Ipad Apps for the second language classroom
the best apps for teachers of ELLs and for the students themselves
ShowMe (free)
 link to app store
This an incredibly useful app for ELLs and for ESL teachers too. In my opinion, it is one of the most versatile apps in the market. It allows you to easily create screen-casts, by recording your voice over whiteboard drawing or images. You can then share them online and even post them to a class website or wiki. I used ShowMe app to have students retell and illustrate stories and to practice readers theater.
Stick Pick ($2.99)
 link to app store
This app is a digital interpretation of an old classic tool. It allows you to pick a student at random just by giving your device a shake or tapping the screen. It can suggest question starters for learners at different levels and also records how well students respond during classroom discussions. It is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. I used it to randomly select volunteers for classroom activities and lessons.
Forms App ($1.99)
 click here for the app store
This app is a great tool for collecting data and assessment. It makes iPad friendly versions of Google forms. It is easy to use. Simply create a form in Google Docs and import it. You can use your iPad as super-charged clipboard. It stores multiple forms and can still collect information while off-line. And it automatically sends all the data you collect to a spreadsheet.
Socrative (free) click here for the app store
Socrative offers two free apps. One for teachers and another for students. The teacher app allows you to create evaluations that students can access on other devices such as iPod touches, iPads, or laptops. Teachers can make multiple choice quizzes, exit tickets, short answers questions and more. Each teacher room has a specific numerical code that students use to join via their app. As the questions are answered you can see the results via the teacher app.
Skitch (free)
 link to app store
Skitch allows you to easily mark up photos or other images using multiple colors, arrows and more. My students used it to label parts of animals when we studied animal defenses. They imported images from Google and annotated them. See the app store description for screenshots.
Vistimer ($1.99)
 link to app store
Simple, easy to use visual timer. I used this app as an effective tool for classroom management. I used it for practice time before morning news, math warm-ups, cleaning up, and sometimes for students who needed a guide to gauge their time on task.
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Haiku Deck (free)
Easily create visual presentations. With a limited amount of space for text and an emphasis on imagery, Haiku Deck makes a great tool for teachers interested in using words economically and for students working with vocabulary. Here is a great blog post on using Haiku Deck focusing on academic vocabulary for ELLs.
Popplet ($4.99) click here for the app store
Popplet is a very easy to use app for creating mind maps or concepts maps. Students can use it for organizing information for studying, sequencing, creating outlines for writing and many other tasks. They can choose the colors for various nodes, change the font size, draw, import pictures and then export the files as PDFs or JPEGs.
Book Creator ($4.99)
The title says it all. With this app you can create digital books. Add and manipulate text, use images from the internet or from your iPad's camera roll, attach sounds or your voice to images or words and more. Books can be exported and shared via iBooks or printed. Great for many different writing projects, especially All About Books.
Toontastic (free) click here for the app store
In my opinion, this is one of the best free apps around. It guides students through the creation of a story arc with 5 components: a setup, a conflict, a challenge, a climax & a resolution. They build stories by selecting (or creating) characters and settings for each scene. Then students can record their voice while moving the characters on the screen. After each scene, they then select music to go along with it. When each of the 5 components is done, the app threads them together to create one continuous story. It also allows you to share your story and see the stories of other users around the world. Toontastic proved to be an awesome tool for my students when they were learning about story elements and how to write fiction.
App website is here. Sock Puppets (free) link to app store
Sock Puppets lets you create your own lip-synched videos with various puppets, props, scenery, and backgrounds. The puppets automatically respond to your voice. Great app for hesitant speakers and for practicing readers theater.
Rocket Speller (free) link to app store
Put the letters of scrambled words back into the correct order. Images accompany the letters and the app speaks the names of the letters and the images. At regular intervals, after correctly unscrambling three words, the player is allowed to select a component of a rocket. Then when all the components have been collected, the player can launch the rocket. You can toggle between working only with uppercase or lowercase letters. There are also 4 different levels which allows you to vary the complexity of the words and if hints are given.
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Gear Suggestions
tested by my students and me (and my daughter)
tested by my students and me (and my daughter)
 
My students used iPad 2s. Still available new from Amazon, at lower price than generation 3.
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A keyboard case helped me use a laptop much less and helped me use my personal iPad in a much more productive way.
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This dock connector is essential for using an iPad with a digital projector.
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Simple and inexpensive stylus.
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A "chunkier" stylus was better for some of my younger students.
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Recommendations
Management: My class had one iPad for every 2 students. I think this arrangement is actually more beneficial than a 1:1 situation. Depending, of course, on the apps that you use with your ELLs, a 2:1 ratio encourages more interaction and communication between students. Also, in order to minimize on conflict, I typically set a visual timer (see app above) for 5 minute intervals. For the first five minutes, one student would hold the iPad and then they would switch when the timer rang.
NOTE: I do NOT recommend screen protectors. They are expensive and extremely difficult to apply to the iPads without air bubbles. My group of 19 first graders used iPads at least twice weekly during the school year, and we suffered only one minor scratch on a screen. I think this scratch happened when a few of the iPads were stacked on top of each other not from student use.
I do recommend going to the local dollar store and purchasing some cloth napkins. Look for packs of four or five. My students put the napkins under the iPads while working on table tops or other hard surfaces. Just make sure to record which students have which iPad (hopefully they are numbered) and teach them proper handling and care.
I do recommend going to the local dollar store and purchasing some cloth napkins. Look for packs of four or five. My students put the napkins under the iPads while working on table tops or other hard surfaces. Just make sure to record which students have which iPad (hopefully they are numbered) and teach them proper handling and care.
