Back to school App Bundles Part 1

This year my 8 year old son will be taking an iPad to school to use as a learning tool. To re-iterate the iPad is for learning vs iPod is for entertainment message in our house I've been looking out for Apps that are fun, but will help him to develop his understanding and skills in relation to multiplication tables and spelling.

I found some great app bundles in the education category of the Apple App Store. We've downloaded and started road testing them and I can already see my boy gaining some benefit from them. I've noticed he has persisted when facing difficulty (because it's a game and he wants to level up) and developing and consolidating his skills. Buying these apps in bundles has been a saving in the long run as he'll probably use all of them during the next few years of schooling.

In this post I'll focus on the Steve Storm Maths Bundle. 

Name of Bundle: Steve Storm Maths Bundle

Developer: NumberWorks 'N Words

Cost at time of review:   $4.99 AUD ($6.49 when purchased separately)

Suggested age/year level: 8 + or Year 3 onwards

This App contains 3 games, Steve Storm and the Tables of Doom, Vault Assault and Vault Assault Expert. Take note of the price comparison between purchasing the bundle and buying these Apps separately and you can see that you'll save $1.50.

Steve Storm is an Indiana Jones type character and his story is told in a cool comic strip style fashion at the start of the game. It appeals to the imagination. 

Tables of Doom focuses on learning and consolidating multiplication table facts. My son understands that multiplication, addition and skip counting are all linked so he has been able to use strategies like skip counting when he gets stuck. The App has no time limit and lets players go to the.  Ext level when they have earned enough badges and points. What I like is that each level of the game correlates with difficulty, meaning the earlier levels focus on the tables that are easier to learn and recall, like 2x and 10x. Level of difficulty can be adjusted.

Vault Assault builds on all areas of arithmetic : addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Players need to answer questions quickly and accurately to help Steve open the vault. Each level has increasingly challenging questions. This is an engaging way to consolidate and improve recall of number facts. What I like is that the player can choose which mode they want to practice. At this point my son is doing the addition section. It also presents the questions and answers in 2 ways simultaneously; both as a grid and as a fact box at the bottom of the screen. We have not road tested Vault Assault Expert yet but we know it's sitting there ready to use once he masters Vault Assault.

Links to Mathematics are pretty obvious here - these Apps are designed to build fluency and if you are interacting with your child as they play them, you can share and model strategies to each other and develop a shared language for talking about Mathematics and learning. 

Minecraft for Parents - Part 2 of Minecraft Review

For part 1 of this review see: Minecraft for beginners

Name: Minecraft

Format: Mac and PC, X-Box, Playstation and both iOS  & Android tablets

Publisher: mojang

Price in AUD (at time of review): There is a trial version for free on Mac and PC - you buy this from the website https://minecraft.net/ . Minecraft: Pocket Edition is free on iOS and Android tablets, this does not save progress though. The paid version is roughly AU$30, as a one off payment. At the moment, you will need to purchase Minecraft either on the computer or iPad/device or X-box (online purchase or disc), as the one account wont transfer between the different interfaces. There is an option to share accounts between devices, over a network-  so a friend visiting us can play in LT’s minecraft world on their own device, LT and friend can explore and build together in this world. In a few months, ‘minecraft realms’ will be available, and enable use of one account across these interfaces.

In app purchases enabled? Full content unlocked with subscription- there are no in app/game purchases.

Age suitable for: primary school to adult

How can it support learning? Minecraft is used in many schools as an environment for students to build and explore. It is referred to as a ‘sandbox’ as you can use this as a creative tool. If you think of it as ‘virtual lego’ it helps :)

Curriculum links? This can conceivably span any number of curriculum areas - it is up to the students and teachers to link this to learning. 

Fiona's Review- Hints for parents

For a long time I could only watch my son and husband playing minecraft for short bursts. It made me dizzy very quickly as I tried to walk around the 'world'. We got around this for a while by playing on the X-Box edition, and I could tolerate that for around 30 mins at a time.  It was good to start making connections myself to the actions as LT and I ran around the world :) 

More recently LT has discovered the sensitivity settings and some other options, that mean I can play minecraft on the computer over a LAN connection (using our wifi at home, LT sets up a local sever on his computer and we can play in the same game world - very safe as it is just us in the world). The following blog outlines the screen shots and directions for setting up your minecraft to be more 'parent friendly'.

1. Here is the first screen, click on the 'options' button at the bottom of the screen. I keep my window quite small, and in the centre of my screen, this helps reduce the dizzy too. 

