Here are some guidelines to help you evaluate the suitability of educational apps.
Apps need to be:-
written by teachers/educators
engaging
a fun way to learn
innovative
multi-sensory
structured
systematic
high-quality
directed at learning outcomes
suitable for home or school
reinforcement of school learning
portable
priced reasonably
easy to understand
not a waste of time
focused on tasks
Apps need to have:-
quality content
progress tracking
age-appropriate material
structure
an easy and simple system
parental guidelines
feedback systems for correction
no advertising components
interactive elements
success and achievement in-built
Literacy 1
Comprehension:
original non-fiction texts and humorous rhyming poems and questions using yes/no, true/false, check mark/x, tick/cross
Language:
word building, sentence formation, homophones, compound words, plurals, suffixes, usage, meanings and blends
Writing:
sentences, questions, antonyms, similes, punctuation and grammar
Spelling:
phonemic and graphemic word building and audio; letter and sound awareness and correspondence; reinforcement of phonics and decoding skills
Literacy K
Language:
builds visual and sound discrimination, capital and lower case letter recognition, alphabetical order knowledge,
sentence building and word order
Reading:
builds sight word and common word knowledge with picture association and audio
Writing:
builds word order in sentences, whole word recognition,
letter/sound correspondence
Spelling:
30 units of 8 words with audio reinforcing sight, sound and touch in the learning process
Literacy 2
Comprehension:
original poems, fiction and non-fiction texts and questions using yes/no, true/false, check mark/x, tick/cross
Language:
word building, sentence formation, homophones, compound words, plurals, suffixes, word groupings, questions, answers, verbs, dictionary use, idioms and blends
Writing:
sentence building, sentence formation, punctuation, letter writing, creative story building, rhyming words and creative sentences
Spelling:
phonemic and graphemic word building, letter and sound awareness and correspondence, reinforcement of phonics and decoding skills
Literacy 3
Comprehension:
original fiction and non-fiction texts and poems from fables, classics, science and culture, questions using yes/no, true/false, check mark/x, tick/cross and cloze options
Language:
sentence building, word building, word usage, word order, misused words, sentence errors, grammar in context, using improved words, idioms, dictionary use, groupings and classifying
Writing:
sentence improvement, punctuation, sentence combining, literary and non-literary text types/genres
Spelling:
practise phonic words using visual and auditory cues and words that improve common misspellings
Literacy 4
Comprehension:
original fiction and non-fiction texts from history, mythology and science, questions using yes/no, true/false, check mark/x, tick/cross, cloze and multiple-choice options
Language:
sentence building, grammar, word building, word usage, word order, misused words, sentence errors, grammar, using improved words, groupings and classifying
Writing:
sentence improvement, punctuation, sentence building, word building, word usage, misused words, sentence errors, grammar in context, using improved words, idioms, dictionary use, groupings and classifying, literary and non-literary text types/genres
Spelling:
practise phonic words using visual and auditory cues and words that improve common misspellings
Literacy 5
Comprehension:
original fiction and non-fiction texts from history, science, historical figures, the animal world, the man-made world, classics, culture and mythology, comprehension using yes/no, true/false, cloze, multiple choice
Language:
complex and creative sentences, grammar, word building, vocabulary building, usage of standard English, using grammar in context for improved sentences
Writing:
punctuation, building complex sentences, paragraphing and vocabulary building, creative writing, writing resource lists and story ideas
Spelling:
practise word families and improve common misspellings using visual and auditory cues
Literacy 6
Comprehension:
original fiction and non-fiction texts from history, science, historical figures, the animal world, the man-made world, classics, culture and mythology, comprehension using yes/no, true/false, cloze, multiple choice
Language:
complex and creative sentences, grammar, word building, vocabulary building, usage of standard English, using grammar in context for improved sentences
Writing:
punctuation, building complex sentences, paragraphing and vocabulary building, adapting simple rhymes, poems, descriptions, similes and metaphors with the use of grammatical lists to produce original and creative texts, writing resource lists for narrative writing and story ideas
Spelling:
words that practise word families and improve common misspellings using visual and auditory cues
