Oh Appy Day: Tech on Tuesday...It's Back!!

Tech on Tuesday is back!!   I love sharing new technology with you that will help your students learn and stay engaged.  This week I have an app to share with you that was shared with me by a friend and parent of one of my students and a couple of my all-time faves!

click pic for link

SnapType is an app developed for students that have a difficult time with handwriting and penmanship.  Some students hate writing, because penmanship and the physical act of writing is just so overwhelming.  This app allows you take a picture or import a worksheet and then type answers straight on the picture.  Begin by taking a picture of the document or worksheet, tap to add text, then share as an image, PDF or SnapType document.  The reviews and testimonials for this app speak for themselves! *The app is free, but I suggest going ahead and getting the paid version for $3.99.  It allows you to save more documents.  The free app allows 3 saved documents*

click pic for link

Touch and Write is one of my all-time favorite apps.  Students can learn how to write each letter of the alphabet right on the iPad.  The best part about this is app is that you can choose to write in shaving cream, with pudding, or even using ketchup (all virtually, of course)!  Sixteen different writing textures and 28 different writing papers gives students choice and provides an engaging medium to practice letter formation.  Parents and teachers can use preprogrammed word lists to allow students to practice or sight words or you can customize your own word lists!  This app is $2.99, but keep a close eye out, because I've seen it free before!

click pic for link

If you love Touch and Write, then you will be head over heels for Touch and Write Phonics!  Also coming in at the $2.99 price, Touch and Write Phonics provides fun practice for vowels, blends and diagraphs.  Start by choosing the phonics component to work on and begin practicing color coded words that contain the phonics component you have chosen.  Again, this app has 18 different writing textures (with sound effects)!!  This is the most fun your student will have practicing phonics!  An added bonus...this app tracks progress of phonics skills practiced!! 

Special Education February Blog Hop & Valentine Edition of Oh Appy Day!!

Hello friends and followers!  I'm so excited to bring you Day 3 of our Special Education Teacher Valentine Blog Hop.  Remember to come back everyday to find the special education blogger that will be bringing you a wonderful freebie, tip or trick all throughout the month of February!  Finding the special educator's blog of the day is easy, please just stop back by my blog and click on the corresponding day's envelope to directly link to that teacher's blog!  My friends, Traci from The Bender Bunch and Christine from Autism Clasroom News have already brought you some amazing Valentine freebies.

In honor of February being all about feelings and emotions I will be offering (for TODAY, February 3, 2015 ONLY), I my Check In/Check Out Behavior Intervention!
Click the link above or on the picture to be linked to my TPT store to download this freebie TODAY!!  Don't forget to leave some love (feedback) if you download this goodie!

Also, for faithful readers, I am continuing to do Tech on Tuesday: Oh Appy Day, but I am I have decided to only do this once a month.  I will be posting some awesome apps on the first Tuesday of every month!  Well, friends, guess what day it is!  Tuesday!!

These great apps are Valentine themed and perfect for your students.  All of the apps are great editions to your iPads and tablets and I like to add apps instead of buying treats or candy for my kids. I see so many kids in several different classrooms throughout the day that it could get expensive to buy lots of Valentine goodies, instead the kids can use the iPad or tablet to enjoy a little Valentine love from Mrs. H! ;)

iGet...Valentine's Day Social Skills Stories
$2.99

iGet... Valentine's Day is an application providing a photo social skill story for individuals that need support in understanding the process of Valentine's Day. Twenty-seven icons with real picture images are used to illustrate the sequence of events.

The Kissing Hand  {One of my favorite stories!!}
$3.99
Chester Raccoon and his mother share a secret, the Kissing Hand.  A sweet story about love between mommy and baby raccoon.  This book can be accessed as a read along, read by myself or autoplay book.

Valentine's Sliding Puzzle
Free
A fun game for kids of all ages.  Players work through 9 levels of moving sliding puzzles to complete a Valentine's Day picture.  This is just a fun app to surprise your kids with for a V-day present!

First Words Valentine
Free

First Words Valentine teaches kids about letters, how letters relate to words, and even how to spell words. This app is perfect for beginning readers and younger students.  The app provides 8 Valentine themed words to spell and read. 

Happy February!! Don't forget to stop back by everyday to click the envelope of the day and join some of my best blogging buddies for some great February freebies!!

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday -- Christmas Edition

This month's Oh "Appy" Day is being brought to you by the jolly, ol' elf himself!  Each Tuesday this month I will be sharing the Christmas Edition of some my favorite holiday apps for kids.  This week's apps are fun for kids (and adults)!  Take a look at some of my favorite Christmas games!

