iPad English

The Rebus Show Word Puzzle App

If you're not familiar with rebus puzzles, then this quick introduction will explain all you need to know. They are essentially little pictures, often made with letters and words, which cryptically represent a word, phrase, or saying.

The aim of The Rebus Show ($1.99) is to guess words represented by pictures. In the simple example above, CAT + BURGLAR = CAT BURGLAR (don't worry, they're not all as easy as that!). If you do get stuck, touching an image will reveal a hint—but you'll lose some points.

This is not the only iPad rebus app available (see here, for example), but I really liked the old style Vaudevillian era atmosphere with animated velvety curtains, antique Underwood typewriter keys, and vintage sound effects.

LESSON IDEA
Teachers could use this app for a classroom quiz by connecting their iPad to a video projector or big-screen TV.

ALSO SEE
• Review—The Rebus Show for iPad (iPad Insight)
• Say What You See: This Rebus Puzzle App Looks Like Fun [Review] (Cult of Mac)

Spell Games Spelling App

 

DESCRIPTION
Spell Games is a free app which allows you to test your spelling skills against the commonly misspelled words in an easy-to-use format. Speed and accuracy are important - so you will not only need to be quick but accurate as well.

FEATURES
✔ American English.
✔ See the correct/incorrect spelling during review.
✔ Compare your scores with players from all around the world.

COMMENT
A simple but effective app, which does what it says on the box. Could be used for classroom quizzes if you have a videoprojector (or a big TV screen). And in case you were wondering, 'inconvenience' is the correct spelling!

Video: Why the iPad can't replace newspapers

COMMENT
There are some wonderful newspaper apps available (The Guardian, for example), but nothing beats the feel of newsprint in your hands. And you can't line the bottom of your budgie's cage with an iPad.

LESSON IDEA
Get your students to brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of printed newpapers compared with the digital versions. Or ask them to come up with "101 uses for a newspaper" (well, as many as possible).

Voice Recording with the iPad

I remember the good old days when we used to use cassette recorders to tape our students. Now that we've entered the brave new world of digital recording, these have all been consigned to the store cupboard (the cassette recorders not the students), and replaced by voice recorders. The iPad does many things, but can it replace my trusty old Sony cassette recorder?

Although the iPad has a built-in microphone, Apple didn't see fit to include a voice recording app among the pre-installed applications. Not to worry though, there are plenty of free (and paid) apps available which will do the job. The one you choose will depend on what you want to do. For example, do you want to export your recordings? Do you want to edit them? Do you want to add text? Bearing that in mind, here are just a few suggestions.

• iTalk Recorder is a full-featured recording app with a streamlined and intuitive user interface. Press the big red button to record; press it again to stop. You can append to existing recordings, choose from three levels of recording quality and manage your recordings, all with just a fingertip. You can email recordings straight from iTalk. iTalk also supports direct file sharing through iTunes. There's a free ad-supported version or a premium version at $1.99.

• Voice Memos for iPad ($0.99) lets you record unlimited, high quality audio using the built-in microphone, your headset, or an external mic. Voice Memos supports multitasking so you can continue to record while you're using other apps. You can also add text notes to a memo. The built-in trimming tool allows you to trim recorded memos right in the app, to keep only what you need. Memos can be sent by or transferred to you Mac or PC via USB. 

• Smart Recorder Lite is the free ad-supported version of Smart Recorder ($4.99). Useful features include the ability to append to existing recordings and categorize/sort recordings. Less intuitive than the previous two apps but comes with a comprehensive help section that describes the recorder's many features.

ALSO SEE
• Five free voice-recording iPad apps compared (CNET)

LESSON IDEAS
Get students to record dialogues, sketches, radio ads, monologues, descriptions of pictures, etc. This can be done for homework and sent to the teacher by email or shared online using SoundCloud or Audioboo, for example.

COMMENT
Please comment below if you want to recommend any other voice recording apps.

Titanic Trivia App

Yesterday we featured some apps which commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, so why not test your new-found knowledge with this Titanic trivia app ($0.99).

The app contains 120 multiple-choice questions relating to the Titanic and is designed to be played with up to four people (or teams) on the same device, at the same time, which makes it great for the classroom.

LESSON IDEA
If you've got a videoprojector, you could use this app with a whole class. Divide the class into four teams and begin the quiz. There is a problem, however. As soon as one player selects an answer, his score is modified, so the other players will know if the answer was correct or not. This means that you'll have to get all the players to enter their answers simultaneously. It would be much better if the scores were not updated until all the players had answered.

Sounds: The Pronunciation App

Based on the best-selling book 'Sound Foundations' by pronunciation expert Adrian Underhill, Sounds is Macmillan's mobile English pronunciation app for both students and teachers. The free version includes Interactive Phonemic Charts for British English and American English, as well as some taster activities. In the Premium version  (£3.99) you can look up, listen to and record words in the WORDLIST; PRACTISE your pronunciation skills; test yourself with the pronunciation QUIZZES; use the phonemic TYPEWRITER; and LEARN with Top Tips, videos and more.

WHAT I THINK
The video above shows the iPhone version, and the app looks even better on the big iPad display. If  you are interested in learning (or want to teach) the phonemic alphabet, it's worth investing in the premium version. I wish I'd had it when I was doing my TEFL course back in the eighties! And even if phonemic symbols are not your cup of tea, you should download the free version and play around with that—it's quite addictive. For more information, read reviews here and here, or visit the dedicated website.

LESSON IDEA
Hook your iPad up to a videoprojector and use the app for classroom games.