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What curricula work well on a larger screen cell-phone and WHY?

 

What if you had to entirely school from a 5.5 inch cell phone? No computer, tablet, or hardcopy books at all. How do you think you would do it?

 

If you just had to use the phablet as your main resource, but could have a few other things, what would you prioritize to have to supplement the phablet?

 

I'm just curious. I'm not in the mood to talk about me and why I'm asking. I'm just throwing this out as an exercise and conversation starter. I want to talk TOPIC, more than TO each other, true autistic style. Just play, not judge.

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Kathy Jo Devore (Barefoot Meandering) made lots of her materials originally to be printed in a physical 6x9 book. This means that her pdf files are sometimes MUCH easier to read on a phablet/tablet screen than most other similar content pdf language arts materials.

 

I like that.

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Kindle books (narrative, not illustration-heavy non-fiction so much) work okay on that size screen.

 

SOTW or CHOW would work for history. 

 

Lots of audio books for content subjects, literature, history, pop-science, areas of interest. (I love phones for audiobooks!) Either audible or librivox (if you find narrators you like). Overdrive would work on there, too.

 

Maybe apps like Anki (although, I still haven't figured out how to actually use this) for memory work.

 

Duolingo for foreign language.

 

xtramath ? I've done that on a tablet, but not on a phone. I think it would work, but I don't know that.

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I was trying to remember xtramath! I used it years ago, and couldn't remember the exact name, and wasn't sure if things I saw were updated versions.

 

I will give it a test run. Thanks!

 

I think it would be fun to give some reviews of certain curricula on a specific device.

 

I'm thinking I would like BFSU kindle version more if reliant on just a phone as teacher prep is read, but student tasks are more oral and hands on.

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Yes, I would use more audio on just a small screen, to rest the eyes.

 

And Kindle narratives are so much easier than non-fiction pdfs.

 

What is up with Barefoot? I heard there was a bit of a glitch in release of books. Her pdfs were smaller screen. Are they still?

Edited by Hunter
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Age/grade?

 

Not a clue about actual curricula, but reading books on my Note 2 isn't really an issue at all, in fact, better than on a tablet, because you don't want your lines to be too long (I've put the kindle app to be sepia, which is a little less harsh). Overdrive works well too, and almost all websites work fine so long as I tell my browser to ask for the desktop version of the site, not the mobile version it likes to automatically give me (I mean, mobile works, but it often doesn't have as much functionality). There are tons of educational apps too.

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I think I've used the Khan teaching videos on a phone before.

I don't know that you could do any math input without getting frustrated. 

But, probably the topic videos would be good?

(It might eat up your data, though, if you're not on wi-fi.)

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I assume you have paper/pencil also? So you would just need the guide/curricula/info from the screen but you could work on paper?  I find this an interesting question.

 

First things first, I'd have to have the Twilight app installed to save my eyes. I can't take how blue a screen is, even in daylight so I run Twilight at some level 24/7.

Getting a better pdf reader would be really helpful. I haven't found an app that I like very much. On the computer I use Sumatra because it automatically indexes chapters and saves your place. Saving your place between openings would be the secret to staying sane. If anyone knows an android app like that, I'm all ears!

 

Librivox & Audible/Kindle for sure, with narrations (oral or written depending on age) to cover LA & science & free reading.

 

Youtube has so much for fleshing out topics where needed, and inspiring rabbit trails. TED talks, lectures, etc etc.

 

A membership to scribd would probably be worth it, even if it were short term to dl what you needed from the uploaded files section. I think a lot of the material there is not legal, but it is there none the less and could download them with a 30 day trial if finances were the issue for this situation. 

 

For language learning for an older student, FSI has all their older language courses online in PDF + downloadable audio files. They are extremely thorough, especially if paired with cartoons/tv shows/movies from youtube in the target language (TL) and TL ebooks.

 

All the old style phonics resources can be taught straight from the internet or pdfs. This has been covered in many threads, mostly by you Hunter :) As long as you had pencil and paper I think you'd be fine teaching reading. 

 

For Art, there is Augsberg, the free k-8 curriculum. It only needs pencils and crayons (or pastels, really I think is what they mean) and stays pretty simple on resources. 

 

I think the AL abacus is the most compact and useful math manipulative for all the early math. Not sure what books you'd be able to use on a phone with it if you haven't already taught RighStart at least once. 

