Spelling and technology

Last week we officially started spelling. As you have seen, your child's spelling list will come home each Monday in their DOG binder. Here at school, we keep an identical list to help us practice, but we have also been using a free app called, A+ Test by Alligator Apps. Each week in addition to writing our spelling lists on paper, we also add our spelling words to the iPad app by typing them in and also recording them with our own voices! There are then 4 different practice sessions that the kiddos use on various days of the week. On Fridays when we take our test, we will use our iPads. The app will read each word to the student, they will then write it on their spelling paper and then enter it onto the iPad. In this way kiddos are still making the transfer of spelling to the written word and practicing their handwriting at the same time, but are also getting practice with their keyboarding skills and how words "look" on the computer. As adults, we often take for granted the simple things such as: when we write we use lowercase letters, however, on the computer the keys are all in caps which can be confusing for our youngest learners. 
After finishing their test, children then send their test to me via email directly from the app which gives me a digital record of their errors which I can track over time if needed.