Starting us off this month, we all know that is time for everyone's favorite elf to begin making his appearance in homes around the globe.  Our elf, Rocky, returned on Monday morning. :)
Here is an official Elf on the Shelf app:

This  is a FREE app!  Have a great time with a snowball fight with other elves!  This is sure to excite your little ones!
For more information click the link:  Elf on the Shelf App

My kids love any of the Toca apps and this one is one of their favorites!  Another free app!  You can style Santa or a Christmas tree for their big holiday debut.  Everybody needs a little cut, color and shave...even Santa Claus!
Toca Hair Salon-Christmas Gift

Christmas Fun - All in One Holiday Spirit
This app contains fun holiday songs, games, and interactive activities!  This is a one stop Christmas game shop and the best part is that it is also FREE!






I hope you find that these apps bring a little Christmas cheer to you and your students!

Oh "Appy" Day-Tech on Tuesday: Virtual Manipulatives

Raise your hand if you hate pulling out manipulatives, because a.) The kids want to play with them, b.) the manipulatives fall in the floor and make lots of noise and inevitably one, two or ten of them get lost, or c.) it just takes so long to pull everything out!

Well, fret no more friends!  This app/website will be a lifesaver for many of you!  Virtual Manipulatives through ABCya.com has your answer to your manipulative woes when it comes to fraction bars, decimals and percents!  And the best part...it's FREE!

Available here through ABCya is a great tool to use when teaching students about equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and converting fractions to decimals and percents.  You  can use it as a teacher to demonstrate any of these concepts using the fraction tiles we all have in our classroom, but ABCya has made the fraction tiles more engaging and easier to manage by making them high tech!  Another beauty of these virtual manipulatives are that the students can use them too.  Instead of students pulling out the "real" fraction tiles, you can have the app on an iPad ready for the student to use and manipulate right at their desks.

Click the picture above to check out the Virtual Manipulatives

A quick user guide is included to teach you and your students how to use the fraction tiles!

Click the image above for the iPad app!

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday-Calm Counter App

I am constantly on the look out for calming tools.  I have stress balls and sensory bins galore in my room, but this app adds a unique and engaging piece to my collection of calming tools that may just help the kids that love technology.  It is motivating and easy to use, even for the youngest student!

Calm Counter is an app that is used as a visual to teach students how to regain their composure and to become calm again.  (PS...this works great as a technique/strategy to use with the Zones of Regulation curriculum that I love so much)
When a student becomes upset, we often use the strategy of counting to ten and taking deep breaths to help a student become calm.  However, some students need help doing this.  Some students just count and really do not connect the counting or deep breathing as a way to become calm.  This app helps to teach this concept.  The student keeps an iPad, iTouch, or other app enabled device at his/her desk.  When the student becomes upset, the student touches the screen that says, "I need a break."  The app begins counting down from 10.  The student touches the app each time he/she is ready to count down to the next number.  The face changes from red and upset on number 10 to a smiling face and a calmer color on face 1.  The final step is a deep breath and one more touch brings you to "All Done."   Visual and verbal cues are used on each screen, but verbal cues can be turned off in the app settings.  The app also includes a social narrative about anger and how to handle anger.

Screenshot of the changing faces in the app
Credit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calm-counter-social-story/id470369893?mt=8

The app costs $2.99 and is made by Touch Autism.

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday: Back for the New Year (with a Link Up!) & Running Records

Oh Happy Day, friends!! Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday is back for the new school year!  I had several comments and people telling me that they enjoyed this series, so this school year not only will I be sharing my favorite apps and other "techy" type posts on Tuesdays, but you will be able to as well!  Every Tuesday link up with me and get "Appy!"  

The beginning of the year always brings collecting baseline data to this special ed teacher's life!  :)

For my reading assessments over the years I have tried different types of assessments--sight word assessments, Fry assessments, comprehension checks...but I always seem to go back to the same assessment...Running Records.  As many of you know from reading this blog, I {heart} Reading A-Z.  Reading A-Z provides me with all of the passages I need for every reading level I need through 5th grade.  Each level has two fiction and two non fiction passages to take a running record along with the recording sheets that are needed to document errors, self corrections, etc.  Here is the downside to running records...more paperwork.  This special ed teacher does not need anymore paperwork!  (Can I get an amen?!)

Here's where my new fave app comes in...Running Records Calculator ($3.99)

5  5 +1 Reasons I love this app:

1.  So simple to use.  To use this app...just hit start!  How much easier could it get?!  The app records the student's voice as he/she reads whatever passage you have available.  

2.  Record errors or self corrections by tapping!  So easy, seriously!  When the student makes a mistake or self correction, simply tap error or self correction.  Easy!

