Language Arts (7-12)

Title: Al Gore - Your Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis

Publisher: Push Pop Press

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $4.99

Review: This is what an interactive book should look like. Our Choice is an amazing look into the issues of global warming. This book is full of amazing pictures, stunning videos and awesome graphics. If all future books on the iPad are this amazing, the future looks bright.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Bookworm

Publisher: PopCap Software

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $2.99

Review: Do your students struggle with creating words? Bookworm is an exciting game that allows students to create words. Letters drop from the top of the screen and pile up. Students are then able to create words by dragging their fingers over the letters. Letters have to be connected to form words. Watch out though! Fire letters appear and if you don't use them, they will eventually end your game. How many points can you score? This game is addictive. My own classroom has a challenge board to see who can score the most points.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Caster: Mobile Studio

Publisher: Gregory Maculo

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free version available, Full version $4.99

Review: Caster Mobile Studio allows teachers and students of all content areas to create podcasts. Podcasting is an engaging way for students to explain what they know through easy audio recordings. This app makes this even simpler with the use from either an iPod Touch or iPad. Podcasts can be shared via email, Dropbox, or your own school's server. Tired of giving the same old paper and pencil tests? Have your students create a podcast instead!

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Chicktionary

Publisher: Blockdot

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android

Cost: Main game is free, Puzzle packs $.99 each

Review: This app is about building words with the 7 letters that are given. It is cute and visually appealing because the letters are on "chicks" and the words go on eggs in an egg crate. It is great for those who struggle with spelling and/or dislike spelling/English because it is a fun way to learn. You can do a short, timed version or a longer version when you play. My high school students even like it.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Cloud On

Publisher: Cloud On, Inc.

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: Cloud on is a free app that allows you to create, view, and modify Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly on your iPad. There are many other apps out there that allow you to do this but I have not seen one that is free. The documents you create are easily shared to a Dropbox account (which you will need to set up). This is also free. This app could be used in any class that creates documents. Awesome app for creating those digital portfolios.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Common Core Standards

Publisher: MasteryConnect

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: As an administrator and former teacher, the Common Core Standards app has been a great reference to easily read and understand the core content standards in the areas of Mathematics and Language Arts. This app includes standards for grades K-12 and are integrated & synthesized with corresponding college and career readiness standards.

Submitted By: Jamie Kunz, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Dragon Dictation

Publisher: Nuance

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: This app allows you to speak into the iPad and it will type your speech into text. This is great for those students who struggle with typing, but they have to be able to speak clearly for it to translate properly. The app turns speech into emails or it can be cut and copied into a document.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Dr. Seuss - Various Titles

Publisher: Oceanhouse Media

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $1.99 - $4.99

Review: Dr. Seuss is one of those authors that appeals to many different ages of children and adults alike. Many of Dr. Seuss' best books are available in the app store. Prices range from $1.99-$4.99 per book. I didn't review each book individually but they are all worth the price. Children will love Dr. Seuss from an entirely new perspective. Each book is interactive and can be read with or without help. Kids of all ages will love these new Dr. Seuss books.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Easy Bib

Publisher: Imagine Easy Solutions, LLC

Available For: iPad, iTouch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: This is an excellent app for writing reference citations for English class for my students. You can type in or scan the bar code of the publication you need to cite and it will show you how to format it in APA, MLA or Chicago style. There is an awesome function that allows you to search for a text (ex. book title) and it will bring up all of the publications and you can search for the one you need.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: eClicker Host

Publisher: Big Nerd Ranch

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $9.99

Review: eClicker Host is a wonderful app that turns iPods into a classroom performance system. Students will beg to take tests on their iPods. Students will get instant results after each question. Teachers can create their own questions that correspond to their own curriculum. You will also need to download the eClicker app (free) for each iPod. This is a wonderful app and one of my most used and highly recommended apps. I love it. Kids love it. You will love it!

