Tech Tools to Get You Back to School Ready
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PSN Team 
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Back to School Ready Apps
Back to school doesn’t have to be stressful. Summer break is a time to relax, unwind, and refresh. Now that you and your children have (hopefully) had a chance to do that, we offer some ideas for getting back into school time schedules and routines, as well as helping children brush up on their skills in a fun way.
For students working on alphabet recognition, phonics knowledge, sight words, and handwriting, take a look at these great FREE apps, ABC Kids- Tracing and Phonics and Learn to Read-Duolingo ABC. We have even included another great FREE app, Duolingo-Language Lessons, that can help your children (and you) expand their knowledge of other languages in a fun, interactive format.
To help students get organized and stay that way all school year, myHomework Student Planner might
be a great fit for them or they may choose to use a checklist and reminders type app like Todoist: To-Do List & Tasks, which is also a great tool for parents to use as well. There is always the option of using a calendar such as Google Calendar: Get Organized. There are many great benefits to using an electronic calendar, such as being able to quickly add events from emails or texts directly to your calendar, set notifications so that your phone or tablet will remind you of upcoming events, and more.
Finally, we offer a game app that allows the whole family to participate in finding the imposter, Among Us! This game not only offers fun and a welcome distraction after a long day of work and school but also allows socialization practice in a fun setting. In addition, did you know that playing games requiring hand-eye coordination could help strengthen motor skills? Try getting the whole family involved in a new kind of family game night using this app.
We hope that at least one of these apps helps you feel a bit more ready for back to school, and if things do get crazy and you need help relaxing, refer to our relaxation apps and tips offered in our article, Tech Tools for a Healthy Summer Reset, which appeared in the summer issue!
ABC Kids – Tracing & Phonics
By: RV AppStudios LLC
ABC Kids is a free phonics and alphabet teaching app that makes learning fun for children. It features a series of tracing games to help kids recognize letter shapes, associate them with phonic sounds, and put their alphabet knowledge to use in fun matching exercises. It includes stickers and toys that kids can collect as they complete tracing games.
Price: FREE
Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC
By: Duolingo
Learn to Read- Duolingo ABC is a great way for students working on preschool through the first-grade level to practice learning to read and write through multi-sensory activities. It contains small lessons aimed at teaching the alphabet, phonics, sight words, vocabulary, and more. The interactive stories, fun mini-games, and rewards help to keep kids engaged while building their confidence.
Price: FREE
Duolingo – Language Lessons
By: Duolingo
Duolingo is a free, interactive app that teaches new languages. This app is entertaining, easy to use and motivating. Practice speaking, reading, listening, and writing to build your vocabulary and grammar skills. Learning languages can be reversed within the app so this is an ideal app for ELL students or for any student who wants to communicate with a classmate whose native language is different from their own.
Price: FREE
MyHomework Student Planner
Rodrigo Neri
myHomework Student Planner is a great app for helping students organize their classes, homework, and daily routine. Users can input their class details, due dates and set reminders for upcoming due dates. This app is great for all students, including those with dyslexia, auditory processing problems, ADD, and dyscalculia.
Price: FREE • Offers In-App Purchases
Todoist: To-Do List & Tasks
By: Doist Inc.
Todoist is an app to help people stay organized by allowing users to capture and organize tasks, remember deadlines with reminders and due dates, and prioritize tasks. This app could be a great tool for parents and students to build a new organizational habits as school starts up this year.
Anyone who struggles with organization or those who just like to make lists for things to do could benefit from using this app.
Price: FREE • Offers In-App Purchases
Google Calendar: Get Organized
By: Google LLC
Google Calendar is available for Android and Apple devices, allowing family members or caregivers that do not have the same type of devices to share calendars. Create a shared calendar and invite multiple caregivers to minimize the number of phone calls or text messages when coordinating care. Easily add events directly from your Gmail accounts, such as meeting reminders or event dates emailed to you from the school.
Price: FREE • Offers In-App Purchases
Among Us!
By: InnerSloth LLC
Among Us is a ‘whodunnit?’ style game, where you attempt to find out which player is the imposter. During the game, players vote, the player with the most votes is eliminated, and it is revealed whether the eliminated player was a “crewmate”, or the “imposter” being searched for. Although Among Us is a game, users can benefit not only from the social interaction and problem solving with others, but also from possible improvements in the strengthening of motor skills from playing games that require hand-eye coordination.
Price: FREE • Offers In-App Purchases
Check out BridgingApps App Search Tool to search for apps, create lists and even share them.
BridgingApps, a program of Easter Seals Greater Houston, is a community of parents, therapists, doctors, and teachers who share information about using mobile devices with people who have special needs.
Amy Fuchs is the Program Manager at BridgingApps and a former special education teacher. Amy Barry is the Digital Marketing Lead at BridgingApps and mother of five children.
Cristen Reat is co-founder of BridgingApps and a mother who found success when using a mobile device with her younger son who has multiple disabilities. We share a passion for using mobile technology to enhance the lives of people of all ages with disabilities.
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This post originally appeared on our July/August 2022 Magazine
