As I was researching math apps in iTunes, it quickly donned on me that people can call an app "educational" and mark it as "math" without it being educational or there being much math in the app. So I caution teachers, and parents, all the time that just because it says MATH in the app store doesn't mean it is good. Well, now I have had a similar insight...just because an app is listed as a "game" doesn't mean it cannot be educational. Here is how my discovery happened...
Recently I have become a bit concerned with how addicted my 5 1/2-year-old son is to the game Subway Surfer. This app connects to our Facebook account (my husband's, my 5 YO does not do Facebook) and you can see the high score of all of your Facebook friends who play the game. This is what spurred his addiction. His 13-year-old cousin had a high score of over 800,000 points and our son, the competitive boy that he is, became obsessed with beating his cousin's score. But with his high score only being around 30,000 points we thought it was impossible to ever reach that score. So one night we called his cousin to find out how in the world he got a score that high. The secret to upping his Subway Surfer score held so much mathematics along with a game he came up with today that spurred me to write this post.
I will start with the mathematics within Subway Surfer that helped him increase his high score. Subway Surfer has a score multiplier. It starts out at x1 and after you complete a set of missions your multiplier increases by one, all the way up to a max multiplier of x30. So as my son completed sets of missions he saw his multiplier increase by one and I heard him several times saying what his multiplier would be after he completes his next set, thus thinking about what +1 would be. There was also a lot of mathematics happening as he tried to complete the missions as well. The missions are things like "roll 40 times in one run." So during his runs he would be counting his rolls to try to get 40 before he crashed...lots of practice counting while playing his favorite app. There was a lot of counting down and being able to connect to number bonds when trying to finish missions. For example, there are lots of missions like "jump over 12 trains." These mission didn't have to be completed in one run, so after he crashed he would check his missions and it would show him how many trains he had left to jump over. After a run, he checked and it said "9 left." So I asked him, "If you had to jump 12 but now you have 9 left, how many trains have you jumped over so far?" I explicitly have to point these math problems out to him, but after asking those questions a time or two I heard him figuring those problems out without me even prompting him on later missions.
Now on to what prompted me to write today. My son's high score is now up over 1 million and he has the top score in our network of friends, thus he has no one to compete against. So today he came up with a new competition. He decided that we should take turns playing and then compare who collected the most coins in one run. So he played first and got 452 coins (and yes he says the amount himself...so we are working on reading large numbers). Then I played and got 213. Right away he knew that he had more. It got interesting later because I ended up crashing before I even got 10 coins and he decided that if we crashed with less than 10 coins we could have another turn. About two turns later, he crashed with less than 100 coins and decided to change the rule to less than 100 coins...which I gladly let him so that we could work on numbers less than and more than 100 rather than 10 since he is pretty solid in numbers less than 10.
There is a whole lot more math that I see him doing when playing Subway Surfer, but this post is going on too long and with three little ones running around I better go see what they are getting into. But for now download the Subway Surfer app and start investigating how these game apps can really be educational. Are there any other unlikely "game" apps that you have found that actually build some great math thinking??
Top 10 Uses for an iPad in K-2 classrooms
10. Reader (iBooks, Type on PDF, eBooks) - iBooks is where I store all of my articles I am reading (I even have libraries within iBooks for Special Ed, Common Core, etc.). However, I am the type who likes to take notes while I read and iBooks does not have that ability. So if I am reading a research article I usually open it in Type on PDF so that I can take notes, type comments, and highlight on the article and then email it to myself and I can open it again in iBooks with all my notations. You can also use iBooks to share eBooks with the whole class. Check out my list of eBooks that are math related HERE.
9. Whiteboard (Dry Erase) - If you are lucky enough to have a 1-to-1 iPad classroom, getting the Dry Erase app lets the students use their iPad like the whiteboard. Then you can have them hold up their iPad to show answers or quickly share it via AirPlay to the whole class (see #4 below). If you just have a teacher iPad you can have the kids write on it and it will project up so that everyone can see their work.
8. Create Presentations (Keynote) - Keynote is the Mac version of PowerPoint. I create all my presentations on Keynote. There might be other options - let me know if you have a good one! Just an FYI, the functionality of Keynote on the iPad is not the same as it is on a Mac computer. I used to create on the iPad until I got my Macbook, now I create on my Macbook and use the iPad to present.
7. Record a lesson for an absent student (Educreations) - Educreations is a virtual whiteboard, but has the capability of recording (drawings and sounds). You can import pictures from your camera, if needed, to help illustrate a certain concept. Or just draw right on the blank screen and discuss the concept your class is working on. Once it is recorded, you save it to your lessons and when a child returns from an absence you can have them watch it, or if their parents have the Educreations app on their device you can send them a link to watch it while the child is with them.
