Lets Keep an iDiary

iDiary

Introduction

This app I am introducing is called iDiary. This app is used on any smartphone or iPad and computer. This app gives students the ability to start journals, and to start thinking of writing down "how they feel." Well iDiary gives your students that option to learn how to express how they feel and to start becoming creative writers.  I know when I was in elementary school I was never allowed to write what I wanted to write, or write about how I felt or how I was feeling. I want to make sure my students will have time to read their own books and/or read books that they choose, while also allowing them to write about how their day was and reflect on how to make it better. I think giving your students the freedom to write how they feel and how their day was gives them a chance to express themselves better and it also gives you the teacher some extra help to be there for your students and understand what they are going through. You,as the teacher can either make the app private so that you cannot see the writings or you can make it public where you as the teacher can only see the posts. You, as the teacher control the whole system. 

Features of the iDiary

This app as many features mostly good but still some quirks you may need to work through. The app looks like an online journal with a writing section even with a spiral notebook appearance. On the top of the page it has the words "Write Your Day..." expressing the users to type and express how their day was and/or is going. The opening page includes a calendar so that the students may know what day it is and/or go back to the calendar to see what he or she wrote on a different day. It gives them the opportunity to always have that option to go back and see what they wrote weeks ago without having to go through all the posts. They can just pick a day they might remember. For example if they want to remember what they wrote about at the beginning of the year they can just click on the calendar and review what they wrote about at the beginning of the year. 

On this app this app you can also upload pictures and videos into the post. Which gives the students the ability to express how they feel in a picture, or a video. You can even have the students do a project to interview how they are feeling or how their day went.  On the app you can even place links into your post. So maybe they could post a music video of their favorite song, or the song that makes them feel better when they are having a rough day, or maybe they could post another blog of someone feeling the same way. There is just so many thing you can do with this app that makes it so personal for each and every student. But just like with everything their is the some downs, for example the app is more difficult for younger students to maneuver. It is an app for more of an older crowd. This app would work best for a third grade classroom or higher, just because the students will need to know how to type and write sentences and in third grade is when you become more aware of how to complete full sentences.

How to create an iDiary

• First, go to iDiary and click on "sign up"
• Second, you will get the option to sign up a class, which is what you want to do as the teacher of the classroom.
• Third, you can include all the names of your students and make the account private or public. 

Teachers feedback on the App

"Easy to download, easy to install, easy to use. Nice for keeping records of things, nice set up, change text size, colors, move from one date to another. No click to save, saves automatically. Clean of ad's."

"Want a diary for your computer to keep records or memories safe, pass worded if you wish this is the program for you. It's clean easy to use. Font changes easy to do, text color, even back ground colors. Nice to add little happy faces as well. A nice all around program. GET IT!"

All teachers seem to have something positive to say about the app, and love using it is the classroom. I actually found a website that has many review about the app. 

What I think?

I think this app will definitely be used in my classroom. Because with every classroom comes a time where you need to teach your students to become creative writers. I would not just use this app for personal journaling I would use this app for my students to begin blogging and/or being able to just write down notes and information they are learning at that moment. Or when they do not have a piece of paper with them or a pen they can just pull out their iPad and start writing or journaling about what they see,feel,or experiencing. 

References

H. (n.d.). IDiary for Kids Reviews | edshelf. Retrieved October 04, 2016, from https://edshelf.com/tool/idiary-for-kids/

Idiary logo - Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2016, from https://www.google.com/search?q=idiary logo