Barton Tiles App Question...

[lovinmomma]

I'm looking for BTDT experience for the Barton Tiles app. Did you prefer the wooden tiles? Or the app? Which is easier? Has anyone exclusively used the Barton Tiles App instead of the wooden tiles? I'm looking to use only the app instead of the wooden tiles, but I'm wondering how well it will work in practicality.

[PeterPan]

For what age of dc?  And have they done any levels of Barton yet?

 

I didn't really understand the app until I spent time watching her video on it.  Hanged if I even remember where I saw it, oy.  Maybe she has a website for it.  It took a while.  What I didn't comprehend (and what might not click if you haven't used Barton yet) is that the app is intricately connected to the scripted lessons of your Barton level.  If you tend to diverge AT ALL, seems to me that's going to negate some of the value of the app.  

 

That sounds subtle, but in our case I have to delete or modify certain words for sounds we're skipping.  So to pay $30 for an app that is keyed to words when maybe we aren't using all their words doesn't make sense.  I don't *know* if you can use the app to input custom words.  

 

When I watch the video for the app, it seems really cool.  I think for an older student who is ready for that level of abstraction it could be really cool.  For my young kinesthetic learner, we actually use letter magnets from a Lakeshore Learning kit rather than Barton's tiles even.  I want him to FEEL the letters and the reversals and what they look like backwards and upside down.  I'm trying to let him work out spatial/orientation issues by touching them.  So for him an app would be fun but maybe miss that extra goal.  

[lovinmomma]

For what age of dc?  And have they done any levels of Barton yet?

 

I didn't really understand the app until I spent time watching her video on it.  Hanged if I even remember where I saw it, oy.  Maybe she has a website for it.  It took a while.  What I didn't comprehend (and what might not click if you haven't used Barton yet) is that the app is intricately connected to the scripted lessons of your Barton level.  If you tend to diverge AT ALL, seems to me that's going to negate some of the value of the app.  

 

That sounds subtle, but in our case I have to delete or modify certain words for sounds we're skipping.  So to pay $30 for an app that is keyed to words when maybe we aren't using all their words doesn't make sense.  I don't *know* if you can use the app to input custom words.  

 

When I watch the video for the app, it seems really cool.  I think for an older student who is ready for that level of abstraction it could be really cool.  For my young kinesthetic learner, we actually use letter magnets from a Lakeshore Learning kit rather than Barton's tiles even.  I want him to FEEL the letters and the reversals and what they look like backwards and upside down.  I'm trying to let him work out spatial/orientation issues by touching them.  So for him an app would be fun but maybe miss that extra goal.  

 

DD10. She hasn't started Barton, yet. We're probably going to be borrowing/renting it, so I would have to purchase tiles from Barton if I didn't use the app exclusively. She IS pretty kinesthetic, however. I didn't realize that the app was so connected to the lessons. I thought they were just tiles that you move around.

 

[PeterPan]

And I don't think you'll be able to buy the app in that case.  You can only buy the app if you buy your levels directly from Barton or from her certified ebay minion reseller.  If that seems rough, I think it came out in a thread a year ago that she has $350K into developing the app.   :svengo: 

 

Honestly, if the dc is that kinesthetic/tactile a learner (my ds is), you're probably going to stick with physical tiles. With my ds I'm using alphabet letters and having him build all the phonograms, including the multi-letters, as part of our warm-up.  It allows him to FEEL the letters, see them upside down, and just work on form constancy with them to where he knows what they look like every direction and can get them the right way in the end.  

 

That's cool if you have a way to borrow/rent.  Do they have a plan for what you do as the tiles accumulate?  If you buy, you need to keep the tiles as you go through the levels or else you'll have to make your own.  It all works out, but it's just something to check.

 

I don't know about the app with my ds.  I think there can be a place.  There are some other, more generic apps, and I think maybe for *practice* it might be fun to use that generic app.  The Barton app is very specifically about teaching her lessons with her precise word lists, and my ds is better off touching them right now. The app is expensive because it has other functionalities you don't need working with only one dc.  It has the ability to track all your students as a tutor and know where each is, tap their name and come up with their lesson, etc.  

 

Sound Literacy is the app FairProspects or someone else mentioned.  I haven't tried it.  I don't know if it can do custom tiles?

 

Another app to consider is Quizlet.  It's free (unlike Sound Literacy), and will give you games to play with your flashcards as well.  The website has more games than the app and your card sets you create are saved to the cloud, making them accessible on any machine.  I'm using them with my ds on the kindle.  I can triple tap to make the font bigger, work on his words to build fluency, let him play matching games, etc.  They also have games where the letters rain down while you spell, etc.  Fun stuff!