6. Virtual Notebook (Penultimate) - Penultimate is a virtual notebook that will enable your students to save their notes or their work in that notebook format. You can create multiple notebooks within the app, which is great if you have to share iPads with other classrooms or if you just have a small number of iPads that kids have to share.
5. Videotape student thinking (the built-in camera & Vid Editor FREE) - A great way to enhance a student‘s portfolio is to record their thinking. If a student has come up with a great strategy or you just want to document them reaching a certain new level of achievement, open up the Camera on your iPad and record a video. Then if you want to edit that video, use the Vid Editor FREE app. It will allow you to cut out parts of a video you don’t want or you can even combine multiple videos (like to show where a student was at the beginning of the year to where they are now).
4. Instantly share student work (AirServerApp, Skitch, & iPad Stand with CamDraw) - Ok, this one might be long...there are so many ways you can share students’ work!
3. Record student justifications or have them collaborate to create a lesson (Educreations) - I have already mentioned Educreations, but it is so fabulous I thought I’d do it again! My favorite way to use this app is to have students recored their thinking as they justify how they solved a problem (Think Video Portfolio!!!). Once you download the app on your iPad you can check out my 5-year-old son justifying how he knows an amount during a subitizing activity HERE, (FYI...he was just learning how to use the app and liked playing with the pen function:). You can also have a group of students collaborate to create a lesson to share with the whole class. Sometimes children are shy about getting in front of a whole class, this will allow them record themselves talking and creating and then share it without having to physically be at the front of the room.
2. Compare/Contrast Strategies or compile pics of students’ thinking throughout the quarter (the built-in camera & PicStitch) - PicStitch allows you to make a collage out of pictures. I’ve used this app to take two pictures of student strategies, put them side-by-side and project them up so we can compare and contrast. However, you could also compile multiple student work samples and then use it as another piece to place in a child’s portfolio of work.
1. Build Mathematical Understanding with all the amazing math apps. That's right, that's the name of this blog, so the math apps had to be number one. Check out all my pages of apps, organized by the mathematical concept they address. I will be posting another Top 10 soon...my Top 10 K-2 Math Apps, which is proving to be very difficult to narrow down to only 10. So check back soon, or better yet, JOIN the site! :)
What do you think? Did I leave out your favorite way to use an iPad? If so, leave a comment below.
9. Whiteboard (Dry Erase) - If you are lucky enough to have a 1-to-1 iPad classroom, getting the Dry Erase app lets the students use their iPad like the whiteboard. Then you can have them hold up their iPad to show answers or quickly share it via AirPlay to the whole class (see #4 below). If you just have a teacher iPad you can have the kids write on it and it will project up so that everyone can see their work.
8. Create Presentations (Keynote) - Keynote is the Mac version of PowerPoint. I create all my presentations on Keynote. There might be other options - let me know if you have a good one! Just an FYI, the functionality of Keynote on the iPad is not the same as it is on a Mac computer. I used to create on the iPad until I got my Macbook, now I create on my Macbook and use the iPad to present.
7. Record a lesson for an absent student (Educreations) - Educreations is a virtual whiteboard, but has the capability of recording (drawings and sounds). You can import pictures from your camera, if needed, to help illustrate a certain concept. Or just draw right on the blank screen and discuss the concept your class is working on. Once it is recorded, you save it to your lessons and when a child returns from an absence you can have them watch it, or if their parents have the Educreations app on their device you can send them a link to watch it while the child is with them.
6. Virtual Notebook (Penultimate) - Penultimate is a virtual notebook that will enable your students to save their notes or their work in that notebook format. You can create multiple notebooks within the app, which is great if you have to share iPads with other classrooms or if you just have a small number of iPads that kids have to share.
5. Videotape student thinking (the built-in camera & Vid Editor FREE) - A great way to enhance a student‘s portfolio is to record their thinking. If a student has come up with a great strategy or you just want to document them reaching a certain new level of achievement, open up the Camera on your iPad and record a video. Then if you want to edit that video, use the Vid Editor FREE app. It will allow you to cut out parts of a video you don’t want or you can even combine multiple videos (like to show where a student was at the beginning of the year to where they are now).
4. Instantly share student work (AirServerApp, Skitch, & iPad Stand with CamDraw) - Ok, this one might be long...there are so many ways you can share students’ work!
