TECH- Literacy in Education

I explored the Dictionary Application. My first impression was the app’s “word of the day”. What a great concept that could be included in daily morning work. I was surprised to find that the program offered much more than word definitions and their related sources. 

The app had links to blogs associated with particular topics of interest. For example, if I were to search “Border Collies” the app would allow me access to a variety of blogs written on the subject. The program allows users to store a list of their favorites, as well as follow the site’s current trending words or topics. Another great use for the application is it’s inclusion of a translator. It would be extremely helpful for ESL students who are asked to define a term for an assignment. 29 different languages are listed for the drop down selection while utilizing the translator feature.

            Show Me is an app I was unfamiliar with. Upon starting the program, I was impressed that the “welcome” included a brief, built-in tutorial for how to operate the app. You begin with a blank screen with options to draw in different colors and erase. The colors are chosen by scheme. There are also options to upload a photo and record audio. 

            The voice recording feature is awesome and would allow for the app to be used by students to create their own story narrations. For example, pictures could be taken from a book or flash cards and organized in a slideshow of sorts. The recording could include the student’s summary of the story’s order of events. This would be an engaging substitution for the more traditional activity of organizing events using “First, Next, Lastly” paragraphs.  

            Strip Designs brings a new concept to the classroom, creating comic strips to master organizing events in a story plot. The Strip Design app was easy to use, offering templates with different comic page layouts. The application offered different aesthetic styles such as “old and dirty” and “film and embossed”. Pictures could be added via the camera, photos, google maps, creating a drawing, social media (Facebook), Drop Box, or by uploading an existing saved document. 

           Once the picture is in place, the student can choose a brush effect. The app offers filter options similar to those used in Instagram and other applications. The user can draw on top of the background photo and finally chose a frame of their choice. I appreciate that the app is self-guided in regards to content and would push the student to use their imagination in creating their own comic.