I have lots of teacher-authors following me on WordDreams, so I wanted to share a very exciting app from the son of my efriend, Nora Colvin. It’s called:
Reading is defined as “the action or skill of absorbing written or printed matter silently or aloud.” Sounds dry, maybe even boring, but the ability to read has been credited with exercising the mind, saving lives, bringing people together, and predicting success in school. It alleviates boredom in the bits of free time that pop up between soccer and dinner and it can be done alone or in a group.
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends…”
― Charles William Eliot
So when I find an app that organically encourages reading, I get excited. But I’m fussy. Here’s what I look for–the red answers are how this mystery reading app sized up:
- Does it have advertising? No
- Is it intuitive? Yes
- is it user-friendly? Yes
- Does the web tool differentiate for types of students and their unique needs? Yes
- Is the web tool compatible with most browsers? Yes
- Is the web tool free? No–but it’s affordable ($1.99 at the time this was printed).
- Does the web tool encourage higher-order thinking? Yes
- Is the web tool or app error-free? Yes
- Does the web tool have educational applications? Yes
- Is the app private? Yes
I’m excited to share with you a new low-cost app I found called Word Zoo Learn to Read:
The Word Zoo Learn to Read app for iPhone, iPod, and iPad helps children between the ages of 2-8 not only read but understand how that is happening. Children are challenged to match words to pictures not by using the traditional pattern matching but by exercising their short-term memory for letters and words. This, with Word Zoo’s built-in dictionary of animals, colors, and shapes, helps make word recognition a life skill.
To make the experience more fun (although, the lifelong learners among us say learning itself is fun enough), the app can be personalized. Children can take a photo, record a victory jingle, and add their own words to the dictionary, thus tailoring the challenges to the child’s level and interests. Because the dictionary includes sounds, images–even shapes and colors–it accommodates different learning styles of varied children.
Some features you’ll like about Word Zoo:
- More than one child can have an account.
- There are no ads.
- There are no in-game purchases.
- Once the app is downloaded, it can be played without WiFi.
- All the child’s data is stored on your local device, not in the cloud.
Here’s how to get started
Simply download the app, click open, and follow the prompts. You can either start a new game, look up a word, or add your own word. If you choose “Game”, you pick an age group defined by the reading skills that will be emphasized (not a chronological age). Then, play starts. There aren’t directions, encouraging users to figure out how to play by the images and movements on the screen. As you work through each level and sublevel, progress is saved so children can work at their own pace and pick up where they left off.
Don’t forget to add family members to the dictionary, accompanied by the child saying their names and a picture.
Education applications
Because you can add words to the dictionary, children can add their weekly sight words with a picture and sound if they’d like. It makes it a fun way to extend school learning to the home setting, exactly how you create lifelong learners.
***
If you’re looking for a creative, personalized, effective approach to developing reading skills, give Word Zoo Learn to Read a try. Here are some screen shots that give you an even better idea of what you’ll find:
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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Quest for Home, Fall 2019. You can find her tech ed books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning
I’ll have to make sure my local elementary schools know about this. Thank you for the info!
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It’s a worthy find, Kate. Thanks.
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Wow, that’s so cool that Norah’s son created it! And nice to read that it fits with your criteria too, Jacqui.
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It is cool. I couldn’t resist!
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I sent your post to my daughter and son-in-law. They have a 4-year-old who is slightly autistic. I figure this app will help him focus on the quiet activities of reading and writing. 😀
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I like that, Glynis. I’d love to hear if it works well for him.
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A lovely article, Jacqui. Sharing.
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Thanks, Robbie. I tested it out and was duly impressed!
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Terima kasih tentang artikel nya , semoga bermanfaat, kunjungi my blog Makanan wisata
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🙂
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What a fabulous idea! Thank you for spreading the word…
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My pleasure. It’s close to writing, don’t you think?
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Oh yes – and as a teacher, I’m allll about anything that helps children learn to read in a friendly way…
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This sounds amazing! I’m going to share it.
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It’s one of those summer finds. I knew my teacher-author friends would love it.