[OneStepAtATime]

What OhE said... :)

 

Seriously, though, she pretty much covered everything.  

 

To add, I would not use the app with the first two levels of Barton at all.  I think it is really important to get the tactile movements with physical tiles, especially in the early levels.  We used the tiles through mid-Level 3 then switched to the app for most lessons.  It is soooo much easier to do the lessons.  They are specifically tied to each lesson but everything is set up for you, and as you progress through the lesson you aren't constantly having to clear off and reorganize physical tiles.  And you can keep lots of words on the screen at the same time to compare them.  With the tiles, you are limited since, unless you just buy a LOT of extra tiles, you only have the one set.  The app gives you unlimited letters.  

 

You CAN tweak the lesson to use things in a different order or create words that are different than the lesson is set up for (I had to do that periodically) but there are certain parts where you have to be a bit creative and force the app to do what you want.  I would recommend playing around with it a bit if you ever do get the app, BEFORE starting a lesson using it.  While it is set up well, IMHO, there are a few things that are not intuitive (or at least not for me).

 

Each level has a different app to purchase. You have to buy the app for the level you are using or you won't have access to the complete set of what you need.  On the flip side, though, if you didn't need the app until Level 3, for instance, you could just buy Level 3's app.   You don't have to buy the prior two levels.  Idiot me, I didn't realize that and purchased Level 2 thinking I had to have the prior levels to have access to the prior level's tiles.  Since Level 2 tiles are used throughout the rest of the Levels I assumed I needed to purchase the Level 2 app even though I was already in Level 3.  I was wrong.

 

The app makes lessons go so much faster.  It really streamlines the Lesson, especially by Level 3 since you now have a LOT of tiles.  Only once we started using it I found out that DD14 prefers the physical tiles.  She is very kinesthetic.  She wanted the tiles.  We are back to real tiles for both since DS has asked for the tiles again, too.  We only use the app when we are mobile.  It is awesome to have it for use when we ARE mobile though, so I don't have to worry about losing tiles.

 

And no, it isn't just a bunch of tiles to move around.  It very much is tied to the lesson.  The app itself is the lesson, just in computer format.  Hard to explain unless you have done Barton and used the app.  The way it works actually makes the lesson very quick to move through, though, and I love it.  Brilliantly done.  In some ways it is awesome.  But I think most kids would do better using the tiles the bulk of the time.  

[City Mouse]

I started using the tiles app with book 4. I thought that is was not worth the expense as the lower levels. Now that we are on book 5, physically managing the tiles would be a pain. I don't have a place to leave the tiles out, so I would have to take the time to set them up before every lesson. If things ever calm down around here, I am thinking of volunteering to tutor a kid through level three so I can get theBarton certification. The app can manage many students at one time and know where you are at with that student.

You can use the app to make your own words that are not part of the script. My son uses it for the making words with tiles sections. I just go to the end of the section we are working on and erase the last word. Then you can build your own words.

 

My DS is very figity and it would drive me bonkers when he would play with the tiles as we were trying to work.

[PeterPan]

I started using the tiles app with book 4. I thought that is was not worth the expense as the lower levels. Now that we are on book 5, physically managing the tiles would be a pain. I don't have a place to leave the tiles out, so I would have to take the time to set them up before every lesson. If things ever calm down around here, I am thinking of volunteering to tutor a kid through level three so I can get theBarton certification. The app can manage many students at one time and know where you are at with that student.

You can use the app to make your own words that are not part of the script. My son uses it for the making words with tiles sections. I just go to the end of the section we are working on and erase the last word. Then you can build your own words.

 

My DS is very figity and it would drive me bonkers when he would play with the tiles as we were trying to work.

So are you saying you erase one word and it lets you add unlimited words?  Or can you add a word without erasing anything?  Can you create a custom list without even building on hers?  

 

And yes, my ds kept flicking and flying the colored squares.  The letter magnets he doesn't do that so much with.  I bought an extra set of Barton 2 tiles and I figure if we use them I'd need to attach thin magnet sheeting to them.  Can't deal with things flying and they certainly would, sigh.  Life with boys.  Even reading to him in bed isn't safe, lol.  A couple nights ago I was reading to him and he LITERALLY somersaulted out beside me!  It was crazy.  I keep telling him we go to gymnastics for that, lol.  Whatever, can't win, lol.

