Searching for the Educational Apps You Need

​We’d promised to share some of our favorite education apps in our next newsletter.  So here are some useful media search tools and a handful of apps and web-based tools we love. 

​If you’re looking for a mobile app tool and can’t find it, give us a shout.  We’ll give you our best recommendations from our expert teachers.

​Search Engines We Use Include: 

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​​SpedApps Project is a Special Education App search that was created by the Research Center for Educational Technology at Kent State University in Ohio.

As described by the project:

​"The overarching mission of the project is to develop a deeper understanding of the role of mobile applications in Special Education. The project team is currently working on three main goals: a) develop a catalog of existing apps for special education as well as any studies that document the use of mobile learning in special education; b) conduct additional research studies with apps given current gaps in the literature; and c) develop new apps for mobile learning within special education, specifically focusing on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) content."
See http://spedapps.kent.edu/about.php

AppEdReview, created by two Coastal Carolina University professors,  aims to be the leading authority on educational apps.  They have developed a research-based app evaluation rubric.

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Apps for Teaching (All Levels) and Appapedia, The Encyclopedia of Educational Apps are provided and supported by the Tennessee Board of Regents Emerging Technologies & Mobilization organization.  
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These tools provide a collection of recommended apps from educators and organizations for the purpose of identifying useful educational apps.

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Common Sense Media publishes reviews and rating for all kids media including movies, apps, books, games, TV, and websites.

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​​Some Truly Educational and Engaging Fun Apps and Web-Based Tools:
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​Buncee
Easy to use for students of all ages, Buncee encourages users to think and create. An easy presentation tool to communicate with multi-media tools. 

Letter School
For younger students, this app provides a great sequence to hear, see, and make lower and upper case letters. Reflects learning by doing, all senses involved.  Hearing the letter and sound.  Seeing the letter, shape and trajectory when forming.  Experiencing the letter by making the letter. 

Kahoot
Kahoot allows the user to create, play and share learning games for any subject. It's an extremely easy tool that adds fun and engagement to any content. Great for all ages.
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JECT
JECT is a web-based physics game.  The goal of the game is to throw a bouncy ball into a circle. It starts easy and gets harder.  Good individually or with pairs of students. It is quietly truly entertaining and you can’t help but learn.  Great for relaxation and calm. Best for upper elementary and up.
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Sugar, Sugar
This is a web-based problem-solving game. This game is all about engineering a solution. The player has to engineer a sequence that will deliver the materials through the right processes to the right destinations. It starts off easy, but gets challenging quickly. Works individually or in small groups. Best for upper elementary and up.