2.  Field Of View (FOV) setting should be put to 'normal' (top left). Now click on the 'controls' button (Second button down in the right column.)  In case you are curious...LT says to never touch the 'Super secret settings...' button :)

 3. Now you are in the control panel, set the 'sensitivity' bar to around 39%, this reduces the speed of walking around and turning - enough so I don't get dizzy...you may want to adjust this to suit you.

In terms of 'education' I have learned a lot in the last two weeks I have been playing this.We have had time playing as a family, so teleporting into caves (using code) and making pick axes, torches and swords (in the crafting area) have been my first lessons. This week LT showed me how to make shears and I was able to shear sheep, collect wool and flowers to dye the wool. I love how my fiber addiction can still be realised in minecraft form :) 

I must say, our family game nights have gotten more enjoyable, as LT teaches me about his virtual world....one word of warning though  - if your child says 'PVP' (Player versus Player), this means they will have a sword or arrow fight with you  - I don't fare well in these matches yet... :) 

Minecraft for beginners

Name: Minecraft

Format: Mac and PC, X-Box, Playstation and both iOS (pocket edition) & Android tablets (pocket edition)

Publisher: mojang

Price in AUD (at time of review): There is a trial version for free on Mac and PC - you buy this from the website https://minecraft.net/ . 

Minecraft: Pocket Edition is free on iOS and Android tablets, this does not save progress though. 

The paid version is roughly AU$30, as a one off payment. At the moment, you will need to purchase Minecraft either on the computer or iPad/device or X-box (online purchase or disc), as the one account wont transfer between the different interfaces. There is an option to share accounts between devices, over a network-  so a friend visiting us can play in LT’s minecraft world on their own device, LT and friend can explore and build together in this world. In a few months, ‘minecraft realms’ will be available, and enable use of one account across these interfaces.

In app purchases enabled? Full content unlocked with subscription- there are no in app/game purchases.

Age suitable for: primary school to adult

How can it support learning? Minecraft is used in many schools as an environment for students to build and explore. It is referred to as a ‘sandbox’ as you can use this as a creative tool. If you think of it as ‘virtual lego’ it helps :)

Curriculum links? This can conceivably span any number of curriculum areas - it is up to the students and teachers to link this to learning.

Fiona and LT’s Review

If you and your kids are starting out in minecraft here are a few things to help you.

1. When joining and creating an account, make sure you use a pseudonym/screen name for your child - don’t identify your child by their real full name or location. It is a good idea to link the account to your email, so you can track passwords etc.

2. Start your child in ‘peaceful’ mode, this means you have no hunger, no monsters, and 10 minute days to build shelter and explore. The first thing you want to do is build a shelter - Build a bed and sleep ‘instantly’ through the 10 minute night. Be careful digging down- you may hit lava! Creative mode also allows free play in this timed environment - but gives you access to a full inventory without you having to ‘mine’ and ‘craft’ everything from scratch (it is my preferred mode).

Don’t look for help files- go to youtube and watch some instructional videos with your child to get to know what you can do. Here is one LT recommends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MqkEZn8pN4

When starting to mine, you will be able to obtain the following ores: Coal, Iron (needs to be mined with a stone pick), Gold (need iron pick), Diamond  (need iron pick), Emerald (unknown pick) And nether quartz  found in the nether and can be mined with a wood pick. You will need to craft the different picks.

There are also wiki’s and forums and lots of great you-tubes that show people playing minecraft-  the best way to learn about this game is to play it.

3. As your child gains confidence in this space, they may want to venture into survival mode or onto the servers and build and play mini-games with others. Survival mode includes monsters that come out at night, and can ‘kill’ you-  it’s ok, you will re-spawn to play again( LT: ‘except in hard core, you will have to delete the world and start again’). We sit with LT and play these games alongside him- it is a great opportunity to support him in ‘cyber safety’ and work out for ourselves which games and spaces he visit safely by himself, and the ones we need to be there for. Many games (quakecraft on hypixel- for example) have very short opportunities for ‘free chat’ which means most of the time in the game is running around and playing each other - so there is little opportunity for cyberbullying.

4. As you and your child explore minecraft and watch you-tubes on this you will see the multiple opportunities for building, free play, programming and coding. As your child’s confidence grows they will be able to build almost anything! Have a look at the calculators built on minecraft: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgJfVRhotlQ 

or the story of the titanic made and filmed in minecraft: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJU2CWqN_mY

 

5. There is a lot of learning fun to be had on minecraft - and the only limit is your child's imagination. Here is a screen shot from a world LT created.

