Using Phonics Island

Phonics Island is an engaging iPad application that helps students learn to appropriately trace their letters and learn their sounds. The application does this as it has the student trace a letter as they progress through a game in which they are on an island with the guidance of a monkey.

Students will want to continue playing the game because there is a surprise for them at the end! The application is so engaging because it is colorful, has music, and speaks to the the student throughout the activity.

Phonics Island is extremely child-friendly and students in a kindergarten class could easily use it on their own. I would suggest for students use it by themselves but it is possible for students to take turns while playing it.

I personally got the free version of the game, however there is also a Phonics Island that you can buy. The free version is still great and worth the download. On top of tracing, the free version also includes a feature where students identity letters with the sounds that match them.

Teachers are able to decide whether students are using uppercase or lowercase letters. I wish that the application would allow you to use both uppercase and lowercase letters combined throughout the game, but this is not available in the free version.

Despite this, the application is excellent! In my future classroom I believe that this application would be great to allow students to practice tracing their letters when they are finished with their work or if they ever have free time.

I love the fact that when using this application students use many of their senses. They see the letters and animal it corresponds to, they hear the letter sound as they trace it, and they get to actually do something with the app because they are in charge of tracing the letter. If they do not trace the letter correctly they have to do it again until they get it right!

When a student has to retrace a letter nothing discouraging occurs. Rather the music simply continues, along with the letter sound. As a result of nothing bad occurring, students will not get discouraged and want to give the game up.

This is great for those students that usually rush on with their work and leave it sloppy. Getting in the habit of tracing the letters slowly and correctly on the game will allow them to transfer this neatness when they are writing on a piece of paper!

As a result of the application speaking to the students, it also helps students identify what sounds go with what letters and words. This is an essential part of the Common Core Standards: ELA-Literacy.RFK.2: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds.

Exposing students to this way of tracing letters and these sounds that play along with them, they will be better prepared to sound out a word they do not recognize in the future. Here is an interesting article on the benefit and importance of tracing letters.

Given these points, I would without a doubt use this application in my future classroom. I think that the use of multiple senses while using an application is great and the knowledge Phonics Island provides students is wonderful. On top of this, the application is something that I believe students will enjoy a great deal and actually want to play.

References

Student using iPad. (n.d.) Retrieved February 23, 2016. http://media.148apps.com/screenshots/467337049/us-iphone-5-kindergarten-phonics-island-adventure-learn-to-read-montessori-games-with-puzzle-animal-train-for-kids-hooked-on-reading-by-abby-monkey.jpeg

Phonics Island.(n.d.) Retrieved February 23, 2016.
https://lh6.ggpht.com/JlHhsNoLRI58o7M2T3xQ5o3GKMgGuFVBxSxoM2gxg30eOtpmPge4v2lxuVc7Yaef20A=h900

The letter p. (n.d.) Retrieved February 23, 2016. http://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple/v4/6b/fa/bb/6bfabb82-b4fc-9956-aeef-fa7fe58a462b/screen568x568.jpeg

Using Socrative in the Classroom

Socrative is an iPad application that provides an engaging way in which one can determine if students understood a lesson. In order to use the application, teachers should use the Teacher Edition, while students should obviously use the Student Edition. In order to use the Teacher Edition, one must sign up for it. The process is not difficult and only takes about a minute or two. To use the student edition signing up is not necessary. 

The fact that there are two different editions for this app makes it a little bit confusing. One could also complain that creating short quizzes like this constantly is too time-consuming. However, I believe that the immediate feedback is important and worth the time. Socrative allows for formative assessment whether it be in the form of a multiple choice quiz, ticket out the door, a quick question, or even space race.

Assessing student's learning is a crucial part of being a teacher. Simply teaching students a concept does not mean that they understand it. Assessment allows the teacher to either move to a new concept, or approach the concept that had just been covered in a different manner. Essentially, assessment should drive instruction. 

Socrative allows this to occur in a manner in which students enjoy. Assessment does not need to be something that is stressful. Socrative allows the assessment to be laid-back yet at the same time, provide useful feedback from students to the teacher. 

A teacher could use Socrative in their classroom a number of different ways. 

The multiple choice quiz that Socrative provides could simply be used at the end of a class to see if the students understood the lesson that they had just received. However, a multiple choice quiz could also be used at the start of a class to see if students had done their homework, or even to assess if students remembered what they had learned last class.

Socrative's ticket out the door is not simply one question. Rather it allows the teacher to ask students three questions: 

1. How said student felt about the lesson.
2. What they actually learned from the lesson.
3. A response to a specific question that the teacher asks the class as a whole.

This variety allows students to display their knowledge from the class. It also encourages students to pay attention in class in order to be able to answer these questions when class is over. A teacher could use Socrative's ticket out the door as a method to encourage students to remain engaged and assess whether or not they understood important concepts.

Socratives' quick question is just that: a quick question. Creating a quick question allows teacher flexibility in how they can use it. Whether it be for extra credit, or simply to confirm students are paying attention, there are many ways in which one could use this tool from Socrative in the classroom. 

Finally, the space race function of Socrative is most likely the most popular tool with students. Space Race divides students into teams and as they answer questions, their rocket moves across the board. The first team to answer all questions correctly then reaches the finish line first. Nicole Chubb describes here how popular the space race is amongst her students. She goes into more detail about how the game works and how to set it up. 

Overall, Socrative is extremely user-friendly. However, a user's guide can be found here. I personally found the most difficult part of using Socrative was figuring out how to end a quiz. However, after a quick Google search I found this helpful page.

I would definitely use Socrative in my future classroom. Bradley Lands is another teacher that uses Socrative in his own classroom and only has positive statements about the app.

References
Socrative banner. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2016, from https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/sbstel/files/2014/12/Soc2-Banner.png

Socrative space race. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2016, from http://blogs.nvcc.edu/fsrc/files/2015/07/socrativespace-race.jpeg

Student reading. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2016, from http://educationsc.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/Student-Reading-Assess.jpg