 

For upper grades, some of the MOOC platforms have been set up to be done on a phone. Coursera has a great app. It is limited in content and timing but there might be some useful things depending on the student. I find the secret to making MOOCs more flexible is signing up for LOTS of them whenever they become available. You keep your access to the content for a long time after the course is over but the signup period is relatively short. As long as you didn't need a certificate of completion, the dates don't matter. 

 

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Tapatalk. I'm trying to use it now to access this forum. In the past I didn't like it, but I can't figure out how read this site easily on my current device.

 

There are different versions and in-app purchases?

 

I would really like to include all ages, devices, countries. Sure I'm hoping to glean some ideas for myself, but I really want to throw this out for everyone. There are an unlimited number of reasons someone could choose or be forced into a phablet centered curriculum. And not have time to ask this question themselves or be embarrassed to, or have never signed up here, but just read the public forums.

 

 

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Augsburg seems to be working okay for me , as I already am familiar with the books and know the organization system . I can see what I need in landscape mode and scrolling.

 

Here is an old thread about Augsburg, with links to the first 7 books.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/359033-augsburg-drawing-free-and-awesome-and-complete-1-8/

 

 

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I'm still going through all these tips! Thanks!

 

I've only used the twilight type settings as the default settings either off or on. That is a good idea to leave it on during the day at a custom setting. I did that.

 

 

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LOL is fine on the phone. You're not reading for a long time, and it's formatted magazine style, so that you can zoom in on one "piece" of the page at a time.

 

What Do You See? on Kindle is totally fine on a phone.

 

Recitations from (or a la~) memoria press would be ideal for this.

 

But I mean really anything designed for you to  have a teacher's book and the kids have pen and paper or a board, doing work would work fine. And yeah there's some great stuff on kindle and audible. The librivox mobile app is horrendously user-unfriendly IMO and I never use it except on a proper lap or desk top.

 

If I had to do it, I'd do my best to have a paper math book (s) and nature field guides, and paper books for the kids lit, but that could be the library's stuff if necessary. I'd always endeavor to keep MY commonplace book with my favorite poems, facts, recipes, quotes, etc. We actually use that quite a bit.

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File storage?

 

Pros and cons and personal reviews? I've done a little of everything and just have a hodge podge mess.

 

I bought an SD card reader, but that doesn't help me read thumb drives from my iPhone. Android has thumb drive adapters. Even with adapters and readers lots of files won't load, or the function to copy and paste doesn't work. Sometimes "share" works when other functions don't work, but not always.

 

I sent some things to Kindle and they are stored in Kindle documents. I don't think I can download them outside of Kindle, right?

 

Dropbox doesn't seem to want to let me download to an iPhone and wants me to just read in the app.

 

 

 

 

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I've been messing around with Layers of Learning, too. I like it better than most pdfs for all the reasons okbud said. I own the first 3 years and am going to save up for year 4 when it is finished. I wonder if the send to Kindle docs storage is big enough for the whole set. Or if some other storage/reading site/app would be better.

 

Thanks everyone for playing along with me.

 

 

 

 

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The CK-12 FlexBook app looks great for reading their middle school science offline.

 

The WWE Complete Writer teacher manual looks great in Kindle. I'm really hoping for something similar in the new logic level grammar course.

 

 

 

 

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Thinking of my 4yo who is ready for kindy level work...

 

 

Starfall.com will cover phonics, reading, math. It has a decent variety of games, stories, and lessons. And it's interactive.

 

I could cover plenty of ground with just my phone and starfall.

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Yes, xtra math works on my android phone using chrome. No need to buy the app. Must be connected to the internet.

 

Math Mammoth pdfs. It's frustrating that you can't bookmark pdfs to pick up where you left of. You could try sending it to Kindle.

 

Yes, Kindle books work on a phone, but I think would be more enjoyable on a tablet if it's the only thing you have for ALL books.

 

I think you could work from a phone... but would need lots of scratch paper or a cheap spiral to work things out.

 

And there's always Youtube!

 

But as much as I'm on my phone (no tablet in this house), I prefer hard copies. ;)

 

ETA. Audible, audiobooks, mp3s, all are used from my phone via a Bluetooth speaker. But you can always just use the phone itself.

Edited by carriede
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File storage?

