Five Apps to Integrate (or not integrate) Into the Classroom

Hello Everyone!
This past week I have tested out several educational apps. Here is my review on my findings.

{Math Heroes}

The first app I tested was "Math Heroes 1" by Yogome. This app challenges and strengthens basic math operations knowledge. This would be appropriate second graders  for You get to pick your own avatar-a girl or boy ninja. Each challenge is timed for about one minute. If you get all three stars during a challenge, the Sensei does a pretty awesome dance that I found quite humorous. As you advance to each level, the challenges get more challenging. As you beat a level, you will earn a card that's also pretty cute. I think this app is really great; it is very similar to a speed drill but more fun.

{Ocean}

The second app I tried out was "Ocean" by Tribal Nova. This app teaches sentences formation, vocabulary, and prepositions.  This game is extremely cute and fun. It is geared toward preschoolers. The stories you can make in the app are very silly which I think kids would enjoy making them. For example, "The fork hides the potato." They then have animation to demonstrate the story. The theme was ocean; however they have a random alien in it as the main character. After beating a level, they have you play with your prizes which is making the alien look silly. Unfortunately, you have to buy a full version to enjoy the game, and it has ads in the place where they have their prizes. The calibration needs to be improved as well.

{Macrocosm}

The third app I tested was Macrocosm. This app is really really cool to use when teaching astronomy. They show things in a type of 3D effect. For example, the moon rotates and it has a fact about it. They give other facts about constellations and planets and super novas. Unfortunately, you have to buy the full version, but I think it would be worth the money. The lite version was so cool, so I think it would be a good investment. I would suggest this be used in fifth and sixth grades. 

{Geography Quiz 3D}

Geography Quiz 3D is an app that challenges knowledge of maps, flags, capitals, and landmarks around the world.  This was really cute and fun; however, it's constantly encouraging you to post your progress on facebook or twitter. They encourage you to buy coins and you are playing against others. This app challenges knowledge on countries, where they are and their flags and capitals. I would not recommend this because it's like online gaming. 

{World Citizen}

World Citizen is a great app that challenges knowledge of flags, capitals, and countries around the world. It is a little boring for younger ones, but it would be good for fifth and sixth grade students. At the end of the app, it gives you an accuracy of how many you got correct. It is a good app to use after a unit of geography lessons.