Over the summer it’s time for us teachers to prepare for our new class and the year ahead. Over the next few weeks I’m going to put spotlights on particular topics or themes, highlighting some apps which can support learning. This year the AppStore team have selected the best interactive stories, games and knowledge apps for a collection called ‘Cars, Planes and Trains’. Their collections are always interesting and pick out great apps to use for lessons in the classroom. Take a look at this featured collection here. I’ve taken a quick walk through this latest collection and picked out a few apps which look like good fun for early years and ones which can develop knowledge and understanding in this topic.

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This is my Car This discovery game is packed full of interactive features where you design and build your own vehicle, refuel it and fix it. This app introduces children to how vehicles work and what is inside a car which makes those noises they love to recreate with toys!  Download This is my Car here.

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Pango Imaginary Car This app has the same design features at This is My Car but the difference here is you are able to create an imaginary vehicle using parts from all kinds of existing vehicles. It’s another great app for the planning process, where our early years children can then move to the making space to build their model. Download Pango Imaginary Car here.

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Bloxy Models Basic This app needs to enhance your construction provision. It’s packed with instructions and 3D visuals for creating transport models using Lego style blocks. Download Bloxy Models Basic here.

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These are just 3 apps from this featured collection, and are stand-alone activities that can be part of provision. It’s always worth thinking about enhancement when using apps. How is the technology enhancing the learning? Try to build in opportunities for children to record what they have made and reflect on their work. You could save the scenes from Bloxy Model Basic, and even photograph the models children build in your construction area, then put those backgrounds in Puppet Pals to tell a transport story. Children could apply their learning from the This is my Car app by authoring a non-fiction book in Book Creator, using their own drawings or screen shots from the app. By using these two apps, children will move from consuming information to creating content on the iPads.