Top 5 Learning Apps for Beginners

 

Here's a list of my top 5, easy-to-use, fun and effective tools/apps for the library or classroom:

Bookshare: A massive selection of audio books, free for students with disabilities and their teachers to help provide access to a rich variety of texts. Great way to differentiate instruction for students with disabilities.

Readworks: A huge selection of both fiction and informational texts from a wide range of subject areas, organized by reading level and into thematic groups. each text can be leveled depending on student lexile, and student progress is monitored as they go.

Google Read and Write: Excellent tool for accommodations for ESL and students with disabilities. This app is easily added into Google docs, and allows students to dictate their words into a microphone (speech-to-text), and also have text read to them (text-to-speech).

Flipgrid: This app can be used in classroom to allow students and teachers to create videos for a variety of lesson functions, such as: demonstrating understanding, watching a lecture, recalling facts or details about text, etc. Very interactive and engaging for students, also promotes agency and collaboration.

Google classroom. This is an awesome tool for all kids, but especially helpful for students with executive functioning difficulties, because it allows them to manage their assignments, due dates, and get important messages. Additionally, librarians and teachers can add materials such as audio and video supports, modified materials, graphic organizers, etc.