 

Pros and cons and personal reviews? I've done a little of everything and just have a hodge podge mess.

 

I bought an SD card reader, but that doesn't help me read thumb drives from my iPhone. Android has thumb drive adapters. Even with adapters and readers lots of files won't load, or the function to copy and paste doesn't work. Sometimes "share" works when other functions don't work, but not always.

 

I sent some things to Kindle and they are stored in Kindle documents. I don't think I can download them outside of Kindle, right?

 

Dropbox doesn't seem to want to let me download to an iPhone and wants me to just read in the app.

 

 

 

 

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I use Google Drive for a LOT. Then download what I need to use offline to an SD card. I'll delete things off the SD when I'm done, then retrieve "new" materials from Drive.

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Gideon Bible app is good. There is free audio for both the ESV and KJV

 

http://www.studentsfriend.com has an app for the iPhone of the student text. It is a 2 year world history and geography curriculum.

 

I'm still messing around with the Khan app. I see video but no practice.

 

I'm thinking math mammoth will flop going from tablet to phablet. With other subjects we have been saying reducing text and doing more video/audio and hands on is good. I'm thinking.

 

We can own multiple free gmail addresses and stay signed in to all. Can we have unlimited ebook storage this way? I had good luck downloading from google drive to the GoodReader app on an iPad, in the past, but something is different on the iPhone and more cumbersome. I need to play with this more? Can we rent google drive storage?

 

 

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This old 1857 Ray's Third Book is older than the Mott Media Practical.

https://archive.org/details/prac00ticalarithmerayjrich

 

It has comprehension questions and answers right next to the problems. This can be done orally and by copying problems onto paper.

 

The book was small, so when viewed in landscape, it is about the original size.

 

 

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Further thoughts - I haven't been all that happy with looking at PDFs on my Note 2, but, I haven't had much of a *need* to look at them - after we moved 4 years ago I didn't really dig up my laptop for several months, what with being infatuated with my new phablet and unpacking from move etc, so I did look at the occasional PDF, but the zooming  in and out etc... I haven't looked at a PDF on my phone since I did dig up my laptop. I didn't even know there were smaller PDFs or w/e. 

 

Desktop versions of websites do of course have some of the same problem - you're going to want to zoom in/out, but it's less annoying than on a regular-size PDF, imo. 

 

I went ahead and tried Khan Academy for you. It works fine. To be clear, I tried counting, which involved dragging pictures, on the mobile version, and then I did 3-digit addition, for which I had to switch to the desktop version. Well, I didn't *have* to, but in order to be able to draw on the screen I had to use the desktop version. I used both my finger and my S-Pen for that, and the S-Pen was of course better than my finger (I rarely use the S-Pen, it's not as awesome as I'd like it to be, but it'd be useful for this, and if for some reason you're looking for a phablet centered education without any paper/pen(cil), then I'd suggest you get a phablet with a pen like the Note series). I didn't try the Khan app (I have no particular desire to do Khan on my phone).

 

As a side note, I've dropped my Note 2 several times (okay, the kids did most of the dropping, but same effect), at least a dozen times from 3+ft, some of which were onto the concrete sidewalk. It still lives (and I've never had a case for it, though I did have a screen protector on it for the first couple of years, which is when most of the drops happened). The main downside of dropping it is that the back cover and battery will fly off (it's obviously not waterproof).

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Cool. Okay. I need to use the web browser version of Khan, not the app, to be able to do the practice exercises.

 

I need to note that in general. Don't assume all features are included in the app.

 

 

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I don't know how you could possibly need file storage above what you get through drive/gmail? Multiple whole movies? I've definitely made the assumption that someone would have somewhat regular access to wifi. Without that, you'd need to eliminate video options and just keep pdf's.

 

I have a 64g sd card on my phone. I actually use an older phone (which causes some different problems) because file storage and extended battery are essential to me.

 

This is fun to discuss. I don't think anyone should be embarrassed to ask this question. I took a 12,000+ mile cross country/continental trip the last two years in a row. Since we were gone about 2 months each time I hauled a crate of books with us and had the kids set up with.. Oh I don't know what they are called. A thin box a little bigger than a sheet of paper with a paper holding clip on one side. They work like a sturdy folder and lap desk all in one. There is enough room for a bunch of worksheets and a couple pencils or crayons..Anyway. Car schooling. I used my phone a ton for read alouds, audio books, etc. It was literally in use 24h/day for something or someone. It's nice to hear ideas on what other options there are of we ever do it again.