[OneStepAtATime]

So are you saying you erase one word and it lets you add unlimited words?  Or can you add a word without erasing anything?  Can you create a custom list without even building on hers?  

 

And yes, my ds kept flicking and flying the colored squares.  The letter magnets he doesn't do that so much with.  I bought an extra set of Barton 2 tiles and I figure if we use them I'd need to attach thin magnet sheeting to them.  Can't deal with things flying and they certainly would, sigh.  Life with boys.  Even reading to him in bed isn't safe, lol.  A couple nights ago I was reading to him and he LITERALLY somersaulted out beside me!  It was crazy.  I keep telling him we go to gymnastics for that, lol.  Whatever, can't win, lol.

Whatever word was last required of that part of the lesson will be up on the screen but you can either leave it there and build new words or dump the tiles in the "trash" and build your own words.  Very versatile that way.  There is also a screen erase button that just clears the lower part of the screen where you manipulate the tiles without erasing all the letter tiles and unit tiles (when you get to units).  Just build your own afterwards.  You aren't completely locked into the lesson as scripted at all.

 

Have you looked at the company that created a sort of metal sheet/storage system for Barton?  I haven't gotten it but I have looked at it.  I will try and find a link to give you.  I saw it maybe on her website and in a flyer that came with Level 4.  I now have Level 5 and it was in there, too.  Pricey but there are these thin metal sheets set up specifically for use with Barton and you can have the tiles from all the levels up through 8 in a tidy storage unit that lays out neatly for the child to pull tiles from.

[Guest2]

I pretty much agree with One Step. I would start with the tiles, so they get the kinesthetic and auditory input of moving the tiles physically. For higher levels, I am a huge fan of the app. Originally I used sound literacy app, but of course it didn't have the words programmed into it, and it still took more prep time during a lesson than I liked. The Barton app. gave me so much more teaching time, as the prep took part of our lesson time. My kids love anything on a screen, so that was also a plus. They enjoy using my iPad and intuitively figured some things out that I didn't know. It made Bartons more fun for us, though may not work for everyone.

[OneStepAtATime]

Honestly, if DD liked the app,  I would LOVE to stick with the app.  SOOOOO much easier.  Although today she wanted to skip one part of the lesson using tiles and just go to writing it out on paper.  We had to relocate our lesson from our normal static spot.  She had to reach pretty far to get to some of them and it irritated her.  If I had had the tile app fired up she probably would have been happy with that.  The tiles ARE getting more cumbersome because there are so many now.  And we have six levels to go.   :tongue_smilie:

 

One thing that was interesting to me today was that DD said she is starting to not like the space between the letters when using the tiles.  She says it doesn't match the way words look when she is reading.  I wonder if she would feel the same regarding the tiles on the app?  We haven't used it in weeks....

 

OP, honestly, I really do recommend only the physical tiles for the first two levels at least.  The app is great but I think unless there is a physical reason why tiles wouldn't work, the app just won't give them the same kinesthetic connection they need to really get those early levels down.  If you are worried they will play with the tiles and toss them about, etc.  you CAN magnetize them as OhE said then use a cookie sheet or that system that was created specifically for storing and using Barton tiles.  Or come up with something on your own if you need.  But get the tiles, the real ones, for at least the first two levels, possibly even Level 3.

 

Good luck and best wishes.

[PeterPan]

OneStep, yes I saw that board.  I'm using the LIPS faces to organize everything, so I probably don't want someone else's.  But it did catch my eye.  Right now we're using a 17X20 ish board, but I was thinking at some point we'll have to go larger, probably double or triple that.

[OneStepAtATime]

Makes sense.  I hesitate to spend that kind of money when I think we can tweak our own stuff more easily.  

[lovinmomma]

Is there a link to the board to organize the Barton tiles?

[OneStepAtATime]

http://www.timsmithonline.com/stackandgo.html

[lovinmomma]

http://www.timsmithonline.com/stackandgo.html

 

Thank you!

[Guest2]

For organizing tiles, I bought small round magnets in the craft section (Walmart ,I think and reordered from Amazon) and superglued them to the back of the tiles. I bought a cheap set of cookie sheets..3 different sizes for under $10-12.00. That way I could use the one/ two for storage and one for the current lesson. You don't need different sizes, I bought them for the price ,but they did sort of stack on a shelf. I got the idea online, but can't find the link. I loved the Stack- n- Go pictures, but not the price. I tried this idea out first, as if it didn't work, I could still order Stack-n-Go and wouldn't be out much money.

[OneStepAtATime]

Thank you!

Welcome.  :)