Technology and apps have become vital parts to in class and out of class learning. Children respond well to learning apps. Many of these programs are user friendly and the children are not even aware of the fact that they are learning something. The program runs like a game in many cases and allows students to play by achieving educational accomplishments.
There are many types of applications that further children’s learning while utilizing game strategies. Math is one of the most focused on subjects when it comes to student friendly apps. No matter what type of school your child attends you will most likely receive some form of paperwork about a favorite math development app from your child’s teacher. Many of these math applications go over what the student is learning in school. Students are challenged to play the app at home in order to level up or earn certificates. The teachers establish free accounts. The parents are given access codes to sign their students in. The teachers are then emailed by the app when a student passes a portion of the app or levels up. Math applications are more commonly created for elementary school aged children.
Reading apps are also very popular. Many of these apps are designed like virtual libraries. The process is the same as the math application. The students’ teacher will create an account and their sign in and password information will be sent home. Parents can then access the app by their smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. The student then is often given a set reading level of books to start on. The books will be read by the student and in some cases the app will go further and quiz the student on the material they have read. Once a certain number of books are read the student then earns points to build avatars or certificates that are printable by the teacher.
Utilizing this type of technology is great for a student’s online portfolio. It shows teachers where students are excelling and where they are holding back. This also helps teachers to know if students are in fact doing additional work outside of the class room. In addition to educational apps there are also communication apps that allow parents, students and teachers to openly communicate with one another. These apps allow teachers to quickly message parents and share vital class room information. In some cases, these apps also allow for video or photo sharing. This is a nice alternative to type up lengthy emails with attachments to each parent.
As technology continues to advance there will most likely be more types of free downloadable applications for children to utilize both inside and outside of the class room. Archaic flash cards, emails and counting tools are slowly be phased out and replaced with savvy apps that can do all of the busy work virtually and quickly. Math, Reading, Art, Science, Music and even communication solutions can all be utilized via educational apps.
