App Reviews

Standard (National Association for Music Education - NAfME):

MU:Cr1.1.T.Ia Generate melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic ideas for compositions or improvisations using digital tools.

Piascore

Piascore is an app that allows musicians to store their music on the app and access it through their device. With several schools becoming 1:1 schools where every student has a device they take home, Piascore can become a very commonly used app by all music classes. Students in ensembles can download their personal parts and cut down on paper used in music classes. Additionally, directors can make markings on music and the students can see their markings directly on their devices. While it hasn’t taken off too quickly in music classrooms yet, Piascore has a very real potential to be a game changer in the music education world.

Garage Band

Garage Band, the app which comes pre-downloaded on Apple iPads, is perhaps one of the most used apps in music classrooms. From personal experience, my elementary music Cooperative Teacher used garage band almost every day when he taught his students songs by creating drum tracks that helped keep the beat (it was a lot more fun to listen to than just a standard metronome!). But moving beyond elementary music, Garage Band has several features which could become educational tools in middle and high school band programs. Garage Band allows students to create their own music and explore what different chords and harmonies do when combined and how to use them. Garage Band can also add some instrumental voices into an ensemble that are not commonly there (like a synthesizer for more modern works). 

TonalEnergy Tuner

TonalEnergy Tuner (TET) is one of several instruments tuner apps available to be downloaded to devices. TET is not only a tuner, but it’s a multi-functional tool for band directors and students. This app includes a tuner, a metronome, and a recorder. The tuner can also be adjusted to specific instrumental settings (band setting, orchestral setting, guitar setting, etc). One of the best “educational” functions of this app is the fact that students can keep track of their tuning tendencies on different notes. Learning this not only helps them become better musicians, but it also is a nice introduction into some basic music theory. This app also has a wide variety of age range that it can benefit. Not only do it’s more advanced features help older high school students, but the tuner makes a smiley face when the musician is in tune (the visual simulation is very helpful to young musicians and creates that mental association from their early days of music).

Of these three apps, I think Garage Band would be the most beneficial in the most amount of music classroom settings. One of the alternative high schools in my hometown started up a music class during their second year of existence, and the entire class was taught using iPads, notably through Garage Band. The class became a huge success among students, and even opened up other opportunities such as recording and mixing tracks. Garage Band can be used effectively in any music class a band director may offer at any level (music theory, music technology, and ensembles), whereas Piascore and TonalEnergy Tuner are more specific to just ensembles. Garage Band is also easily accessible and has tons of online resources to help utilize the app to its fullest extent. The biggest downfall with Garage Band is that it’s exclusively an Apple product.

App Reviews

Standard
Teen Connections
8. Demonstrate the ability to select, store, prepare, and serve nutritious foods. 
• Exhibiting safe and correct use of kitchen equipment 
• Applying safety and sanitation procedures in food preparation 
• Utilizing guidelines for table setting  

https://www.fooducate.com

Fooducate is an app that helps to eat healthy, track calories, macros, exercise, sleep, and hunger. It has personalized nutrition and ingredient analysis for thousands of foods. The app teaches you to eat for health. It is free and it can be used for all ages. It is compatible with iPhone and android devices. The app is credible because it has an advisory board and has been endorsed by many credible companies.

https://www.choosemyplate.gov

My Plate Tips is an app that illustrates the five food groups that are the building blocks for a healthy diet using a familiar image-a place setting for a meal. The app provides you with, easy-to-follow tips. It will surely help you develop good eating habits. It costs 99 cents and is helpful for all ages. It is compatible with iPhone and android devices. The app is credible because of the .gov at the end of the web address.

https://www.cdc.gov/bam/nutrition/mobileapp.html
BAM! Dining Decisions is an app with a game that allows you to sort foods coming down a conveyor belt into three categories: Go, Slow, or Whoa. Earn points by putting foods into the correct category. It is free and applicable for ages 4 and up. It is compatible with iPhone and android devices. It was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

I feel the BAM! Dining Decisions app if the best for my students because the game is more fun. They can work through levels and I think this app will keep them interested longer. It also has a game that teaches about diseases that a person can get from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. This also correlates with science objectives as well as Teen Connections.

App Reviews

Standard: ELAGSE6L4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
c. Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

IXL-
IXL is a website and an app that allows students to choose the standard they want to work on mastering. It's compatible for iOS and Android. It tracks mastery using a Smart Score and if student performance indicates the need for remediation, it is provided through lower grade level standards. It's appropriate for students age 10 and up. The program offers a free trial, but a monthly subscription for language arts and math is $15.95 a month. Commonsensemedia.org provides a reliable wealth of information on this app, and provides reviews from both parents and students. It even give recommended talking points for parents to discuss with their students when using this app.

Word a Day- This app is available on iOS and Android. It costs a one time fee of $1.99. It gives students daily notifications, providing a new vocabulary word everyday. Users can challenge their peers to games, and even post their daily word on social media. Commonsensemedia.org recommends if for ages 14 and up. However, their review states that if used with supervision, it could be appropriate for younger ages. At times, it introduces terms that might be a little too mature for young ages.


Bluster!-  Bluster! is an app that promotes vocabulary building for younger kids. This app is produced by McGraw Hill which is a reputable company that specializes in publishing textbooks. This app teaches rhyming, as well Greek and Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Kids can also compete against each other. This app is compatible with iOS and Android. It is also free. Players can pay $0.99 for additional word packs. It is appropriate for ages 6 and up.


Of these three apps, I think Bluster! is the best app for vocabulary development at the grade level that I teach. If it weren't for the price tag attached to IXL, it would definitely win, as it has much more to offer than Bluster!. However, unless the school system is buying a subscription (mine has), that price is unrealistic for a teacher, or parent to take on. If I were only teaching vocabulary development (L4), then Bluster! provides for multiple exercises to promote this skill. The only downfall I can find with this app, is that it doesn't provide read aloud to students who have that accommodation.