One app that I am a HUGE fan of is Duolingo which is GREAT for teaching students (and adults!) foreign languages. It has tons of great features, but here are just a few:
- It allows for a “pre-test” to gauge a student’s level, and then “auto-completes” several badges based on knowledge demonstrated
- Students earn badges as they master specific concepts or vocab, but are then redirected back to “brush up” on them once a certain amount of time has passed–making sure those skills haven’t gotten rusty
- https://schools.duolingo.com/ allows you as a teacher to set up your classes, and track progress
- Because Duolingo is an app, it allows students to access their progress, and earn badges 24/7 from anywhere they and a device are present!
I must brag just a little on the designer of Duolingo — he’s a Guatemalan named Luis Von Ahn (my hubby hails from Guate!), who after being awarded Apple’s App of the Year award in 2013, got to meet with President Obama! He even gave a TED talk about the magic of this app and how he is able to offer it for free!
https://embed.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_massive_scale_online_collaboration
Take a look here at what Duolingo can do:
Amanda M. Orozco 