App Inquiry

KidCalc 1.19.2

https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ios-games-educational/id7008?mt=8&letter=K&page=2#page

      My student used this app to review her basic facts and entertain herself (college peer). This app is not relevant at a classroom level but it has value as being a support for elementary curriculum when students need stations or extra practice with their mental math and basic facts. One of the app’s functions could be used in the classroom setting as a support for the teacher while conducting a lesson. The app has a calculator function on it that also displays visuals of the equation or operation that is being done using individual pictures. For example, if I typed in 10, 10 ladybugs would appear, then plus 3, another 3 ladybugs would appear and they would light up one at a time to show the total number of ladybugs. So a teacher could teach lesson using a calculator and chose this app and displayed it on the Doc cam, students could really benefit from the extra visual.

      Every activity included in this app has its own settings menu where the user may change the difficulty level, the voice of the audio, and the content making the app ideal for differentiated instruction. There is hardly any feedback from the game, negative or positive other than subtle sound effects, which has the advantage of encouraging mistakes as learning but also could cause the user to think that the app has a glitch due to the lack of affirmation at the completion of the activity. There are no higher order thinking opportunities, however there are oral, visual and even physical elements to this app with a voice over in the background and the option to “draw” the numbers during the tracing activity. The activities kept my student fairly engaged until she had exhausted all of the activities once. This app is purely designed as individual drill with no option the save work or increasing understanding because it is based off the assumption that they students have already learned the content, though there is potential for partner quiz work.