Student of the Week Display

 JACK SCHMELL - 4th Grader @IDEAL School



I decided to display some of the work done by fabulous student's during BrainiApps iPad Learning Sessions. Congrats to Jack Schmell of the IDEAL School for being the first piece to be displayed here on the BrainiApps blog! Stay tuned for more displayed projects :)

Patrick McNeece
Creator/Instructor - BrainiApps, LLC.
www.brainiapps.com

Phonics game :)

Creating phonics games with your children is a great way to get involved in their learning. You can also use this game to play with your kids, or if you're a teacher of course you could use it in the classroom. This is a photo of a recent Letter-Correspondence (Phonics) game that I created using simple everyday materials.

Materials: Scissors, glue, cardboard or file folders, computer with printer for images, 4 Ziplock bags, and a pizza box.

The Objective: To get children to make a letter relation to a sound using photos/images. (example: Onion starts with the letter O)

**Phonics are a vital part of elementary curriculum and using games is a great way to get kids involved and keep them engaged.**

Game Title: "Order Up!" - A Fun Letter Corresponding Game for Children

 

 

Toontastic!

The new Toontastic App is amazing! I recently discovered this app during my daily educational app searches on the App Store. The developers did a wonderful job of creating interesting backgrounds, templates, characters, and forms of sharing the completed animated cartoons. Parents and Toontastic users can register an online account and view their children's work as well as others in the Toontastic community. Check it out! http://toontube.launchpadtoys.com and the App can be purchased on the Apple App Store. Worth every penny for sure :)

New example :)

Students used Encyclopedia Britannica's Solar System App and the GoSkyWatch App to research and pull photos for their digital news articles. Here is a brief example :)

"Why the iPad Matters" - Wonderful Article

In this article are some great scenarios for educators and students. Chris Dawson's comments on digital portfolios are exactly what we try to accomplish at BrainiApps. The collaboration methods mentioned make me think of the endless amounts of interactions both students and teachers can have. I agree that if implemented correctly, this tool "MATTERS" big time in the world of education. I realize the article is a few months old but still a MUST read.
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-reviews/1787-education-why-ipad-absolutely-matters.html

Patrick McNeece
Creator/Instructor - BrainiApps, LLC.
patrick@brainiapps.com

Example Project :)

Here is an example project created during a BrainiApps iPad learning session.

Top Educational Apps for iPads

We use several well developed educational apps during BrainiApps iPad learning sessions. Of course we have our favorites though! Included are some reasons why these particular apps are more useful than others on the market. They are in no particular order, just our 5 favorites!


1. Story Buddy - A great way for children to create their very own digital story books. Books are limited to 15 pages. However the features are pretty cool and really easy to use.
2. Life Cards - This is a favorite because there are so many useful templates to choose from. Our favorite is the newspaper article template. During sessions with BrainiApps children research current events or created informational short stories. We then put the information into the template and create digital news articles. SUPER FUN :)
3. Encyclopedia Britannica's Dinosaur App - Encyclopedia Britannica has produced apps on several topics other than just dinosaurs and they are all wonderful. This app has tons of great features. The children's favorite feature seems to be the Dinosaur Dig where they get to dig up dinosaur bones and determine which dinosaur they found.
4. Pages - We use this app a lot to tie in what the children have learned and create a culminating project. The poster layout is great for children to create posters about certain topics our lessons will cover. With new technology comes new ways to create research papers and presentations on. Pages is a great app that will assist children in producing creative word documents.
5. Rocket Math - This a wonderful app that keeps children engaged for hours practicing their math facts. Any app that gives the appearance of being a game while staying truly educational is great. This app allows children to build creative rockets and motivates them to practice those addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication facts.