The following apps are extremely useful tools to implement in an English as a second language classroom environment (Apple, n.d.; Williams, 2012; Writers, 2012).This website was about using Ipads in the ESL classroom. Many of the apps were great for helping students to nurture vocabulary skills. One of the apps that looked most interesting was Adventures for Kids, the app had story-based games which nurture vocabulary skills through repetition. Another app that looked interesting was the Phonetic Focus, it is one of the most popular ESL apps. It has a phonetic typewriter, games, flash cards, audio recording and playback, and many other tools to help master the English language.

This website and article is all about technology integration for ELL students. The website lists free apps that can be used for students to support their vocabulary growth. There are four apps that can be used from this website. One of them in particular, Futaba, is an app I have used with students before. It allows students to not only extend their vocabulary but it also works on their reading skills.

This website gave a list of 35 of My Favorite Free Apps for Teaching. There were 35 apps provided with varying contents including ELA, Math, ELL, Special Education, Science, Social Studies, Visual Brainstorming, and Apps for Reports and Presentations. Each of the apps have a short description, and a link to view all the information about the app (i.e. the cost, description, url, and a picture of the icon).

Finding apps isn't difficult. Finding education apps is only a bit more challenging. Finding free education apps is also possible. Finding free education apps worth downloading is a different story entirely. The following is our list for the 55 best apps for learning we can find.

This website, Ipad for the Classroom Teacher, has a list of Math Apps like Math Bingo, Math Racer, and Times Table, and many more. It has a list of many apps which include a short description, and the price of the app. Not only does this website include Math apps but it also has lists of apps for ELL students, Fine Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Special Needs apps. This is a resource that I plan to use a lot as it has so many great ideas.

This website, Teach With Your iPad, is fantastic! I went straight to the Classroom Management section and it provides multiple apps which are sorted by Learning Management, Grading, Lesson Planning, Attendance, Behavior, and Observation. There are 14 apps included in this section of the website. All of the apps are given a description with pictures, an icon picture so you know what the app looks like in the app store, and the cost. Not only does this website have many apps for classroom management but it also has other apps for each grade level and subject, from pre-K to 12th grade. This is another resource which I plan to bookmark as it has many ideas.

A Resource for Using the iPad in Education This website, Ipad for the Classroom Teacher, has a list of Productivity Apps like Evernote, Dropbox, Diigo, TED, Grade it!, PBS for iPad, iResponse, Kno Textbook, iBrainstorm, and many more. It has a list of many apps which include a short description, and the price of the app. Not only does this website include Productivity apps but it also has lists of apps for ELL students, Math, Fine Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Special Needs apps. This is a resource that I plan to use a lot as it has so many great ideas.

This video was made from a first grade classroom in Florida that utilizes iPads in the classroom on a daily basis. I really enjoyed how the video not only explained the importance and benefits of using iPads in the classroom but showed how they used them. They were able to show the different apps that they use within the classroom and how that directly relates to the students learning. The message was clear throughout the video that if you are able to use technology like iPads in the classroom that the students are going to be more engaged. I was impressed with how her classroom attendance rate is the highest in the school. The video explains how iPads enables students to use the 5 C's- Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Curiosity, and Critical Thinking which leads to high achieving scores. I liked that they had not only the teacher of the classroom narrating but also the principal who gave her opinion of the value of using this technology in the classroom.

This video sends a powerful message to all educators on the importance of letting our students use technology. The message that kept being sent throughout this video is "We are digital learners". Throughout the video they had students write messages on different white boards and a lot of the messages being displayed were powerful and made me think twice. Our job as educators is to motivate and engage our students in their learning, which was seen in the multiple message from students that said "engage me". The use of technology and other digital equipment is used all around us today. Students of all ages are exposed to this technology at home and it is our job to bring it into the classroom. The video begins with statistics showing that students of all ages are spending more time playing video games, watching tv, playing on the computer/ipads, rather than reading a book. It also points out how students spend their time using the computers/ipads to have stories read to them or read books on different apps. Something that was important to me was a statistic that said 14% of teachers will allow their students once a week to create something using technology and that 63% of teachers never do this. The need for teachers to become more comfortable and integrate the use of technology is essential for our students to learn. A powerful message that I took away from this video is "If we learn by doing, what do we learn by sitting here". It is so true, we know that students learn best by doing, that they are most engaged by learning this way, yet so many teachers still lecture to their students. Another powerful message was when a student held up a spelling assignment where they had to write their spelling words three times each and the message was "How will this help me?" and then they held up a digital camera, computer/laptop, and ipad and the message was "How could this help me?". This video was enlightening as to the importance of helping all students from K-12 learn