As an IT coordinator and Learning Support teacher in my school for the past 20 years, one of the questions that I am asked ALL of the time is…. “Do you have any software that you recommend for x….” Be it place value, reading, spelling or maths concepts… teachers and parents want to give their children practice on the skills in the classroom or at home without a lot of fuss.
Heretofore I would have recommended software programs or websites they could try with the children but now that every home and many classrooms either have or are in the act of getting tablets/smartphones be they ios or android I find myself more and more pointing them towards apps. I find Apps are a great way to practice and hone a curricular area as they are easy for the child to access and engage with. No booting up a laptop and waiting for a program to load. With apps they are up and running with their learning much quicker with less hassle.
So how am I educating myself as to what are the best apps for particular curricular areas. The answer is simple. Appolearning. www.appolearning.com/
Appolearning is a website that provides parents, educators, and even kids reviews for a variety of different apps. Their system is a bit different than the traditional, “Here’s a great app that I just found…” approach. Apps are sorted into categories by age and target skill, then the top five apps in each category- as determined by the reviewer, is reviewed.
I have learned about some fantastic apps through this resource. In the past, Appolearning reviews were only available on their website, but now the developers have created a fantastic iPad app, with an Android one to follow, you can download it from the Appstore.
There are thousands of educational apps created for the iPad and Android, yet only a precious few are worth downloading. AppoLearning lets parents/educators know which educational apps they should encourage their children to use, while also detailing the skills that are taught within each recommended application.
All of the apps endorsed by appoLearning were curated and evaluated by a panel of teachers, parents, and app gurus. Every app that they showcase is given a Report Card based on a proprietary appoLearning Rubric. Ratings are based on a number of factors, including Educational Content, Child Appeal, Assessment, Features and Design, Value, and Safety and Privacy.
In short, they not only tell you if an educational app is worth downloading, but also why.
AppoLearning showcases the best educational apps available by subject within four core age groups. They publish separate and comprehensive directories for Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School and High School. Each age-specific directory features a taxonomy of subjects that will expand over time.
They are currently featuring the five best apps within each subject. All of their selections include extensive report card evaluations (measured on a scale from zero to 100) and other supporting information to inform your download decision. The appoLearning team pays close attention to each category, and will modify rankings and evaluations as new apps are introduced and older titles are updated.
If you have a suggestion for an educational app (or category of apps) that you think they should feature then you can let them know through their website. This video gives a good overview of what appolearning is about