Reflection

App Review
This is relevant to my future classroom because it is important to know what apps make good apps to use inside the classroom for students. I would probably use this for my future classroom for level one readers, as long as the animations were not too distracting to the students. I would use it as a tool for my level one readers. I would consider purchasing a package for my level two and three readers if the app seemed to work well with the level one readers. This badge was helpful to me as a future teacher because I learned how to make a video of my ipad screen using QuickTime. I can use this in my future classroom to show the students app and things on my ipad. 

I really enjoyed this app! I could definitely see using this in my classroom, with a struggling reader or someone learning sigh words. I would even buy the full version because I loved this!  I could see this being used in a kinder first or second grade classroom. I would love to use this during centers!

I really enjoyed doing this badge and experimenting with quicktime. I feel familiar with how to work this app and how to better review something I want to use in my classroom. This is very relevant to my future classroom so I know what elements to look at in certain apps and how to better choose ones that will be good for my students. I liked Endless Numbers because it was easy to use and learn from. 

I have used PhET simulations in previous classes, and I enjoy how easy to understand and simple their simulations are. They are fun, yet not distracting, and they illustrate their point very well. I will likely use their simulations in future classes.

I feel that this is relevant to my future classroom because it helps me become more familiar with the process of critiquing an app or a website that is meant to be educational. I want to make sure that in the future I know how to find beneficial interactives for my students to use. I want to find fun and creative ways for my students to grow and develop their knowledge. This will also help me to say that I know how to sort the good apps and sites from the bad apps and sites, when talking to my Principal and other Teachers. 

I think it is helpful to know how to use Quicktime to make tutorial/ review. Educators could use this to provide their students with step by step video instructions. I also really liked the app that I reviewed. It was also important to see the criteria that's needed for a good app. 

This assignment has helped me to become more knowledgeable on how to evaluate iPad apps that I may use in my future classrooms. I will definitely use this knowledge when I plan to implement iPad apps into my curriculum. It will help me make the most of my students' learning experiences because I will be able to distinguish  between apps are ideal and support learning in many aspects from apps that are just games, or have other issues like popups and lack of differentiation.

Overall, I think it was great to explore educational apps, as well as see what other students have found. I had an elementary ed major at OSU recommend this app for me to review. I think having apps in the classroom are a great way to substitute using worksheets for the students to display their knowledge. I also think it was beneficial to learn how to do a recording of a screen with your laptop/i-pad because this would make it easier to record missed lessons or explanations for students in the future.

Overall, I had a great time creating this video about evaluating an educational app that I love, Scratch Jr. I was hesitant at first making the video because I was worried I would mess up, laugh, and not present the app as I should. However, I believe that I learned how to look at the overall app, play around with it, and teach one about an app and how important and beneficial it can be in a classroom by using the App Evaluation rubric. I now have a different view point in looking at apps now because i will be searching for things like the ones I talked about in the video. This is relevant in my classroom because I know what types of apps that are appropriate enough to look for to have in my classroom.

I believe this app is relevant to my future teaching career because I am going to be teaching early childhood, and it is a great app for younger children. The guidelines we use to review the app is also beneficial because it requires you to review important features of the app that could or could not benefit your students. I could use this to replace worksheets, access prior knowledge, as a center, for an activity in small groups or whole group, and so much more. I will use this app in the future and will use the guidelines discussed in class to review apps.

I enjoyed the Number Pieces application because it is a great way for students to practice solving place value math problems using math manipulatives. I could use this in my future classroom when introducing my students to simple mathematics problems, such as addition and subtraction. I could create math problems for the students to solve and students could also use the manipulatives to create their own mathematic problems. It would be a good application that they could use during centers to work problems with one another. There is also a Basic Numbers Pieces application that is a simpler version of the application that I could use in my future classroom as well!

This app review assignment was very helpful to me because I was able to really learn how to evaluate what aspects a good app has versus a bad app. I think I understand more about what good criteria I need to look for in apps before introducing them to my students and using them in my classroom. In my future classroom, I will use when planning for lessons and activities where I want to incorporate ipad apps. I will evaluate what the app has and if it is appropriate for my students and if it is beneficial to their learning.