App Showcase

I learned about a couple of great apps last Friday that look perfect for math - Number Pieces and Number Pieces Basic by the Math Learning Center.

What is Number Pieces?  

It is a technology version of the base ten blocks teachers use in the classroom when they are teaching place values.  Students gain a deeper understanding of place value while working on their computation skills with multiple digit numbers.  Students can regroup, add, subtract, multiply and divide.  While most teachers have access to and use physical manipulatives of the base ten blocks, some students will enjoy using technology for learning these basic math skills.  This is a great option for implementing differentiated instruction and a math center alternative.  I can also envision teachers using this app for introducing the base ten blocks and how they work on the "big screen."  The only downside with this app is it's for iPads only.

While I was searching for the app links to include in this blog post, I also found a website where you can use Number Pieces right on the computer.  So if you don't have iPads or only have a limited number of iPads, you could also use the computer.  When you go to the website, click the 'i' in the lower right corner for How-to instructions.  This would work well with a SMART Board or up on the "big screen."

Storia on the iPad

Storia is a reader app for Scholastic eBooks.  You can purchase eBooks with your regular Scholastic account.  You can even use your points to purchase eBooks.  Below is a short demo video of Storia:

Here are some additional things to know about Storia:

1. Storia allows you make up to 40 bookshelves which you can name, however, it is best not to use student names.  Many teachers use genres or reading groups to name their bookshelves.
2. You can sync up to 40 devices on your Storia account.
3. When you shop eBooks, you can download their free book of the month that appears in the scrolling images.  This month there are two easter books that are free:

 Easter Eggs Everywhere! - The Easter Bunny's running late for Easter, and none of the eggs have been decorated! So when a sly fox offers to sell the Easter Bunny a super-duper egg-painting machine, he takes the fox up on the offer. But the machine doesn't work as the Easter Bunny hopes, and now he's in even bigger trouble! How will he get all the eggs ready in time for the big day?

Ogres Don't Hunt Easter Eggs - It's been raining ever since Brutus Bigg arrived in town. And even though he's supposed to fix up the park for the town Easter egg hunt, he seems to be messing it up so no one will go there and bother him. Is Mr. Bigg an ogre trying to claim the park as his home? The Bailey School kids are going to find out...but will they be able to stop him in time for the Spring Festival?

I personally had some trouble getting the free books downloaded, but called up Scholastic and they were most helpful in getting them into my account.  In fact, they offered to add more than one copy so I could put it in all my bookshelves.  Since you can only put one copy of a book on one bookshelf, this would have been great if I wanted multiple reading groups to read the same book.

Pin It

Pinterest allows you to visually "bookmark" all those great articles, ideas and thoughts you find out on the Internet.  Users create pinboards that help them organize their collection for ease of searching and sharing.  You do have to receive an invitation to join Pinterest.

Once you start using Pinterest, you can create you own boards, follow other people's boards and even collaborate on a board with other Pinterest users.  Educators have started using this new to collect bulletin board ideas, classroom decor and organization, lesson plans, virtual field trips and more.

There have been some copyright issues recently connected with Pinterest, so make sure you read this blog post - Do You Have Permission to Pin? - before you start pinning and sharing.

Here are some additional resources to get you started and give ideas on how educators are and should be using Pinterest:
Pinterest 4 Education
37 Ways Teachers Should Use Pinterest
30 Inspiring Pinterest Pins for Teachers


Here are some Pinterest boards that you might want to check out:
Common Core Standards Board
iPads
First Grade Common Core Math
Classroom
Education
Technology - How it Relates to Education
Teaching Ideas and Apps
iPad Apps for Administrators

*I have been told that Pinterest is a "girly" site.  There is a more masculine site that works similar to Pinterest called ScoopIt!  You do not need to be invited to join this site.

New Apps!

 Chicken Coop Fractions Game

Cost:  Free

Description from iTunes:  In this hilarious educational game you will be shown a fraction and your job is [to] estimate the decimal equivalent by placing a nest on a number line.  Our hens are mathematical experts and they will fire their eggs towards the correct answer.  If your estimate is good the eggs will be caught in the nest but if you're too far out it all gets very messy.

This game was demonstrated at my Tech Integration Group (TIG) this past Friday.  We played it as a whole group and found the math challenging, especially when you get to the higher levels.  This would be a great game for individual and whole group practice.

WatchKnowLearn Educational Videos

Cost:  Free

This app is a companion to the WatchKnowLearn website which provides free educational videos from grades K-12.

You can look for videos based on featured, category or subject search.  However, I did not find a way to create a playlist like you can in YouTube.  Hopefully, this will be a future update to this app.

Kakooma

Cost:  $0.99

Description from iTunes:  KAKOOMA is deceptively simple:  from a group of numbers, find one numbers that is the sum of two others.  Seems easy, right?  But looks can be deceiving.  There will be times when you can't find the number, even though it's sitting right in front of you.

This game was demonstrated at TIG this past Friday.  We played it as a whole group and found it semi-challenging.  It was recommended to use this game with the whole class as an exit activity before recess or lunch.  It keeps your brain thinking and the problem solving/math skills fresh.