iPad Apps for School

The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers

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Phrasalstein – A Fun Way to Learn Phrasal Verbs

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Screen Shot 2013-11-21 at 9.06.32 AM From the producers of the popular Phrasal Verbs Machine iPad app comes a new free iPad app called Phrasalstein. Phrasalstein is designed to help students learn the meanings of phrasal verbs. The app has a practice mode and a quiz mode. In the practice mode students select a verb and a preposition combination then see a short animation demonstration of the meaning of the chosen phrase. In the quiz mode students see an animation then have to select the matching phrase. Translations of the meanings are available in Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and French.

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H/T to David Kapuler.

Pili Pop – An iPad App for Learning English

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Screen Shot 2013-09-04 at 11.51.17 AM Pili Pop is an iPad app designed to help students learn English vocabulary. The app presents students with a variety of learning scenarios. In one scenario students identify objects after hearing the narrator’s prompts. In another scenario students speak into their iPads to identify objects. Each activity is a timed activity. Students can pause and resume activities.

Pili Pop tracks students’ progress for them. Parents can create Pili Pop accounts to track the progress that their children make.

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Pili Pop is currently free to download with level one included for free. Additional levels are available through in-app purchases. Parents and teachers can disable in-app purchases.

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VerbBusters Helps Students Learn Irregular Verbs

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Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 10.35.27 AM VerbBusters is a straight-forward iPad app for learning and practicing recognizing English irregular verbs. VerbBusters supports learners whose native languages are French, Spanish, German, Portugese, and Italian. The app can also be used by native English speakers to practice recognizing past and present tenses of verbs.

VerbBusters has two modes; a practice mode and a quiz mode. To start using the app students have to select a base or native language. After choosing a language students select a level of difficulty from beginner through advanced learner. Each activity has students type the infinitive, past tense, and participle of each verb. If students get stuck in the practice mode they can tap the help button to get the correct answer.

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VerbBusters costs $1.99. It could be a good practice application for high school ELL students.

Bitsboard – A Super iPad App for Spelling and Reading Practice

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Screen Shot 2013-04-24 at 7.14.26 PM Bitsboard is a great iPad app for young students that Joanne Villis recommended to me. Bitsboard is a free iPad app that provides word games, memory games, spelling games, and reading practice activities, and dozens of other activities in one place. On the Bitsboard app students can learn new vocabulary words, how to tell time, and how to count money. Students can also use the app to learn basic geography.

When students first open Bitsboard on their iPads they will have six topics shown on their homescreens. Those six topics are emotions, animals, famous places, first sentences, introductory English vocabulary, and introductory Spanish vocabulary. Opening any of those topics takes students to their choice of eight practice activities including flashcards, true or false quizzes, word building practice, reading practice, and matching activities.

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The part of Bitsboard that I like the best is the catalog of topics from which students can pick. Students can pick any topic in the catalog of dozens of topics and have that topic added to their Bitsboard home screens. Then they can learn about those topics by working through eight practice activities. Bitsboard keeps track of the user’s progress through each activity.

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