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Google Earth

Publisher: Google

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android

Cost: Free

Review: Wish you could take students on a field trip to see historical places? Don't have the money? Well, Google Earth could be the answer for you and your students. Google Earth will take you on a virtual field trip to any location on earth. This is a great app for social studies and science class but can be used in all subject areas. Are you learning about the pyramids? Take your students to see the pyramids. Want to visit the birthplace of a famous writer? The possibilities are endless.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Grammar Express Series

Publisher: Eknath Kadam

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free for lite versions, full versions $.99-$3.99

Review: Grammar Express is a series of apps that allows users to learn and review every aspect of the English language from verbs, to nouns, to everything in between. Each app has numerous quizzes which allows users to check their understanding. These apps have everything your students will need to know about grammar.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Grammar Up

Publisher: Eknath Kadam

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free for lite version, full version $4.99

Review: This app is great for higher level grammar practice. It covers verb tense, pronouns, conjunctions, causative verbs, adverbs, conditionals, etc. in the free version. The full version has 1800 questions with 20 topics and the free version has 10 topics. You can select the number of questions you want to answer and it shows you the correct answer and reasoning.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Grammaropolis

Publisher: Grammaropolis LLC

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free, sections are $1.99 each

Review: A good overview of the parts of speech. Each part of speech has its own neighborhood that includes a curriculum map with songs, books, videos, and quizzes. The user follows the map through the various parts of speech to earn a badge. This app can be used to introduce the parts of speech, to review the parts of speech, or to extend the learning of students who are knowledgeable about the parts of speech.

Submitted By: Robin Weaver, Willoughby-Eastlake Schools

Title: Idioms

Publisher: Eknath Kadam

Available For: iPad, iTouch, iPhone

Cost: Lite version free, full version $2.99

Review: This app describes all of the English Idioms and what they mean. It gives a detailed description and an interesting picture with each one. My students like to look at it and discuss them with one another.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: iResponse

Publisher: TATE, Inc.

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $.99, the Pro version is $4.99

Review: iResponse is another classroom responder system. Unlike other classroom responder systems, iResponse works in conjunction with your own laptop. Using the wireless network in your school, iResponse allows teachers to create quizzes on the computer and "push" questions to their students immediately. I also like the fact that teachers can create questions on the fly and push them to their students. iResponse works seamlessly and the students love taking quizzes. I have used this app many times to do quick comprehension checks during the teaching of the lesson. This is wonderful for students who are afraid of answering out loud for fear of being wrong. No one knows if a student got the answer correct except the teacher and the individual student. NOTE: the teacher laptop also needs to download the free iResponse software from their website.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Keynote

Publisher: Apple

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $9.99

Review: Keynote is Apple Inc.'s version of Powerpoint. Keynote on the iPad is so user friendly you won't want to make presentations on any other device again. Take pictures and videos from your iPad2 camera and add them to your presentations just like that. Simple is the key phrase here. Kids will love making presentations on the iPad and sharing them with others. This app can be used for assessment in every subject area.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Popplet

Publisher: Notion Inc.

Available For: iPad

Cost: Lite Version Free, Full Version $4.99

Review: Popplet is a cool little app that allows students and teachers to create simple graphic organizers. There is nothing fancy about this app. It is a simple and easy to use graphic organizer and that's it. This is a great app for students who are just beginning to use graphic organizers and can be used as a great tool for digital portfolios. There is also an internet based version of Popplet but it cannot work on iDevices due to their lack of Flash.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: SAT Vocab Cards

Publisher: Lucidifi, LLC

Available For: iPad

Cost: Free

Review: Very useful app in preparing students for standardized testing. While the name implies it is for the SAT, this app can be used to prepare students for any test because of new vocabulary aqusition. It comes with around 1,000 cards and allows you to hear the pronunciation of each word. Simply touch the card and it flips over for the definition. Mark it with a star if you got it right, don't if you missed it. Swipe your finger for a new card. It is that simple! Good resource.

