There's an App For That™

I've already described how far behind the times I am.  I don't have a Smartphone or a tablet or other fun gadgets.

Today, though.  Today I got to play with an iPad.  I'm hooked!

There are many, many, many, fun and educational apps available for iPads.  Thankfully, there are also many free apps available.  While I was only able to investigate a few today in class, I was also able to use two different forms of evaluation to determine whether an app should be used in the classroom.

The structure of the Critical Evaluation of a Content-Based Mobile App (made by Kathleen Schrock) is visually appealing to me.  I like the table with boxes I can check and the places to take notes. I also really like that it allows users to document the title of the app, where it was found (which is very important!), and where it could be used.   Just for that alone, I could see myself spending days going through apps and creating a collection of these evaluations to have on hand when I want to enhance a lesson. 

The evaluation criteria is also helpful for assessing the appropriateness of using that particular app. It ensures that the app reinforces the lesson's message, provides means of assessment and differentiation of students.  The user-friendliness goes along with student motivation as well.  Since iPad apps should be encouraging students to learn (teaching secretly), the motivational aspect is critical in making sure that it is being used properly and for the desired results.  

The incorporation of Bloom's Taxonomy is also an interesting addition to the evaluation, forcing teachers to look at their own lesson plans and determine what the students are getting out of the lesson versus what they would like them to get out of it.

The summary section at the bottom also really makes sure that the teacher understands the app and has ideas of when to use or not use it before bringing it into the classroom.  This allows teachers to have a good idea of whether the app is appropriate for each student.  

On the other hand, the Evaluation Rubric for IPod Apps (created by Harry Walker) focuses on six domains.  It still asks users to look for differentiation, means to assess students, and student motivation. While it is user friendly, it does not allow a great extent of flexibility or a place to add comments when assessing an app.  Additionally, this rubric gives one single piece of feedback as to the quality of the app, rather than a more comprehensive evaluation of it (for example, I would likely add up the numbers to have a score of 20 out of 24, which doesn't say much about the app itself without further comment).  Because they may be useful in a variety of contexts and lessons, the rubric does not allow for that consideration.
While I'm generally very pro-rubric, I find that they are often more useful as guidelines when completing an assignment to ensure that every desired aspect is included.  Additionally, I find rubrics offer the potentiality for arbitrariness.  The differences between each number can be very subtle. 

Between the evaluations for apps, I would choose to use Kathleen Schrock's Critical Evaluation of a Content-Based Mobile App.  To me, it seems more organized, easy to use, and gives a thorough explanation of the different apps with included spaces to add comments of how to implement it in the classroom.

And see?  You can find an app for everything!