When looking at apps to review, I considered the standard: ACCR math(2016)(2nd Grade): 10 ) Add up to four two-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations. [2-NBT6]
Review: iTooch Elementary School
According to the review from teacherswithapps the app is very good at covering math concepts, it is free to download and try. The app has been updated to combine multiple age groups and grade levels to make advancements easy and seamless. The app works extremely well with any handheld device that has touch screen technology as it has on screen chalkboards for users. The review site is a great source for educational reviews of apps because the reviews come from teachers that use them.
Review: Splash Math
According to the review, this app reinforces key math skills from common core guidelines. This app is appropriate for grades 1-5. This app does come with a cost of $10 per month or $79 per year. The app lets the student work at their own pace to master standards found in common core. The app has been updated to be cross-platform design so it can be used on any device. The review site is the same as above and great because they are reviewed by teachers for teachers.
Review: DragonBox Big Numbers
This app is designed as a game to help kids learn math. The app cost is $8 through google, amazon or apple's app store. The app is designed for kids ages 6-9. It uses characters to help kids solve long addition and subtraction problems. It can be accessed on any platform. The review site, The NY Times, has a long history of great reviews and reviews only the educational apps recommended by educators.
From the apps reviewed, I think the iTooch Elementary School is the best choice. The fact that it can be used for free makes it a great tool for educators with limited budgets. It allows students to progress at their own pace and has multiple grade levels built in. The fact that the app is friendly to multiple grade levels also helps students transition between grades without having to learn a new app each year. The chalkboard feature makes the app great for students so they don't need a pencil and paper to work out problems, which saves money on supplies as well.
Brian after looking over these apps I agree that the iTooch Elementary School app is the best. First because it is a free tool, but also I like the fact that it allows the students to work at that own pace. Some students need more time than others when learning math concepts and them being able to work at their own pace would be less stressful on them I would think. It amazes me of all the apps that are out there to help students.
ReplyDeleteBrian,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post, and like you, and Gina, was intrigued by the application. Free, scalable across many grades, and easy to use, iTooch seemed like a good solution for both students, and cash strapped educators.
As I have mentioned many times before in this program, I am not an educator, but a lifelong businessperson, and technologist. Over the last forty years I have had the final say on evaluating and purchasing applications ranging from free, to upwards of fifty millions dollars. When buying technology, I have felt that caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, should be playing subliminally in the background. Free or not.
Sorry, I digressed, back to iTooch...
After reading your blog post, I jumped to the review. Reading it, I smelled the deft hand of a marketing person. Not a single negative. Nothing is that good.
While still on the review site, I jumped to the services tab, where I discovered that JCC, the owner of the site, is a consulting firm, who is ready to “…help you achieve your goals smoothly, knowledgeably, and guide you in the right direction whether you are a small operation or a Fortune 500 company.” Not many schools are either of those. In fairness to JCC, the review is from April of 2012. Maybe my inborn cynicism was working overtime.
I grabbed my iPad, input iTooch. Several iTooch apps were listed. The prices for each app averaged $8.99, when bought outright. A few that were free cautioned that they were lite versions, requiring in-app purchases. Maybe worth it, I clicked on a few of the apps to view the reviews, which vary considerably depending on the particular iTooch app, with those downloading the free version often complaining that after a few screens, prices rose quickly.
What really bothered me though was the price points of $8.99. That’s far from the free days. What was driving that? Apps of this complexity don’t cost millions to build, and on the Google Play site, where you can download the app, eduPad, the company behind it, was discussing how they had over 5,000,000 users. Searching some more, I discovered an article from 2013 when the company was offering a blow out sale for .99 from the then regular price of $2.99. Either todays eduPad app family has gotten considerably better, or something else was at play.
Trying to get a better handle on the pricing, I went to the eduPad site, and found a company post from November 30, 2018 @ http://www.edupad.com/blog/2018/11/edupad-sells-french-edtech-company/.
The post announced that they had sold their portfolio of content to a French firm, who would be integrating the content into new apps, which "fills them with joy." Afterwards, we discover how much joy they must be having as they detail the plans for the current apps being sold on iPads and Android devices:
1) The apps will still be available for purchase for five years after which they will be sunset (they will no longer work).
2) App support sunsets immediately for iTooch and all other eduPad applications. (the date of the post was November 30, 2018).
3) eduPad apps, will not be updated from the date of the post forward, stating that their applications "may not work perfectly, or even crash in the future due to an OS update which may break the code."
Its been a little over 2 1/2 years since they shared their joy buried in a blog post on their web site, while they are still selling the product, unsupported, with no updates, no guarantee that the app will work from day to day, and best of all, no liability to the consumer. Best of all, they will still be filled with joy, each day that someone buys an app, for another 2 1/2 years.
None of that is mentioned on the very cheery edupad.com homepage where they inform those landing there that "more than 12 million students learn with iTooch Apps," providing large buttons that can take them to the iOS and Android stores.
The problem with all of this, is that buyers have difficulty parsing what was once true, with subsequent changes to the product and its lifespan.
Best regards, Bob