Submitted By: Tyler Belew, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Shake-a-Phrase

Publisher: Artgig

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: $1.99

Review: Shake-a-Phrase is a wonderful tool to build vocabulary, learn parts of speech, and get creative story starters. Shake your iPad to get a new sentence that goes with one of five themes. If there's a word the student doesn't know, he can tap on it to get a definition. The story starter will get the ideas flowing for your students. If you aren't happy with the one that appears, just shake the iPad for another one. Students can also quiz their knowledge on parts of speech. Not only is it a great learning tool, but also a fun way to interact with the iPad by shaking it!

Submitted By: Deb Tschirhart, SOITA

Title: Shakespeare

Publisher: Shakespeare Passport / Readdle

Available For: iPhone. iPad, iTouch, Android

Cost: Lite version free, Pro version $9.99

Review: This app has all of the Shakespeare plays. You can highlight certain parts of the play, change the font and the font size. This has been helpful for some of my students who are studying Shakespeare in English.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Spell Bee Challenge

Publisher: Galaxyreach

Available For: iPad, iTouch, iPhone

Cost: Lite version free, full version $.99

Review: This app is great for spelling because it says the word aloud and has the kids spell them. You are able to choose a level (1-10) and it gives you the word, part of speech, definition, language of origin and it will use it in a sentence. The app also allows you to enter your own spelling list to study. The only negative is that it is sometimes difficult to understand what the word is because it is in a strange accent.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Spellathon - word game

Publisher: Nivedita Arora

Available For: Android

Cost: Free

Review: Very fun and engaging activity for students to play. The object of the game is to make four to seven letter words from 7 letters that are randomly arranged, with one letter in the center. This game definitely works on anagram skills, word recognition, and vocabulary skills. It features different levels as well as a definition look-up for improving your vocab skills.

Submitted By: Sam Young, Hamilton City Schools

Title: StoryKit

Publisher: ICDL Foundation

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android

Cost: Free

Review: Have you ever wanted your students to create a storyboard or comic strip as an assignment but not had the materials? With the StoryKit app students can create a storybook with pictures, text, and sounds all from the iPad or iPhone. This app can help bring assignments alive to students and make learning fun. An English teacher could have their students illustrate a segment from a book reading assignment or a History teacher could have students illustrate George Washington’s winter at Valley Forge. There are too many options to mention for in-class usage. Try it out, it’s free!

Submitted By: Scott Dickerson, Hamilton City Schools

Title: StoryLines for Schools

Publisher: Root-One Inc.

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: Story Lines is an app that allows the creativity to flow. The "story" begins with a common phrase or saying. Another student "grows" the story by adding a picture to go with the phrase. The iPad keeps getting passed around until the story line is done. Each student either gets to add a phrase to the previous picture or add a picture to the previous text. This is a fun game and your students will love it.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Publisher: Moonbot Studios

Available For: iPad

Cost: $4.99

Review: Have you ever seen 6th grade boys cry before? Ok. Maybe. Have you ever seen them cry after reading a book? Probably not. The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore is an absolutely amazing book/app. This is what the iPad and books should be all about. The book is full of wonderful pictures, interactive pieces and of course a storyline that is wonderful. I cannot recommend a better book for the iPad.

Submitted By: Jonathan Smith, Canton City Schools

Title: Vocabology

Publisher: ThatWith.Me LLC

Available For: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone

Cost: Free

Review: My students enjoy this app because it gives you a "word of the day" daily. It also gives you the Urban Dictionary WOTD, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Yahoo Education WOTD, dictionary.com WOTD, etc. It will say the word aloud to you and also use it in a sentence. This is fun for a quick vocabulary lesson.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools

Title: Whirly Word

Publisher: Mighty Mighty Good Games

Available For: iPad, iPhone, iTouch, Android

Cost: Lite version is free, Standard version is $1.99, HD version is $2.99

Review: This app is all about word building. You are given 6 letters and you have to unscramble them to make various words. The app tells you how many words to find within each word-letter makeup (ex. there are 3 4-letter words, etc.) The students like this game because they can challenge each other to see who can make the most words.

Submitted By: Sarah Distler, Hamilton City Schools