 

The Baldwin project on mainlesson.com is another great resource for reading. They have all the fairy books and tons of other history reading.

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Some PDFs are really large, especially scanned books. They add up. The Yesterday's Classics packages actually take up a lot of room. I used to buy audio books from Currclick and CBD, but don't do that anymore and rely on leasing from Amazon.

 

I need to really go through my stuff. I have a mess. And thumb drives I have no ability to read right now without asking a favor of someone.

 

Is there anything for the iPhone that reads thumb drives and reads files in addition to music and video, such as PDF and DOCX and text and mobi and ePub?

 

 

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Discovery K12 will work on a phone. It looks like you'd want a composition notebook for "write an essay" and worksheet questions. I looked at the 10th grade stuff, and it looks mostly good except the math, which I'm only seeing lectures, not exercises, so maybe CK12 for that? The literature is pick your own so any eBooks would work. The student accounts are free.

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File storage?

 

Pros and cons and personal reviews? I've done a little of everything and just have a hodge podge mess.

 

I bought an SD card reader, but that doesn't help me read thumb drives from my iPhone. Android has thumb drive adapters. Even with adapters and readers lots of files won't load, or the function to copy and paste doesn't work. Sometimes "share" works when other functions don't work, but not always.

 

I sent some things to Kindle and they are stored in Kindle documents. I don't think I can download them outside of Kindle, right?

 

Dropbox doesn't seem to want to let me download to an iPhone and wants me to just read in the app.

 

 

 

 

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I agree with a pp about using drive. I access it on my phone all the time for different reasons. I once had a thumb drive with over a year's worth of work and lesson plans on it (I'm also a b&m teacher) and it broke. It was a sad day for me. Uploaded Word documents can look weird on drive if there tables or charts. This is on an Android phone, though, so it might be different for you.

 

I have different gmail accounts with storage available. I haven't even reached half the maximum on my main account. I know you can purchase more storage if you need it.

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I got off the phone and onto a tablet this morning.

 

I don't like tapatalk and I can't figure out how to see this site in safari browser on the iPhone. Maybe another browser?

 

I think I need to make Google my main storage site and clean it up and organize it. The iPhone lets me stay logged into multiple accounts at the same time. I used to have another google account and have no idea what was in it, and Google has deleted it.

 

If I pay for iCloud, anything I put into Good Reader or iBooks is backed up automatically.

 

Decisions decisions.

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You could also do online classes designed to be done on Blackboard. DD has done one this semester on an android phone with a 4.5" screen. She also watches a lot of videos on Prime video on her phone, so that might be another option. It would drive my old eyes crazy, but it works for her.

 

For this site, I have to use desktop view on my iPad, so if the screen is big enough, try that. I find it much easier to use than the Tapatalk app.

Edited by dmmetler
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For Drive and managing your Google storage, keep in mind that any documents that are in Google docs formats (docs, slides, sheets, etc) don't count against your space. Any videos or pictures you save in "high quality" instead of original quality size also don't count. You can have unlimited numbers of those.

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For Discovery K12 and Starfall are you all talking about apps or browser?

 

 

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Browser for Discovery K12.

 

I've got one of those cheap Black Friday Kindle Fire tablets. I really like it for watching teaching videos (including ones I moved from a thumb drive to a micro SD card). I needed to install a free file manager app, but it works great for that.

 

I haven't taken the time to figure out how to install Chrome on it, but I think that would make it more useful to us because we do some much with Google already- Keep, Drive, ect. I love the text convert feature in Keep.

 

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For Discovery K12 and Starfall are you all talking about apps or browser?

 

 

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The app for Starfall, and go ahead and purchase the subscription. It's $35 for a year.

 

You can use the browser too, but the app makes it easy for a young child to tap the star and get going on her own.

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I got off the phone and onto a tablet this morning.

 

I don't like tapatalk and I can't figure out how to see this site in safari browser on the iPhone. Maybe another browser?

 

 

I personally like and use Tapatalk on my iPhone regularly, however I never use Safari, to access the site or otherwise. I use the Chrome app for iPhone, which is great because then my bookmarks are saved across all my devices. I occasionally access this forum on my phone via chrome because the search is better than Tapatalk.

