Tool # 10 Apps on iPod touch, iPhone, iPad

On a flight from Houston to Dallas, my husband and I were entertained by a passenger who shared his iPhone obsession with us, proving more than once, there's-an-app-for-that! By the time we returned to Houston, my husband replaced his company BlackBerry with, you guessed it! The iPhone! One app that seems a little addictive, and a lot of fun, is the free Words With Friends, a crossword game that can be played with up to three players.

Next year my class will be getting five iPod touch devices. I can't wait to see my classroom transform into students who are still having fun, but are technologically challenged! For starters, the free puzzle apps I'll use are Fling, Fuzzle, and Christmas Fuzzle. They have different levels to challenge all learners by reinforcing logic and problem solving.

Lumosity designs games for improving and exercising the brain. Games I've chosen to use are free and are categorized for strengthening different brain functions. For example; Speed-Speed Match-information processing; Memory-Memory Matrix-spatial recall; Attention-Lost in Migration-focus; Flexibility-Word Bubbles-verbal fluency; and Problem Solving-Raindrops-arithmetic. The Lumosity has a good website with scientific data about certain games that promote training the brain.

There are many other free apps, such as, USA Factbook for social studies, and Bird Watching for our Purple Martin science unit. I would be content to start with the freebies first, collaborate about others, then later investigate my purchasing options.