3.  When the reading is finished, tap done and get instant results.  Time, words per minute, accuracy, and self correction rate is all recorded and easy to view right at the top of the screen.

4.  Use on iPhone or iPad!

5.  Email the results to yourself automatically!  You can have (paper or digital) documentation of the running record by tapping email and then typing straight into your email the information needed to document the passage your student read.  

6. There is a lite version of this app that you can try for free! :)

Ok, friends!  It's your turn!  Link up your technology posts below.  It can be an app, tech tutorial, computer program, anything that has to do with technology is a go!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tech on Tuesday: Autism Apps

In honor of Autism Awareness Month I want to share with you some of my favorite apps that I use for kids with autism.  This is a list of some of my favorites :)  

Graphics by 3AM Teacher

Social Skills:

Touch and Learn Emotions

Hidden Curriculum for Kids

The Zones of Regulation

Model Me Going Places 2 & Model Me Faces and Emotions

Calm Counter

iModeling App-a favorite to use for video modeling!

Calm Myself Down 

Autism 5 Point Scale EP

Sensory:

Touch and Write

Kaleidoscope Drawing Pad

Sensory Magma

Splodge

Pocket Pond

Fluidity

Fireworks Arcade

Too Noisy-This app tracks noise and gives visual cues showing when it is too noisy in the room.  Sensitivity can be set depending on the student.

White Noise Apps

Sensory Training

Brain Works App-Great for sensory breaks!

AAC & Communication

Dragon Dictation

Go Talk Now Free

TapSpeak Sequence Standard  

My Choice Board

Tap To Talk

TapSpeak Button

Timers/Schedules:

Timer + Touch2 HD

My Video Schedule

Video Scheduler

Other:

Touch Autism has great apps that include social narratives, timers, and assessments.

Behavior Tracker Pro

And for fun :)  These are a couple of my favorite special education/autism TPT stores that I've purchased so many great resources from!

The Autism Helper by Sasha Hallagan

Autism Classroom News by Christine Reeve

Do you have favorite apps that you use with students with special needs and autism?  I would love to hear about your favorites!

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday-Calculator Apps

There are two calculator apps that I am in love with right now!  

The first one is MyScript Calculator (thanks to my sweet friend Cyndee for showing me this one)!

 I became hooked on this app from the first moment that I touched the screen!  It has an amazing "cool" factor that your students will love.  This calculator app recognizes your handwriting and converts it into script/type and then solves the math equation that you write on the screen.  This app helps to eliminate the need to "learn" to use the calculator. If your student can write numbers then this app can solve the problem!  One of the best features???  It's FREE!!

My second calculator app came out of pure necessity as we are working on fractions in every grade level that I work with right now!  Talk about being sick of fractions! This girl is done!  Anyway, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions have soooo many rules and processes to remember, but this app can help solve those dilemmas!  

Fraction Calculator Plus FREE is the app you need for teaching fractions.  I have been letting my fifth graders use this app to solve their fraction problems!  My students do know the process for finding the answers to problems involving fractions, but are still having a difficult time simplifying, so I have them work on the problems on paper, then they can use the app to get the answer in the simplest form.  Works perfect!!

Get these great FREE apps today!! 

And join me at this Techie Link Up!

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday: FarFaria App Review & Giveaway

I was recently contacted by the owners of the app FarFaria and was asked to review their storybook app for the iPad.

FarFaria is an iPad app that provides a story time experiences for children ages 2-9 with more than 600 + children’s stories to choose from, plus 5 new stories are added each week. The app opens up to a fairy tale world complete with different kingdoms to choose from (the kingdoms are all different genres of books).  

Mt. Make Believe is one of the kingdoms that you can choose books from.  There is something for every child, from make believe to animals to fairy tales.

There are also books for the youngest readers.  Preschool Playground contains lots of great books made just for the little preschool tikes!

My favorite features of the app include:

• More than 600 stories to choose from (there is something for everyone-boys and girls)
• New stories added every week.
• Interactive and engaging stories with bright colors and detailed pictures
• Stories can be read aloud with the Read to Me feature with clear voices and engaging fluency
• Reading-level badge on every story cover.
• You can go offline and still read your favorite stories.
• No ads or hidden fees

While trying out apps to review, I have allowed my very own children (ages 6 and 11) try out each app.  I thought it would be great for you to get a kids opinion on each app that I review.

My 6 year old says, "This is a cool app!  The books are fun to read.  I really like the Animal Kingdom."

My 11 year old says, "I love fairy tales and these are fun to read!  They have a huge selection of books and I love looking for just the right one!"

