APP-rehensive

As I began my research on Android and IPhones, I realized that there is a lot of information to wade through.  Most of the information that I found was written by people that have personally used the devices. Since I am a poor teacher, I unfortunately cannot afford such technologies and therefore have to rely on the expertise of others.  Here is what I found about the different handheld devices.

Limitations

-Wifi connectivity for certain downloading and streaming capabilities

-Expenses (to purchase and to maintain services)

-Running multiple apps greatly slows processing speeds

-Portable devices also need to be plugged in and may eventually need replacement batteries

-More likely to be damaged because of the amount of handling

Pros/Cons

Android		IPhone
Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
Hot Spot Capabilities	Limited Multi-Tasking Capabilities	200,00 + Apps in the Marketplace	Have to subscribe to Apple
Excellent Integration with Google Apps	Memory Limitations	Combines all email accounts into one	No Hot Spot Capabilities
Large Market for Accessories	Limited Apps in the Marketplace	GPS with Flash Player capabilities	Some Apps can access your contacts and send to outside services (when Apps are found to have this problem, they are taken off of the market)
Some phones have physical keyboards and all phones have a removable battery	No Syncing Features between phone and PC	Nice looking	Can only upload Apple Apps (closed environment)

I really had fun looking at all of the different Apps that each brand had to offer. It really made me jealous and I wanted to run out and buy a Smartphone even though I just finished researching all of their flaws. In the Android marketplace I found three really great educational Apps. The first is called FrostWire. This is a file sharing App that allows you to browse and share files and chat with others in the FrostWire cloud. I think this would be a great App for students if they have done a research project and they would like to share what they have learned with their classmates. It is also a great way to complete group work. The second App that I found in the Android market is Nook for Android. Obviously, I would use this in the classroom just the way that you would use it at home. Students can download and read age appropriate books. Finally, I found a fun App called PlinkArt. This App allows you to take a picture of a piece of art and upload it to the App. It then gives you instant identification and information on the work of art. I can see unlimited capabilities with this App. I think students would be more apt to learn about famous works of art and their relevancy to history if they had this App. This would be great for a trip to the local art museum or to help students with research papers.

After I finished perusing the Android market, I jumped on over to the IPhone marketplace. Wow! What a difference! The sheer volume of Apps is astounding. But, it was very easy to search in the App Store. The first App that I found was for my students’ favorite website, Brain POP. My students love to watch the videos on Brain POP and (for some strange reason) take the quizzes that are offered after each video. I am pretty sure it is obvious what we could do with this App. The children could watch their desired videos and take the quizzes. The second App that I found was called Math Cards. This App allowed you to choose a specific grade level and math topic. Then, it would produce 25 flashcards. It also saves the players scores and tells you what areas that you may need to study more. I really like this App because many of my 5^th graders really stink at multiplication. It is a core skill and they really, REALLY have a hard time learning their times tables. This is a fun way that they students could quiz themselves or friends when they have spare or down time during the day. Finally, I found another flashcard App called Kaplan Vocabulary.  This App lets the user search for vocabulary words or quizzes the user. It gives definitions, parts of speech, and example sentences. This is an App that students could use to help them create their own personal dictionaries. This is something that we do in my classroom every year. Each student has a writing journal and in the back the students will create their own personal dictionary. If they come upon a word that they are not familiar with, they follow a process of finding out the word, its definition, and how to use it in a sentence. They write it down and then try to incorporate it into their everyday speech. This App would make students actually want to learn new vocabulary words.

My phone is a touchscreen, but not a Smartphone. I do not have internet access on it and therefore it is basically used for calling, texting, and it rocks at taking pictures. I do not have any other portable devices that I could use in the classroom, which makes me sad. One type of portable device that I would love to get is CRS (Classroom Response System) clickers and a Mobi for my SmartBoard. I know that these devices cannot download Apps or sync with phones, but they still rock in the way of streamlining classroom technology and creating an environment where technology is used every day. Hopefully, sometime soon, I will make the shift to a Smartphone and my eyes will be opened to the wide world of distracting (and sometimes educational) Apps.

Ashley