Sixth Grade Teacher Introduces Stick Pick, innovative Education App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Have you checked out Stick Pick?   I have used it and I like it a lot!  Here is a blurb from an official press release that says it better than I can! I suggest you check it out ... Give us a comment on your thoughts as well.

Stick Pick is an apo that allows teachers to tie leveled question stems to the cognitive or linguistic needs of each individual learner. It all starts when a teacher names an on-screen soup can (class) and then fills it with popsicle sticks (students). During setup, teachers choose a category of question stems they wish to target for each learner: either "higher order thinking" (based on Bloom's Taxonomy) or "English as a Second Language" skills. Teachers can then set the degree of difficulty for each learner.

Once a class is set up, teachers can randomly (or intentionally) draw a student's stick from the soup can with either a "swipe," "tap," or a "shake." Subsequently, a customized set of appropriate question stems appears on the screen. Teachers can then scroll through these question stems until they find one they would like to form into a complete question. After a student answers a question, teachers can either mark the student's stick as "used" (which sends it to a used soup can) or reset the stick (which places it back in the new can). 

The app goes one step further by giving teachers a third option: to assess each student's response. This is accomplished by touching the "assess" icon (in the form of a check mark) and then tappping the corresponding "correct," "incorrect," or "opinion" button. Teachers can then rate each student's answer by selecting 0-5 on a Critical Thinking rubric (for the higher order thinking question stems) or an Elaboration rubric (for the English as a Second Language question stems). Student data is automatically saved within the app and can be conveniently e-mailed to the student's parents or the principal by pressing "Send."

Students in small groups can run the app, too. Imagine a table group of young learners with iPod touches or iPads asking one another deep, targeted questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy, all with the swipe of a finger! Stick Pick provides the right question for the right learner at the right time.

Stick Pick: http://www.stickpickapp.com

Purchase and Download: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stick-pick/id436682059?mt=8&ls=1

Talking Carl?

Talking Carl does literacy without kids realising it... by Guest Reviewer Jonathan Nalder

You’re 4 years old, you love bright red shiny things, and you have a parent with an iPhone. You might also be just starting to develop your oral literacy (don’t worry, you’ll understand what this is when you’re older). So is there an app for you? As of this week, and Awyse’ release of ‘Talking Carl’ ($0.99), there is.

When you first open Talking Carl, you see floating cartoon clouds, and a lovable, shiny red creature who likes to be interacted with in ways that all kids understand – tickles and pokes. But unlike your standard animated character, he also likes to be spoken to, and saves his best trick for when you do. When Carl hears your voice (microphone required for use with iPod touch) he immediatly opens up his big red mouth and repeats back what you have said in his own cartoon voice.

And thats it. Some reviews on the App Store so far point out that kids only use it for short bursts, and my own testing with a nearly 3 year old confirm this. But from a teacher’s perspective, it is exactly this kind of short-burst, repeated activity that reinforces a child’s sense of how sounds, words, and later sentences sound.

The voice of Carl could do with a bit of variation (again thats probably just an adult talking), but overall, as a cheap but fun aid to the development of oral literacy, its well worth the investment, wether for long car trips, or for classroom group activities. Perhaps a female character could be added? Apart from that, its simple and it seems to work. 4 Stars.

Classroom use? A. simply allow students to access Carl in their device 'playtime' - its fun enough that they will seek it out and even in short bursts, its all adding to their development of oral literacy - sound and speech development. B. Have students practice specific sounds or words by saying them to Carl. These can be recorded using Voice Memo (which being an Apple app can run in the background while you use Talking Carl) so that students can have further reinforcement by hearing the whole session played back.

Jonathan Nalder

Principal Project Officer (Transformational Learning: One Laptop Per Child Australia) | Learning Technologies Branch | Qld DET | Literacy & Numeracy Teacher