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You were right! Great job on your research and review!
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In Australia, Reading Eggs is the thing that is used to learn to read. It’s fabulous. Schools have adopted it as it’s so successful.
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I need to look at that. I’ve never heard of it. Thanks, Anita.
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Sounds like a fantastic find! 🙂
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A lot of good about it.
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No doubt if Norah created it! 🙂
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Thanks for your words of support, Debby. However, it wasn’t me. It was my son. I had nothing (directly) to do with it. 🙂
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I did not Robert’s name, but one never knows if it’s real or a pen name, so thanks for clarifying. And it seems apples don’t really fall far from trees. ❤
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Thanks, Debby. I graciously accept your compliment. (But maybe I won’t tell him. 😂)
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Lol, why not, you more certainly deserve praise for all you do. 🙂 Just sayin’ ❤
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Thank you, Debby. You’re very kind. 💖
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Shared with our lower-grades teacher- thanks!
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Excellent! It’s great to offer parents–a free quality reading app.
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Nice. I’m sharing this with my niece for her little ones.
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Excellent. Anything that encourages reading is good!
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Agreed.
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Sounds fun-tastic! Thanks so much, Jacqui and Norah. Sharing everywhere… 🙂
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You are wonderful!
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Ditto!
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Anything that promotes reading is a winner in my book, Jacqui. One of the most common qualities I recognize in teachers is a willingness to help one another. Thanks to Jacqui and Norah for being part of that helpful community.
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I so agree with you, Pete. It takes a village (as Margaret Meade famously once said).
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I’m always looking for more resources for my kiddos! Thanks
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This is a nice one and you’re supporting a fellow author!
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Always a plus haha
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Hi Jacqui – that seems to be an excellent way to get the children learning to read, or recognise words. Fun to learn about – thank you … cheers Hilary
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This is a great app to energize reading skills. I love that it’s from the son of an efriend!
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Thanks, Jacqui. Just sent the info to my son for the Grands:)
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It’s a good one. It passed all of my tech ed requirements.
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Thanks for sharing this Jacqui, quite useful for the kids of this era. My grandkids would love it. 🙂
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And it’s free!
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I’m passing this on to the grands – thanks for a really fun idea.
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And you’re supporting a fellow teacher!
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It sounds like an excellent app, Jacqui. Anything that encourages kids to fall in love with reading and words from a young age gets a round of applause from me.
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I know what a big difference reading made to both of my kids. They love it to this day–and they’re 30ish. We still have reading hours!
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Thanks for the tip and review. I like the active (rather than passive) definition of reading.
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I do like getting involved in a story, and then other times I just want it to carry me away!
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Thanks so much for sharing, Jacqui. Appreciated. 🙂
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My pleasure. I am always surprised how many of my readers are teacher-authors. I bet they’ll enjoy hearing about this app.
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I’m sure they will too, Jacqui. Thanks for spreading the word. 🙂
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Hi Jacqui. I’d never thought about this aspect of technology too much before — i.e. tools for children. I’m glad to learn about this from your article. The world needs readers of all ages!
Neil
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Online websites for education have come a long way since my kids were in school. This one is typical of what are now available.
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I think I have the word zoo one – or a similar one – that my kids 5 and 7 like to play with. I’ll ask my older son to make sure and if it’s not, I’ll add this one as I’ve noticed they aren’t playing with it as much as they used to.
Thanks for sharing!
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There was a similarly-named app so I tried to keep this one clear. I think Norah can answer that better than me.
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This sounds like a great app. Thanks for sharing, Jacqui.
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I tried it out and it’s a lot of fun!
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Wow! This is such a perfect example of how life has truly changed, and I’ll be passing this on to my grandaughter. Reading is so important, and getting the young people started on the focus at an early age is the key. It’s still so sad that illiteracy still exists in so many countries. Thanks so much for sharing this info! Hugs, RO
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Kids want to use the snazzy digital devices. Thank goodness there are fun apps to make it worth the time!
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What a good idea, and a nice review.
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Thanks, Cath. I was inspired by it!
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