Shopping in the ITunes store proved to be more fun than I had anticipated. As it is with any new store you shop in, navigating the store was difficult at first until I learned where things were kept. I spent some time looking around and getting my bearnings before I remembered why I had come to the store in the first place. Taking that back into consideration, I began my mission to find APPS that would suit my student's needs.
Fictional Profile of Student
My student is ten years old. He is going into a Grade Four class with many strengths and some challenges that need consistent attention. He has a very strong working memory, and can recall facts easily and accurately. He has very good recall of math facts but does not like to work with math manipulatives. His spelling skills are good but he does not enjoy the writing process. Generating ideas and getting these ideas down on paper is a difficult process even with one-on-one attention. He tends to get combative, verbally and sometimes physically, when the expectation is that he produce a piece of writing. He has a behavioural IPP as well as an IPP for reading and writing. He is extremely stubborn and once he has made up his mind he is He has been diagnosed with ADHD and has spent six months at the IWK Behavioural Clinic to develop strategies for dealing with anger and aggression which can manifest into verbal and/or aggressive acts. Triggers for negative behaviour include not getting his own way, and adult and peer relationships in which he feels he is not being fairly treated. He is very active and likes to play soccer and baseball at outside play times. He is able to control his anger during games but gets very upset if the bell rings and his team looses. He enjoys doing word searches. He enjoys playing computer games with peers but becomes upset if the games includes a score component and his peer wins. He has been known to throw things when he is angry. He generally displays three or four episodes of varying degrees of negative behaviour each day. And, did I forget to mention, that he does not like loud noise!
Shopping
When shopping for APPS for this students I had to consider his needs and interests. As well, I had to consider whether the APP should have a level of competition to it which would not be hard to the point that he would have difficulty bettering his own score. I have included a rationale for each of the APPS I selected.
Timed Reading Practice
This would be a good APP for my students because it would encourage him to practice reading fluently while trying to beat the clock. He enjoys competing against himself so this timed activity would be fun and practical to his learning needs.
Rory's Story Cubes
I will need to take a closer look at this APP to determine whether or not it would suit my student's writing needs. It appears to come with story starters but as I do not have an IPod I am unable to download it to view all of its functions.
Word Search Kids
As mentioned earlier, my student loves doing Word Searches. He uses them as a calming down tool but can also use them as a means of avoiding work. I would set this APP up as a reward for when he has completed parts or all of an assigned activity. This program appears to be a good level for a Grade 4 student. From what I have seen, the words are similar to those he would be learning to decode in Grade 4.
Math Tutor
My student has strong recall skills for math operations but does not like to work with manipulatives. This APP is very visually appealing for a Grade 4 student. It has many levels and these levels challenge students to engage in math in many ways to help them understand how operations work. You can also track your daily progress with this APP which would make it attractive for my student.
Soundwaves
This APP was chosen because my student does not like loud noises. He finds it very difficult to concentrate in a noisy environment. He could wear earphones to listen to the soundwaves. The earphones would serve as a sound barrier to unwanted noise and help to focus him on the activity he is working on.
Jabulaaaaaaaani
This is a wild game of soccer that has the ball flying all over the place. I selected this APP because of the student's interest in soccer. A secondary purpose for selecting this game is that it is very difficult to win. The hope would be to teach the student that winning is not important so that he could carry this message into a real game of soccer with his peers.
As I expressed earlier, I have had quite a time shopping in the ITunes store. Before taking this course I had no idea of what could be purchased, nor did I have any understanding of what an IPod/IPad/IPhone was. I have seen people using them but had no idea of the amazing capability of this device. I am awed by the mind that created such a sensational little learning tool! I'm pretty sure I gotta have me one of those!!!
Fictional Profile of Student
My student is ten years old. He is going into a Grade Four class with many strengths and some challenges that need consistent attention. He has a very strong working memory, and can recall facts easily and accurately. He has very good recall of math facts but does not like to work with math manipulatives. His spelling skills are good but he does not enjoy the writing process. Generating ideas and getting these ideas down on paper is a difficult process even with one-on-one attention. He tends to get combative, verbally and sometimes physically, when the expectation is that he produce a piece of writing. He has a behavioural IPP as well as an IPP for reading and writing. He is extremely stubborn and once he has made up his mind he is He has been diagnosed with ADHD and has spent six months at the IWK Behavioural Clinic to develop strategies for dealing with anger and aggression which can manifest into verbal and/or aggressive acts. Triggers for negative behaviour include not getting his own way, and adult and peer relationships in which he feels he is not being fairly treated. He is very active and likes to play soccer and baseball at outside play times. He is able to control his anger during games but gets very upset if the bell rings and his team looses. He enjoys doing word searches. He enjoys playing computer games with peers but becomes upset if the games includes a score component and his peer wins. He has been known to throw things when he is angry. He generally displays three or four episodes of varying degrees of negative behaviour each day. And, did I forget to mention, that he does not like loud noise!
Shopping
When shopping for APPS for this students I had to consider his needs and interests. As well, I had to consider whether the APP should have a level of competition to it which would not be hard to the point that he would have difficulty bettering his own score. I have included a rationale for each of the APPS I selected.
Timed Reading Practice
This would be a good APP for my students because it would encourage him to practice reading fluently while trying to beat the clock. He enjoys competing against himself so this timed activity would be fun and practical to his learning needs.
Rory's Story Cubes
I will need to take a closer look at this APP to determine whether or not it would suit my student's writing needs. It appears to come with story starters but as I do not have an IPod I am unable to download it to view all of its functions.
Word Search Kids
As mentioned earlier, my student loves doing Word Searches. He uses them as a calming down tool but can also use them as a means of avoiding work. I would set this APP up as a reward for when he has completed parts or all of an assigned activity. This program appears to be a good level for a Grade 4 student. From what I have seen, the words are similar to those he would be learning to decode in Grade 4.
Math Tutor
My student has strong recall skills for math operations but does not like to work with manipulatives. This APP is very visually appealing for a Grade 4 student. It has many levels and these levels challenge students to engage in math in many ways to help them understand how operations work. You can also track your daily progress with this APP which would make it attractive for my student.
Soundwaves
This APP was chosen because my student does not like loud noises. He finds it very difficult to concentrate in a noisy environment. He could wear earphones to listen to the soundwaves. The earphones would serve as a sound barrier to unwanted noise and help to focus him on the activity he is working on.
Jabulaaaaaaaani
This is a wild game of soccer that has the ball flying all over the place. I selected this APP because of the student's interest in soccer. A secondary purpose for selecting this game is that it is very difficult to win. The hope would be to teach the student that winning is not important so that he could carry this message into a real game of soccer with his peers.
As I expressed earlier, I have had quite a time shopping in the ITunes store. Before taking this course I had no idea of what could be purchased, nor did I have any understanding of what an IPod/IPad/IPhone was. I have seen people using them but had no idea of the amazing capability of this device. I am awed by the mind that created such a sensational little learning tool! I'm pretty sure I gotta have me one of those!!!
Jeanette,
ReplyDeleteYou found great apps. I do word seraches with my students pretty often, they would like this app. I like that you found an app that would provide some challenge for your student (the soccer one). I agree that students should see more to a game than winning. I should start a list of all these goods ones people find. I have to say, when I was looking I don't even remember seeing the ones you picked out. There are sooooo many.