 

I have three Yesterday's Classics bundles and 35-40 PDF books downloaded from archive.org (plus a variety of curriculum downloads) in my Google cloud storage and I've used 33% of my allotted space. I really would prefer to use my Kindle Paperwhite to read the Yesterday's Classics stuff but last year I broke one on vacation and read some books to the kids directly (via Chrome) from mainlesson.com and it was fine.

 

I've accessed Mystery Science lessons from my iPhone, the pdfs from Easy Classical look fine on it, and the I view the Ambleside Online weekly charts constantly on the phone as well. When I am using my phone, I mostly import pdfs to the iBooks app. My kids use the BrainPOP, Duolingo, and YouTube Kids apps on my iPhone a lot. I also use a paid app called Flashcards Deluxe ($3.99) which I like because you can import/export from/to quizlet.com, Google Drive, or Dropbox and it uses the Leitner method.

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What curricula work well on a larger screen cell-phone and WHY?

 

What if you had to entirely school from a 5.5 inch cell phone? No computer, tablet, or hardcopy books at all. How do you think you would do it?

 

If you just had to use the phablet as your main resource, but could have a few other things, what would you prioritize to have to supplement the phablet?

 

I'm just curious. I'm not in the mood to talk about me and why I'm asking. I'm just throwing this out as an exercise and conversation starter. I want to talk TOPIC, more than TO each other, true autistic style. Just play, not judge.

I do have hard cover books but our PC is basically dead so I do a lot from my phone. Having a wi fi/ air print printer means we can access so many resources online with the phone to print and use.

 

I don't use it much but smart apps for special needs blog used to be great for free educational apps. Also we still do a lot of languages on iPhone as apps are great for that.

 

One thing to be careful of is handwriting programs because they often require kids to make the right shape but not necessarily in the right way or order and it developed some bad habits in my dd.

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I still don't have tapatalk figured out. I suspect I need to tweak some settings. In the meantime, I am alternating back and forth to Safari, trying not to miss anything important.

 

Things have settled down enough here I know better what my situation is. I don't have any regrets even if I should. Life is to be lived. I stretched myself; it didn't workout; I'm moving on.

 

I still have a 3G Kindle. And my cell phone plan has a personal hotspot ability, so I can send non Amazon purchase items as docs using wifi. So if I store Yesterdays classics at Google, I can use the phone to throw them to the Kindle. And of course I can use the 3G to access anything purchased from Amazon.

 

In general, I think the number 2 item to purchase after a cell phone is an eReader. It gives the eyes a break.

 

I have more than a cell phone now, thankfully. My credit is awesome. I want to keep it that way, so am being picky about what I do in the next few months while I pay some stuff down. This wasn't a crisis by any means, but I made myself vulnerable and there are repercussions, and life works like that. And it is just a time of reflection and taking stock and making a budget and a plan, with even some room for MORE to go wrong.

 

My priority for the next little while is to prioritize keeping the phone up and running. And next a Kindle, and if it has to be replaced probably just a wifi model since I have the personal hotspot. Everything else is just gravy.

 

I don't know what my printer options are with the personal hotspot feature. Or an adapter. I have a Bluetooth mobile printer tucked away that doesn't work with iOS through Bluetooth. I need to play with the wifi option which I have never used.

 

My Udemy foreign language lessons have been working great so far.

 

I'm gradually rereading this thread and checking out things one by one. Thank you all!!! And who knows who else is reading that is not posting, but gaining ideas.

 

 

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Oh, and my card reader came in. It doesn't work with the case on my phone. So I do have access to a card with some of my favorite things on it, but only if I risk breaking my case to get it off.

 

Just a tip for other to be aware of when purchasing cases and card readers.

 

 

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Yes, critical things can be printed elsewhere. With my memory loss, I'm not even sure why the printer was in a box. Maybe it didn't work before either, with what I had. I don't know. :lol:

 

No biggie. Lack of resources always leads to increased creativity and ideas to share. If things went easier for me I wouldn't have a 1/4 of the tips and links to share. It is all good.

 

And if someone crosses my path with a critical need for a portable Bluetooth printer, I'm likely to just gift it to them as I'm not using it and I just don't hold onto things, even when I should. Possessions make me itch. They are just potential problems.

 

 

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