Theres an App for That- Adam Duchac

Image of the app

Educreations

Description of app
and capabilities

UDL Principle
app could be used

How each app

would be used to
address perceived
need

Educreations can
record voice,
allows the device
(iPad, tablet, etc.)
to act as an
interactive
whiteboard and
allows teachers to
instantly connect
with students in the
classroom and at
home.

All three UDL

principles apply
to Educreations as
it gives students
multiple means of
representation,
expression, and
engagement.

I plan to use
Educreations for
students who have a
hard time keeping
up in class, and
with work outside
of school. Due to
its interactive
nature,
Educreations allows
students to quickly
show teachers what
they understand. I
have a student who
has processing
delays and who
requires a
significant amount
of time to complete
in class work. With
this app, I can
correspond with
him as I work with
other students, and
check-in on how he
is working

.
Talkn Photos

Talkn Photos

Talkn Photos

My plan is to use

Scribble Press

allows students to
use pictures and
voice to
communicate.
Students can add
text, or voice, to
pictures to help
explain
themselves.

addresses UDL
principle number
two as it provides
multiple means of
action and
expression.
Students can
express
themselves
through different
forms of
communication.

Talkn Photos as an
assistive
communication
device. I have five
students who
struggle greatly
with English and
have a hard time
expressing what
they want to say.
Talkn Photos
allows students to
communicate with
me through
pictures. Students
usually put their
thoughts together at
home, then send me
pictures with a
voiceover about a
given topic from
class. I have found
this to be effective
with ESL students
as it gives them
more space and
time to let them
express their
thoughts with
myself and their
peers.

Scribble Press
allows children to
create their own
books from
scratch, or from
premade story
lines. Scribble
press has a large
gallery of pictures
to choose from and
students can even
order a copy of
their book.

Scribble Press
addresses the
second UDL
principle as it
helps students to
gather their
thoughts and put
them into writing
using different
platforms for
varying degrees
of expression.

Students who need

more structure
when writing
(English language
learners) will be
given the option to
use Scribble Press
as it has premade
story lines and can
help them to
organize their
thoughts in a more
efficient manner.

My hope is that
students will be
motivated by the
ease of use, and see
how much fun
writing can be (and
publishing if they
choose).
Voice Dream
Reader

Voice Dream
Reader allows
students to listen to
selected text from
a number of
different voices
and speeds.
Students can link
the app to outside
sources to listen to
document as well
(Dropbox, Google
Docs, etc.)

Voice Dream
Reader aligns
with UDL
principle one as it
allows for
multiple means of
representation of
text and listening.

I have used this app

a number of times
with a student of
mine who has
processing issues.
He has a hard time
understanding what
were reading in
class as he is easily
overwhelmed by his
peers. This student
also has a limited
grasp of English,
which makes this
app valuable for
him at home. The
varying speeds
allow him to slow
the speaking down
(I try to talk slowly
in class, but its
tough!) and better
understand what
were reading in
class.

Dragon Dictation

Dragon Dictation
lets students record
their voice into text
and send it via

Dragon Dictation
can be aligned
with the second
principle of UDL

I have used Dragon

Dictation a number
of times with
students who have

Idea Sketch

email or text.

as it gives
students another
way of expressing
themselves.

difficulty
expressing their
thoughts in writing,
and those who have
motor skill issues
that do not allow
them to type
efficiently. I have
encouraged
students to submit
written work via
Dragon Dictation,
and then go back
and type what they
have recorded.

Idea sketch gives

students a platform
to create mind
maps in a web or
outline format, and
flip between the
two
interchangeably.

Idea Sketch
addresses UDL
principles I-III as
it provides
multiple means of
representation,
expression, and
engagement
through a variety
of interfaces.

Mind maps are a

powerful tool in
helping students
organize ideas and
thoughts into a
coherent visual
display. One of my
students, J, is easily
overwhelmed by
classroom
surroundings (other
students, side
noises). Im under
the impression that
he has a number of
processing issues
(his parents refuse
to get him
diagnosed and any
outside help is
discouraged). This
student will benefit
from Idea Sketch as
he will be able to
gather his thoughts,
sort them out, and
make them into a
display that will
help him

understand what
hes learning, and
help his teachers
see what learning is
taking place.

Show Me

Show Me can turn

a smartphone or
tablet into an
interactive
whiteboard where
students can create
collaborative
presentations using
images, text, and
audio voice overs.

Show Me meets
the the three
principles of UDL
as students have
the option of
presenting
information in a
variety of
formats,
collaborating with
peers, and also
receiving
information in
different medias.

Show Me, like a

few of the other
apps Ive listed,
allows my students
to work together.
This type of
collaboration is
beneficial as ELL
students often have
a hard time
communicating
with peers in
person, but with the
use of this app, they
can work outside of
school and be a
strong group
contributor.
Students can also
view one anothers
Show Me projects
and gain different
perspectives.

Evernote

Evernote can be
used and accessed
from many
different platforms,
making it
accessible to any

Evernotes uses
UDL principles I,
II, and III. It
allows for
multiples
representation

Evernote sums up
almost every app
for student note
taking and creation
into one tidy
platform. Common

Skitch

and everyone with

access to
technology.
Evernotes
encompasses just
about every type of
written note,
image, video, and
voice-over into one
package where
students can use
the above features
to better
understand what
they are reading.

(text size, color),

gives students
multiple ways to
express what
theyve read
(voice over,
images, text), and
provides varying
means of
engagement
through
individual or
collaborative use.

Sense Media claims

that Evernote can
be beneficial to
students who need
help with
executive
functioning skills.
Knowing how to
process what
youve read can be
difficult, especially
for ELL students.
Ive used Evernotes
with students as a
way to help them
understand what
theyre reading, and
as a way for them
to show me that
they understand
what theyre
reading.

Skitch is an add-on
to Evernotes that
gives users the
option to make
colorful annotation
and sketches
directly on
webpages, and
share images.

Skitch meets
UDL principle II
as it allows users
to provide
multiple means of
action and
expression
through
annotation.

Skitch is a great
add-on to Evernotes
for visual learners.
It allows students to
draw and write on
webpages, helping
them make notes in
a creative fashion
on what they are
reading or assigned.
I often find my
students cutting and
pasting information
from the web, then
having a hard time
not ripping off what
theyve cut. If you
can be more
interactive with
webpage by
drawing and writing

on it, you are more

likely to remember
the material.

Popplet

Popplet is a mind
mapping app. It
allows students to
share their work
with others and
add text, images,
and drawings to
simply created
mind maps.

Popplet addresses
UDL principles II
and III as students
can add and
modify work, and
share it with
colleagues as
well.

Another mind
mapping app,
Popplet is
beneficial to those
with organization
and visual memory
problems
(commonsensemedi
a.org). I find that
mind mapping apps
like Popplet help
students to better
organize thoughts
and ideas. The
simplicity of the
app works well for
ELL students as it
is easy to
understand and
follow.