Rating (out of 5) -  Five stars - we love it.

Homework help: Place Value Apps

Understanding how numbers are put together and the value of each digit or place is critical for working with Number and Algebra in Mathematics. Understanding place value can help you to complete mental calculations, estimate accurately and solve problems in an everyday context. Here are two Apps that I have found which could be helpful in assisting your child to consolidate their understanding of this concept and have fun creating and manipulating numbers. Best of all, at the time of review they were both FREE!

Name of App: Wishball

Publisher: Education services Australia 

Format: this App is available via the App Store for iPad and can also be found on the internet for computers 

Age: primary school - children who are able to read hundreds and thousands

Generally any Apps from this publisher are good as they have been used by schools as Learning Federation objects in Victoria for years. Basically you are given a target number and have several chances to reach it by adding or subtracting the digit you spin on the Wishball from the appropriate place. There is an excellent visual model on screen as well to help you see what is happening to the number as each place is being manipulated. If you're child is ready for decimal numbers, try the ultimate version (available online). As a teacher, this is a personal favourite of mine as the visuals can prompt a lot of discussion and opportunities for children to make connections and discoveries about how numbers work.

Name of App: Cookie Factory

Publisher: Vertical learning (see verticallearning.org for discussion ideas)

Format: this App is available on iPad

Age: Middle primary

This is a great App for children who are starting to make models of numbers up to 3 digits. In this game, players are asked to use different combinations of single cookies, stacks of cookies (tens) and boxes of cookies(hundreds) to fill orders. As you collect cookies there is a running total displayed under the order number. There are options to increase or decrease difficulty and to play with or without a time limit. You could ask your child how they could collect the same amount of items using different materials such as bundling straws, matchsticks, icy pole sticks, an abacus or MAB blocks. 

Why bother doing this?

When children are given time to explore the same concept in a variety of different ways, it allows space for deeper understandings to develop and consolidation to occur. It also allows time and space for children to explore their own perceptions about numbers and develop and test their own theories or rules. Encourage your child to explain what they are thinking and doing rather than using these Apps for entertainment. Ask your child or their teacher about what kinds of materials they are using at school so you can help make a connection between home learning and school learning.

Questions you could ask:

What does each digit mean? 

What does each digit in the number represent?

When/where might we need to use this number?

Can you make this number another way? How? 

I wonder what a higher/lower number could be...

Review: BrainPOP

Name: BrainPOP

Format: Both iOS  & Android

Publisher: BrainPOP

Price in AUD (at time of review): Free version has movies and games - subscription required for expansion topics and wider content.

In app purchases enabled? Full content unlocked with subscription

Age suitable for: Primary School and Secondary School

How can it support learning? Based on videos, games and quizzes across all areas of curriculum. They are sort and fun to keep kids attention and give immediate feedback.

Curriculum links? Many - fits across Australian Curriculum. It is an American resource.

Fiona and Little Tacker’s (LT) Review

We have only used the free version of this on the i-Pad, but really like watching the movies together and working through the quizzes (multiple choice questions). LT does like to sit with his Dad and watch and discuss these videos too. We tend to look at the science topics, but there is a wide range of resources available, including art and music. We would recommend you try the free version and see how useful it is for you and your child/ren before subscribing. Games and other features are accessed via a subscription. I know some schools have invested in BrainPOP, and so may have student subscriptions available - check with your school.  It is a good ‘resource’ and would support homework for upper primary and lower secondary school students. In terms of cyber-safety, it is a good place for kids to explore independently as there are no external web links.

Link to You-tube Trailer:

Rating (out of 5) -  Four stars - we love it, but it would be good to have access to some games in the free version :) 

Back to School: Digital Passport Review

As a teacher and a parent I have learned that cybersafety and cyber citizenship are a big deal as children start to use their own devices and online research. This landscape is constantly changing and I believe it's vital to start the practice of modelling and discussing appropriate ways to behave and interact online from the time kids begin to use digital devices and computers. It's right up there with teaching manners, stranger awareness and crossing the street.

The great thing is that there are a LOT of FREE resources out there now to help parents and educators to support children as they enter online and digital spaces.

Australia Day Special Part 2: Australian Geography for kids

It's important to know the geography of our country. So it doesn't hurt to get started at home, especially if you have headed off or are about to head off on holiday to an Australian destination.

In this post I am looking at two Apps that focus on this: Map Me Australia and Australia Puzzle Map. They could be used for fun or as a homework/home learning activity, especially as children in Australian Schools are expected to have an understanding of this in the middle years of primary school.