Grammar Express is an application to help students with their grammar skills. In the free section users can take tests on nouns and pronouns. To use any other part of speech users must upgrade to the full version, which costs a couple dollars. Users can also take a final test that covers all parts of speech. There are several other Grammar Express applications that cover other parts of grammar such as: active and passive voice and different tenses.
I think that the Grammar Express applications can be useful for students who are learning different parts of grammar. It allows students to see how much they already know about the subject that they are on and discover what they still need to work on. One thing I really like about the application is that it does not give the results until the end. That way it focuses students on the questions and not on how many questions they have already gotten right or wrong. At the end students are able to go back to the question that they missed and there is an explanation of why they missed the question.
The Grammar Express applications can be useful for teachers to monitor their students' progress. Teachers can look at their scores and they will be able to see their students' strengths and weaknesses. The teacher will then be able to alter their lesson plan based upon their students' needs. This application gives students a different way to take grammar tests. It also provides a way to save teachers from having to create their own grammar test each time.
The dictionary application that I explored was the Merriam Webster Dictionary application. Within this application users can do more than just look up words to find their definition. Users can play games within the application. These games range from matching vocabulary words to their definitions to matching words to their synonyms. These games can be used to strengthen users' vocabulary and to introduce them to new words.
Another aspect to the Merriam Webster Dictionary application it that each day it provides a word of the day. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom to introduce students to new vocabulary words. Each morning a new vocabulary word would be introduced, and then there could be some kind of system within the classroom that awards points to students who use the new word throughout the day. The word of the day will widen users vocabulary and introduce them to words that are less common. The words are more intellectual and learning those words will help students be able to have more intellectual conversations. This will transfer into their academic writing. With increased vocabulary strength students will write with a wider academic language.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary application also allows users to favor words. This is a great tool for users who want to continually go back to a certain definition. This could be used in the classroom with spelling or vocabulary lists. Students could favor their spelling or vocabulary words on the application and then they would have quick access to the words. Students could also favor words that they have trouble with. This will give them quick access to words that cause them frequent troubles.
Along with giving the definition of the word the app includes information about the word. It provides users with where the word came from, examples of how to use the word, and when the word was first used. This information provides users with interesting background information about the word they are trying to define. This information can also be used to enhance the classroom. Teachers can show students common themes in language within different time periods. They can also teach students where different words came from and how that gives the word its' spelling pattern.
Wonderfully well written!
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