Critical Evaluation of a Content-Based iPad/iPod App
Created by Kathleen Schrock
When evaluating an app for your classroom, you need to know one thing: Is it helpful for my students? Unfortunately, it is not as easy as a “yes” or “no.” Our students are complex, range in educational levels, and require numerous adaptations. Therefore, choosing an app that is perfect for your room requires several check points. I found that Kathleen Schrock’s evaluation tool was an efficient way to think through the students in your classroom.
Valuable Content Check-Points
As much as we love a fun and creative app, we also need to make sure it meets the standards set by Common Core and our school’s curriculum. Being able to check that the skills we are using is being reinforced will definitely benefit our students as well as support what we are already teaching in the classroom. Also, an app or tool that provides feedback and/or reports is also beneficial to tracking student progress or deficits. If an app or tool does not provide this feedback, whether to the student or to the teacher, there is no real understanding if the student is gaining any valuable instruction or learning. If a teacher is unaware of a student’s progress, it makes it challenging to determine where students are struggling and that time could be better spent doing another activity.
As I stated earlier, students in a single classroom could be in numerous levels in their education. Therefore, differentiation is almost required in a regular education classroom. In my classroom, reading, writing, grammar, and math are all differentiated within guided group instruction. Having an app or tool to support that differentiation would be beneficial to prevent students from getting frustrated or bored on an inappropriate level.
Apps or tools that are user-friendly and having instructions available to students not only allows for students to progress through the app/tool at their speed, but also allows for the teacher to continue working with other students. If students are unsure of the requirements to fulfill their task, they may guess their assignment, complete it incorrectly, and show an untrue deficit. Paired with this ease-of-use also includes navigation abilities: does the app/tool work consistently and effectively throughout a lesson or game? Teachers who assign such apps or tools typically do so when they are supporting a skill or concept they have already taught. Therefore, to have the time to work with others students while an app is supporting instruction with easy-to-use and easy-to-follow instruction, allows uninterrupted instruction for all students. Having instructions that are simple to follow is important, but having multiple versions of instructions can help students, especially on a lower reading level or grade level. If students have the choice to watch a video, listen to instructions, or read you are able to meet all learning styles and meet the needs of students with possible reading deficiencies.
Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Finally, the section at the bottom of the evaluation tool gives educators a choice to evaluate the tool based on its taxonomy level. It is a valid point to check which level each app addresses that you are using with your students so you know which students can use which app. Preventing frustration and below proficient work outcomes can be done easily by determining which level your app/tool sits. Also, as students move through the levels with your instruction they can move through apps/tools to prevent boredom and redundancy in their practice.
Overall, I think this evaluative tool would be effective when searching for an app/tool for my classroom. I appreciate the prompts to check all of the points listed above, as we often get lost in the ease and availability of apps that we might overlook major components. Using this tool when presenting an option for addition or expense of an app to a PTO or administrative body would also be effective.
Schrock, K. (2015). Critical evaluation of content-based iPad/iPod app. Retrieved on May 29, 2016, from http://www.ipads4teaching.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/evalipad_content.pdf.