iPod Touch APPs

On Friday, we got to go to the iTunes APP store and shop for APPs. Over the weekend, I continued to search for APPs for a student that I have had in the past I had the privilege of teaching S___ when he was in Grade 3. S__ was diagnosed as having Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and appears very young for his age. S__ is very adept at using the computer for entertainment, and is getting better at using the computer for educational purposes (RAZ Kids). He is very interested in penguins (loves to watch March of the Penguins, and plays Club Penguin), enjoys finding hidden objects in a hidden objects puzzle and really enjoys hands on activities in Science. S__ enjoys outside time and gym time, but often experiences difficulties in these settings for a variety of reasons including, communication problems, not understanding cause and effect, and difficulty adapting to changes in environment or routine. S__ has difficulty with social interactions with peers, memory and fine motor skills difficulties, difficulty pronouncing certain letters. S__ knows how to spell his first and last name, knows the letter from A – G consistently (A – M inconsistently). S__ loves being read to. He understands and is able to manipulate materials to show his understanding of numbers 1 – 20. He can add two numbers together using manipulatives as long as the sum is less than 21. Looking at the iPod Apps, I was interested in finding an application for addition, an application for reading and an application for Hidden Object Puzzles. Eventually I would add an alphabet awareness APP as well. While searching, one of my main concerns was feasibility of S_ using these Apps independently. Due to his Early Emergent Literacy Skills, there needs to be a lot of picture information in the programs we are using. Looking at the Apps doesn’t quite give me enough information on how user friendly these Apps will be for S_, so it will be interesting on Monday when they get downloaded to the iPod Touch. I chose Kids Math Ace – Grade School Addition and Subtraction Skills Games by Brain Counts for S__ ‘s numeracy goals. The graphics on this game appear to be similar to those on S__’s Club Penguin game (which he enjoys playing every day). The manipulatives on the screen are visually stimulating and the arrangement looks like it would be easy to count. I also like the fact that you can change the random number generator so that he is only working with numbers he is comfortable with, and change the numbers as he progresses. S__ has limited alphabet awareness, but wants to look the same as everyone else during guided reading and independent reading times. Currently, he is either pulled from the class for extra support, or to “help” the principal, or he is on the computer on RAZ kids. The difficulty with these solutions is that he is removed from the rest of the class, so he looks different from everyone else. With the iPod touch, he could sit at his desk or at any of the comfy reading spots with the rest of the students. For his reading component, I choose Read Me Stories – Children’s Books by 8Interactive. I like that this App provides a new talking picture book every day. This will eliminate some of the attention difficulties he experiences while on RAZ kids. He gets bored with the same books all the time. I had some difficulty choosing the third application. I found an App called Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville by Method Solutions, which looks promising. The graphics look amazing, but my only concern with this APP is will the list of objects to be found in picture format or word format? If it is on picture or symbol format, this will be an excellent APP for S__. If the list is in word format, S__ would not be able to independently use this APP. I also found Highlights Hidden Pictures, which has objects on the side that you are supposed to find in the black and white picture. As you click on the object in the picture, the object gets coloured. I prefer the graphics of Yard sale over Highlights, so Yard Sale would be my first choice. However, if Yard Sale is not an APP he can use independently, Highlights would be a better option. There were so many APPs that I wanted to try. I wish that I had access to an iPod touch and these APPs when I had S__ as a student. I think it would have enhanced his experience in the classroom as well as in social settings with his peers.