This app focuses on animal appearances and animal habitats.The graphics are very clear and characters are adorable making it very appealing to students. The colors help keep the attention of the user. The "game" set up as a hide and seek adventure to find 3 friends. There are 3 levels: LEVEL 1 Appearances - The users are asked to figure out the animals that Bruce met along his journey. The narrator gives the clues to which animals to find while pictures of 4 animals are shown. LEVEL 2 HABITAT - The users are asked to figure out the animals that Rhonda met along her journey. The narrator gives the clues to which animals to find while pictures of 4 animals are shown. This level gets a little harder as it the pictures not only show animal, but something about the animal, such as eating habits or habitat AND the user is asked to choose more than one picture. LEVEL 3 LIVING HABITATS - The users are asked to figure out the animals that Wendel met along his journey. The narrator gives the clues to which animals to find while pictures of 4 animals are shown. This level also gets more difficult as user is asked to choose more than one picture relating to common habitat. When a wrong answer is given, the picture of "grey"ed out laving correct choices in color. This was definitely a helpful feature for my students. It gave them a way to always feel they "got the right answer" even if it took them a couple of tried. All instructions are read to user so no need for reading skills on the part of the user.
The students really enjoyed playing this app; however, they were not always patient enough to wait for the full directions. Not a fault of the app, just impatient 7 year olds! Since my students are still working on following simple directions and building basic language skills, LEVEL 1 was the only level that a couple of my students could somewhat successfully use on there own. LEVELS 2 and 3 needed adult facilitation which isn't a bad thing because the app would be a great way to work on following directions and language skills. As I researched this app, I was excited to see that the app characters are from a PBS Sprout and Disney show which would make the familiar characters appealing to kids.
Additional IEP applications
As mentioned above, this app could be used with following directions and working on basic language skills. This app also would be great for working on categorizing animals and identifying common characteristic of animals.
Suggestions
There are a couple of suggestions that would enhance this app:
Conclusion
Overall, this is solid app that has many uses in both the general education classroom as well as intervention settings. I can really see it being used in an SLP pull-out setting where they often work on categorizing items. This app would also be very appropriate for any primary class to reinforce animals and their habitats. Within my classroom, I see this app as being a teacher facilitated activity with most of my students. At $2.99, this app is decently priced, especially if you have a user who is a fan of the Mighty Jungle.
The students really enjoyed playing this app; however, they were not always patient enough to wait for the full directions. Not a fault of the app, just impatient 7 year olds! Since my students are still working on following simple directions and building basic language skills, LEVEL 1 was the only level that a couple of my students could somewhat successfully use on there own. LEVELS 2 and 3 needed adult facilitation which isn't a bad thing because the app would be a great way to work on following directions and language skills. As I researched this app, I was excited to see that the app characters are from a PBS Sprout and Disney show which would make the familiar characters appealing to kids.
Additional IEP applications
As mentioned above, this app could be used with following directions and working on basic language skills. This app also would be great for working on categorizing animals and identifying common characteristic of animals.
Suggestions
There are a couple of suggestions that would enhance this app:
- It would be helpful for the animal choices (in picture frame) were labeled with name. I have a student who is such visual learner that printed word is almost more important than the picture. Having the printed work and the picture paired together would be very beneficial for him.
- Instead of touching question mark to repeat question, I think it would make more sense for the user to touch the narrator animal (sorry I don't know his name, think I need to seek out a few episodes on Spout soon!).
- It would be nice to have an option of how student is reinforced with sound. I have student who enjoyed hearing the "wrong" buzzer sound, so turn this off would help him focus on the task versus hearing the buzz.
Conclusion
Overall, this is solid app that has many uses in both the general education classroom as well as intervention settings. I can really see it being used in an SLP pull-out setting where they often work on categorizing items. This app would also be very appropriate for any primary class to reinforce animals and their habitats. Within my classroom, I see this app as being a teacher facilitated activity with most of my students. At $2.99, this app is decently priced, especially if you have a user who is a fan of the Mighty Jungle.
APP INFO
developer: iLearn With
website: http://www.ilearnwith.com/
itunes: The Mighty Jungle: Animals
category: Education
recently updated: April 11, 2011
Great review of the app. Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteFrom my partner special ed teacher, re:both iLearnWith apps: I work with Melanie and she shared the app codes with me. I teach in a multihandicapped classroom, grades 2-5. I liked both apps and thought they would go great with my unit lessons. The directions are easy to follow and the pictures are engaging. I would recommend this app to other people , especially elementary teachers!
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