- If you only have one iPad, the Skitch app allows you to write on an image. So, if I see a student who has a great strategy, I go into the Skitch app and take a picture of it. Then when I have it projected on the screen and we are talking about the strategy I can circle or highlight certain parts as we are discussing.
- Your iPad can act like a document camera. Anything you point the camera at will show up on your projector, but I highly suggest getting an iPad stand (there are a few out there, this is the one I found that wasn’t extremely expensive). When your iPad is placed in the stand it stabilizes the iPad and allows children to slide their work underneath the camera. The CamDraw app allows you to “write” on the document that you are seeing through the camera.
- If you have multiple iPads in your classroom feel lucky, and then go get the AirServer App (or an Apple TV). The Apple TV does exactly the same thing as the AirServer App (as far as I can tell...I have not found anything different)...however, the AirServer App costs $15 where the Apple TV costs $99. So I suggest the AirServer App!!! Before you download the AirServer App, check with your district’s tech person to make sure it will work at your school. Basically, the app downloads on your computer that is hooked to your projector. That computer and your iPad(s) need to be on the same wireless internet connection (this is how they talk to each other). When you double-click the home button on your iPad and swipe left, the AirPlay button will be there and you select the computer you want to project to and toggle to turn Mirroring On. Then whatever is on your iPad gets mirrored on the computer and thus projected onto the screen (wirelessly). So if students are working on their iPads and you want one of them to share what they are doing all they have to do is double-click the Home button and get to AirPlay so they can turn the Mirroring On.
3. Record student justifications or have them collaborate to create a lesson (Educreations) - I have already mentioned Educreations, but it is so fabulous I thought I’d do it again! My favorite way to use this app is to have students recored their thinking as they justify how they solved a problem (Think Video Portfolio!!!). Once you download the app on your iPad you can check out my 5-year-old son justifying how he knows an amount during a subitizing activity HERE, (FYI...he was just learning how to use the app and liked playing with the pen function:). You can also have a group of students collaborate to create a lesson to share with the whole class. Sometimes children are shy about getting in front of a whole class, this will allow them record themselves talking and creating and then share it without having to physically be at the front of the room.
2. Compare/Contrast Strategies or compile pics of students’ thinking throughout the quarter (the built-in camera & PicStitch) - PicStitch allows you to make a collage out of pictures. I’ve used this app to take two pictures of student strategies, put them side-by-side and project them up so we can compare and contrast. However, you could also compile multiple student work samples and then use it as another piece to place in a child’s portfolio of work.
1. Build Mathematical Understanding with all the amazing math apps. That's right, that's the name of this blog, so the math apps had to be number one. Check out all my pages of apps, organized by the mathematical concept they address. I will be posting another Top 10 soon...my Top 10 K-2 Math Apps, which is proving to be very difficult to narrow down to only 10. So check back soon, or better yet, JOIN the site! :)
What do you think? Did I leave out your favorite way to use an iPad? If so, leave a comment below.
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog on K-2 Math Apps. There are a lot of math apps out there, but what are the good math apps??? I researched them while developing a workshop for the Institute of Educational Development titled Practical Strategies for Using iPads and the Best New Apps, Websites and Technology Resources to Improve Student Achievement in Mathematics (Grades K-2). I am a former classroom teacher but now I do trainings for teachers. I have spent the last 10 years developing a deeper understanding of mathematics and how children learn math. I believe that children need a conceptual understanding of mathematics first before we move them into procedures and practice. The apps that I have chosen to post on this blog are a balance between both of those. Some are conceptual, while some are just fun ways to practice. However, I fully acknowledge that I may not have found all the wonderful math apps out there. So please leave a comment, or email me, if you have an app that you think needs to be added to my lists.
When I present this workshop I focus on the big ideas in K-2 mathematics and then show apps that can help teachers develop those concepts. Those big ideas are listed above and there are pages for each of those concepts, along with what I call "teacher tool" apps that are just great apps for helping you be more efficient as a teacher. I have also included pages on some math websites that I like. I will be updating this blog whenever I find new apps, so make sure to "Join This Site" so that you can see when updates are posted. Thanks for taking a look around, I hope you find the lists helpful.
When I present this workshop I focus on the big ideas in K-2 mathematics and then show apps that can help teachers develop those concepts. Those big ideas are listed above and there are pages for each of those concepts, along with what I call "teacher tool" apps that are just great apps for helping you be more efficient as a teacher. I have also included pages on some math websites that I like. I will be updating this blog whenever I find new apps, so make sure to "Join This Site" so that you can see when updates are posted. Thanks for taking a look around, I hope you find the lists helpful.
Christina Tondevold
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