Classroom Applications:  In my classroom I will using FarFaria during reading resource.  I use a modified Daily 5 schedule during my reading group.  This app is great for Listen to Reading or Read to Self.  The books are highly engaging and interesting.  

The app is free to download and you can read one book a day, but to access all of the books, you must subscribe.  A 6 month subscription is $23.99 (or just $3.99 a month) and so worth every penny!  Want a subscription?  Thanks to the creators of FarFaria, I have one to giveaway!  FarFaria is giving me one 6 month subscription to giveaway to one of you lucky readers!  This is my very first giveaway, friends!! I am so excited about the giveaway, but even more excited about this app!  It is a 5 Star App!!!

And just for fun...I'm linking up with a great Techy Blog that I love!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday: CardKiwi

I was recently asked to use and review a new flashcard website/tool called CardKiwi.  CardKiwi uses a special algorithm called spaced repetition algorithm.  This specially designed study tool employs a formula that spaces your flashcards based on what you have told the program you know and don't know.  It's like the old way of doing flashcards in a fancy, technological new way.  Remember the days of creating piles of flashcards of "cards I know" and "cards I don't know"?  Now the computer can do it all for you!

CardKiwi is extremely easy to use and has a step by step format to help you create cards on any subject, from sight words to math facts and vocabulary.  You can even create flashcards for many, many different novels that are pre-loaded into the program.  The program works on the premise that as you learn the material on the card you give a "thumbs up" to show you know and "thumbs down" or "thumbs sideways" to show you don't know the content or sort of know the content.  CardKiwi will then show you the cards that you gave a "thumbs down" or "thumbs sideways" to more frequently.  CardKiwi still throws in the cards that you definitely know.  This helps you to continue remember these cards and it also gives motivation, because you will continuously know the answers on some cards.  One of my favorite parts is that you can use words or images on each card, so this makes flashcard possibilities endless.

Here you add flashcards to your set.  Make them about any subject that you need!

Now begin studying!

On this screen the user will decide how well they know the content.  If the student does not know the content and choose thumbs down then the program will show that particular card more often.

Another awesome benefit of this program is that you can share collaborate and share your cards with your friends!  It's always more fun to study with a buddy!!  Students from elementary age through high school and beyond can use CardKiwi!  I highly recommend this website.  CardKiwi gives a fresh spin on an old trick!! :)

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech On Tuesday: News-O-Matic

  FREE download and 2 week trial, then subscription based

I recently downloaded a new app that quickly became a favorite in my house and my classroom.  News-O-Matic is a daily use app.  My kids check this app daily to get the day's news stories and current events.  Each news story is kid-friendly and entertaining.  The news of the days is covered through videos, maps, games, images and stories.  It includes stories for all interests including sports, science, world news, and even wacky events.  This is a safe way for young readers to become global learners.

New issues are featured daily and include:

• Five news articles
• Detailed videos, images, pictures, and games
• Maps for every story
• Interactive timeline
• Puzzles, games, facts
• Each story can be read aloud, so even non-readers can enjoy the news

All articles are safe and kid-friendly.  Each article is reviewed by a child psychologist before it is published.

The News-O-Matic app is free to  download and includes a free 2 week trial period.  After the trial period you can subscribe for $19.99 for one year, $2.99 monthly, or $1.99 weekly.  We are coming up on the end of our trial period and I will be making a subscription purchase!  This one is well worth the cost!!

Oh "Appy" Day: Tech on Tuesday: Feb. 4

Tech on Tuesday!  Back again!  Today's tech review features:  Touch and Write & Dexteria.  Two apps that should be in every special education teachers and occupational therapists arsenal of apps and instructional activities!

$3.99

Dexteria is designed to help young children develop prewriting skills.  It is a set of therapeutic hand exercises that helps to improve fine motor skills.   The app takes advantage of the multi-touch interface of the iPad to allow complete interaction with the app.  Students work on pincher grasp, motor planning and sequencing.  The last exercise moves up to letter writing in a structured, yet fun and engaging way to learn the letters.  From personal experience, my son (age 6) loves this app.  He does not have difficulty with writing or fine motor skills, but the activities were engaging enough to keep him on the app.  In the classroom, students with fine motor difficulties can use this app in repeated and short sessions.

$2.99

This app is also great elementary age students.  The app allows students to practice letter and word writing.  The fun bit of this app is in the materials that are used to "write."  You can "write" in ketchup, pudding, icing, jelly, and more.  You can also change the background from paper to fur and anything in between!  So fun and highly motivating!  One of my favorite aspects of this app is that you can program your own word list.  Students can then use this app to practice their own sight words or spelling words.  

Hurry and download these apps today!! You won't be sorry!