Bottom Line: A quiz-style app that may be useful for parents and teachers, but might not be motivating enough for students. A few areas need improvement, but it's Free to try all seven content strands!
If you would like to check out iTooch Middle School | Math and Language Arts worksheets for 6th, 7th and 8th grade (Free iPad/iPhone with in-app purchases of $4.99 each), please use the smartappsforkids.com link:
eduPad has designed an app that reflects what many kids might see on standardized testing in 6-8th grades. There are, according to the iTunes page for iTooch Middle, over 10,000 exercises, which is certainly comprehensive, covering Language Arts, Math, and Health for Grade 6, and Language Arts and Math for both grades 7 and 8.
The app is free with in-app purchases for each content starnd. At least 10 chapters in each level (Language Arts Grade 6, for example) are available for free. Navigation is easy—the user can choose individual chapters in each level, or simply advance through the app chapter by chapter with navigation buttons.
Each chapter starts with the practice mode. This allows the user to answer questions, skip questions, or view the written tutorial information by tapping the little iTooch character (a little orange blob with big eyes). When ready, it is simple to flip the switch from Practice to Test mode. The test mode consists of 6 questions; at least 4 must be answered correctly in order to pass to the next chapter.
A drawing pad (or "blackboard") is available on every question and was especially useful in the math lessons. A calculator was also available on select math problems. The tutorials are easily accessed, even in the test mode, providing relevant definitions and background information about each chapter's topic.
The ability to skip directly to the test section was helpful; it can serve as a sort of pre-test. If a student demonstrates mastery, that student can immediately move on to the next chapter without having to work through multiple problems that are potentially too easy.
There were a few areas for improvement. Some sentences just didn't make sense. In the grammar chapter of 6th grade language arts, the user is presented with a sentence and requested to find all of the singular and plural nouns: "At night, various concerts provided a fun-filled environment for three days!" The nouns are easy enough to find, but a well-designed sentence should be required in a section on grammar.
The readability of the tutorial sections was at times too complex. One 6th grade paragraph on writing an essay was calculated as a 9th grade reading level on the Flesch-Kincaid scale, at least according to Microsoft Word. This seems a bit high for an app for 6th graders, designed for them to use independently, especially since many of those students who would benefit most may not be confident readers.
I was disappointed by the lack of video or even audio on the tutorial sections. At the very least, I expected the text to be read aloud as an option. The section on poetry was especially difficult; trying to convey stressed syllables in poems with no sound was challenging. I knew the poem and still had difficulty trying to determine what the stress pattern should be based on the written tutorial.
iTooch Middle School could be very useful in special education and for struggling learners, but the tutorial section will be much less accessible to those who are already having difficulty with the material, especially given the increased grade level. A video lesson would be my ideal, but at the very least an audio recording should be a priority in future updates.
The visual organization of the tutorials also made them more difficult to read. The background is dark, with most text in white, though each section also has various colors interspersed throughout. It was not visually engaging, even with the colors, and I had to force myself to stay focused long enough to read each section.
I appreciated the variety of question types, including multiple choice, fill in the blank, tap to highlight, and type in the correct answer. However, the fill in the answer sections were vulnerable to small errors. In 6th grade health, the user was instructed to fill in the blank for "The largest section on MyPlate is the ______ section." My answer of "vegetables" was rejected for the correct answer of "vegetable," even though the tutorial includes the picture of the plate from the USDA with "vegetables."
There is no ability to save a profile for a classroom full of learners, making it a difficult app to actually integrate into the district. In-app purchases would also need to be turned off in settings if the app will be used independently, to avoid purchasing unneeded levels at (currently) $4.99 each.
I also find myself a little disappointed at the worksheet format of the app. I tend to avoid most worksheets in my therapy, and appreciate it when my children's teachers use other means to engage in learning. Worksheets may sometimes serve a purpose, of course, depending on teacher's style, student's style, and any specific needs (like getting ready for state testing); but more creative use of the iPad is always ideal in apps. Children expect a high level of sophistication in the apps they choose to play.
This app's development included eight teachers in a variety of disciplines, and I would have loved to see more creative use of their expertise in subject matter and teaching, instead of just quiz questions. I also think most students will only use this app if required to do so by parents or other teachers. There is little to keep students engaged, with no reward systems, no video, and limited sound effects. The iTooch character is cute, and is quite silly at times, but that type of interaction is short-lived.
iTooch Middle School is free to try. Teachers and parents would be wise to download the app and check it out. It's a solid educational app, even with the areas for improvement, and many will find it meets a need for a reasonable price
Heather Hetler knows a bit more about prefixes and suffixes after using iTooch Middle School, but probably still not more than her 6th grade son. smartappsforkids.com was paid a priority-review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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