Webinars on Apps for Reluctant Readers and Writers

As part of her course, viewing Barb Welsford's webinars on apps for reluctant readers and writers was a real bonus! I became acquainted with new apps and feel better equipped to make an informed decision about their appropriateness for my students. Not only are the apps demonstrated, but I feel that they come with a seal of approval!  Another important feature of the webinars is the fact that I can review them as often as I need to. For example, I will be revisiting the instructions on how to use the free computer program "Stanza" (free) to create Epub files which can then be viewed or listened to on the IPod.




In Barb's Webinar for Reluctant Readers, there are a great variety of apps presented for different challenges, ages, and affinities which means that there is something for all the students on my caseload.
For example, for the kids who need decoding skills, there is  "ABC Pocket Phonics" (2.99)  and Montessori Crosswords" (2.99).


For students who need  compensatory strategies to access  text, some suggestions were "Speak it ( (1.99),  "Image to Text" (.99) and   "Voice Readier" (1.99)



For selections of ebooks, there is "VBookZ" (3.99), with 30,000 free books in which text is highlighted and read for the students and some extraordinary interactive stories, such as "Nancy Drew" (1.99),  "The Unwanted Guest" (4.99) and "Its Bitsy Spider" (3.99).



The apps Barb presented in the Webinar for Reluctant Writers support the  writing process from planning and organizing to editing and revising. Most apps can be used for for more that one step in the process and provide support for different levels of ability and skills.  For example,"Writing Toolkit" (3.99) sparks ideas, and provides cues and support for mechanics at higher levels while "Story Builder" (3.99) gives question prompts and then the answers are melded together into a story for the younger or students who benefit from added structure and prompts.


 My favourite is "Story Cubes" which rolls virtual dice with topics that inspire a story, but as the following ad shows, it can do so much more. It'll be a fun way to engage my ESL student as well as stimulating ideas for the kids that can't think of anything.The webinars are well worth investing your time in!



For spelling help and strategies to that make keyboard easier, some apps recommended were "Dragon Naturally Speaking" (free) for voice to text,  "Typenology", "Zentap" for word prediction, "Sideways"(1.99)  for a horizontal key board, and "Tiki Notes' (free) in which the students chooses from a group of letters, it enlarges and as the letters are chosen, words are predicted.


Sometimes, for the reluctant writer, getting away from print and allowing the student to create and show what he or she knows through video and pictures is appropriate. As we discovered in an earlier class, "Reel Director" makes movie making easier, "Pictelloe" (14.99) enables the student to use pictures and record easily and "Strip Designer" (2.99) which is like "Comic Life" on an IPod to create photostories.


There are so many apps to help our reluctant readers and writers that we find out about on Barb's webinars,  I think that seeing a webinar provides hope to students and their families that the students can be successful and let their talents and abilities shine despite their reluctance!