Verbs

At the end of August, eSkills Learning launched Verbs. If you love the bingo like concept that this development group incorporates with a variety of academic skills, then you will want to add their recent launch to your collection. eSkills Learning is a development group that works very hard at building and then integrating mobile learning apps that correlate with the Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards are considered robust and attempt to meet the needs of students as it relates to the real world. Amazingly, there are only 6 states currently not following such standards, but in time, I am sure all 51 states will be following suit. Looking over my own state standards, the language skills development of verbs is introduced as early as second grade and further reinforced in third. Whether you are just beginning to introduce or providing reinforcement of various types of verbs or simply preparing for a higher education exam, eSkills Learning Verbs is certainly Applicable2U.

eSkills Learning Verbs has been broken into four levels of play: Level 1 – Action Verbs, Level 2 – Two Word Verbs, Level 3 – Irregular Verbs and Level 4 – Difficult Irregular Verbs. Interaction and learning can occur as a single player, multiple player or simply practice mode. As a single player, you compete against yourself on your individual device. However, when implementing the multiple player mode, each participant has their own device which has been loaded with the eSkills Learning Verb app. Within this mode of play, each user must set the bluetooth capability to on within their settings of their device. Together, players will experience an “old school” game of bingo without any real chips or someone calling out numbers and letters like B-10. Instead it is done virtually with the latest form of technology, your iPhone, iTouch or iPad. Much like the real bingo, each player is provided their own game board. Users will be asked to read a sentence and choose from 3 or 4 multiple choice answers in order to appropriately fill in the blank. The first user to get 5 chips in a row wins. Players should not assume that each letter/number combination will be on their board as boards are randomly selected. A thought for the developer – might it be possible to provide a reading option that a user could select before the pop up window indicates a right or wrong answer. This might be a nice added feature when a user is incorporating the practice mode. By hearing the sentence read aloud, a user might rethink their selection. In our opinion, it is an alternative way to differentiate a users experience as it challenges them to use their listening skills as well. Academically each mode of play provides the user(s) a very worthwhile experience.

As a user(s) develops their understanding of various forms of verbs, such an app is also encouraging cognitive processing as they increase their word recognition skills. In addition, it will provide the user(s) alternative ways to use verbs in their own writing outside of this application. Through the integration of eSkills Learning Verbs, users will become more aware of how to make their writing pop with details. Ones word choice will definitely increase with each mode of play. Our experience and review of eSkills Learning Verb was via an iPad2. With all the “twitter” about how to make your iPad device accessible with an interactive whiteboard. such a educational app would certainly fit nicely in any regular or special education setting. To further expand on this idea, eSkills Learning has taken the time to provide a Teacher’s Guide for Verbs as a way to support the implementation of this language skills suite to any learning environment.

As a child, I can recall learning various forms of language with the support of textbooks, the teacher talking “at us” in a very monotoned voice and the creation of these horrific “trees”. Applicable2U is just amazed at where education has taken us over the course of several years. It is through the work of such developers as eSkills Learning that language comprehension can change and connections can be made as your children or students are having fun! If you would like to learn more about this educational app or any others that eSkills Learning as to offer, please visit their website here. If you are a parent, educator or homeschooler that is in need of a new way to teach or reinforce verbs, then begin downloading eSkills Learning Verbs today from your iTunes library here.