
It may not be as engaging, or as fun, as Digital Passport for Kids.

Apps for
Social
Studies
NC Standard: 2.H.1

World Book - This Day in History

Appropriate for all ages

It is a multimedia calendar that shows historical events for any day. You can listen
to to presidential speeches on the day they occurred, listen to national anthems of
other countries on the day they became a nation, see important birthdays, deaths,
and many more events.
Classroom Examples
This would be a fun app to have as an accessory within the classroom. On
major anniversaries, the class could right essays or discuss as a group, in
regards to the event.

Pros:
The amount of "daily fun facts" readily available for students has the
potential to inspire the students to want to know more. By including the
relevancy of the current day, it helps to bridge the past to the present.

Cons:
Not all the daily historical facts are of major events, so sometimes the
interest is lacking. Also, the search is restricted to days only, not by
content.

Social Studies Friendzy

App covers 1st - 8th
grade curricula

This app covers curricula spanning 1st grade through 8th grade standards, and
allows kids to play the lessons alone, with friends, or with other kids around the
world. It also allows parents to view their child's score and time spent playing.
Classroom Examples
The class could use the app to help create a timeline of events over a
designated period of time (Civil War, Industrial Age, etc...)

Pros:
This app has so much information available to a wide age span, which
offers many opportunities for the advancement in learning past ones
grade level. It also allows for group play, which helps inspire and
engage.

Cons:
It only allows you to play 3 levels before you have to start paying for the
game. This would make it difficult if the budget isn't in place.

Standards For

Music
NC Standard: 2.ML.3

Tune Train
Appropriate for ages 6-8

Tune Train teaches kids to compose melodies through a gaming experience. It is

based in a small town governed by musical rules. The people represent musical
notes, and the train line represents the musical melody created by the kids.
Classroom Examples
Use this app to reinforce vocabulary such as "pitch" and "melody".
Have the class create their own music, with a title, to share with the class.

Pros:
This app will quickly engage the classroom with it's fun method of
combining music measures with games. Also, each kid is allowed to be
creative and unique, which can help them find their own sound.

Cons:
Tune Train is compatible for iPad, but not Windows.

Musical Me
Appropriate for ages 3-8

This app teaches the students notes, rhythm, and pitch. It offers a variety of
"instruments" and popular children's songs (Old McDonald, Row Row Row Your
Boat, etc...). It also has an option that will allow students to create their own music
by moving notes on a staff.
Classroom Examples
Use the staff measurement to teach the lines and spaces on the treble and bass
staff.

Pros:
This app offers the chance to teach students rhythm, and allows them to
pick which song and which instrument to learn by. The recognizable
songs will help to engage the students quickly, without having to take
the time to learn each song first.

Cons:
This app is mostly designed for smaller kids, so the application for use in
the classroom is limited.

Apps for English

Language Arts
NC Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.A

Word Bingo
Appropriate for ages 6-8

This app offers 4 games aimed at teaching sight words. The 4 different games are
Word Bingo, Spelling Practice, Word Fling, and Word it Up. The game also tallies
up how many words the player gets wrong, and places them in a "Report Card" for
further study.
Classroom Examples
This would be a great way to reinforce lessons directed at spelling common
words.
It would also help advance students beyond sounding out words.

Pros:
This app tackles vocabulary words from many different angles, which
would help ensure students actually understand what they are learning.
The score feature provides an incentive to achieve better and higher
scores, while also maintaining accuracy.

Cons:
The app is a little tricky to navigate, so younger kids may need adult help
from time to time.

Bluster!
Appropriate for ages 6-8

Bluster helps teach students vocabulary words by using matching games. It offers
a single player mode, team player mode, and a head-to-head mode. Each game
teaches synonyms, rhyming words, prefixes, homophones, etc...

Classroom Examples
Have the class separate into teams and see who can get "beat the clock".
Have students play separately to reinforce the current lesson of the day (match
all the rhyming words).

Pros:
This app is directed at important vocabulary lessons, and makes each
lesson fun by allowing the student to tackle each lesson in various ways
(single player, team mode, or versus). It also moves away from word
memorization and actually teaches the students different vocabulary
lessons they'll need to carry with them from year to year.

Cons:
The surprising weather component could become distracting to learning,
and may even cause some students to become disengaged.

Bibliography
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rGi4MuJFw7BhDThQKkUs5192
AkB0eMAimhxkogXZPyM/edit?usp=sharing