What makes a 5-star app?
So what really makes an app deserve a 5-star rating? There are many important aspects to consider. Is a child learning something new they didn’t know before? Are they practicing skills or facts? Are they being challenged to approach problems in new ways or utilize a variety of strategies to find solutions? And equally important: is the app keeping their attention? These are factors we consider when rating an app. Below is our app rating matrix.
5-Star Rating
Educational Value
- Teaches material in a challenging and exciting way, and/or
- Encourages problem solving, higher-order thinking, strategy, out of the box thinking, and/or
- Very effective teaching method or very effective practice and review method
Engagement Factor
- Extremely engaging, and/or
- Outstanding graphics, and/or
- Very catchy themes that keep students’ interest
Shelf Life
- Students will enjoy using this app over and over again, and/or
- Students will continue to benefit from the app each time they use it
4-Star Rating
Educational Value
- Generally teaches material in a challenging and exciting way, and/or
- Encourages some problem solving, higher-order thinking, out of the box thinking, and/or
- Effective teaching method, effective practice and review method
Engagement Factor
- Very engaging
- Nice graphics, and/or
- Catchy themes that keep students’ interest
Shelf Life
- Students will enjoy using this app many times
- Students will continue to benefit from the app repeatedly
3-Star Rating
Educational Value
- Students are able to practice skills and/or memorize facts, and/or
- Somewhat effective teaching method, somewhat effective practice and review method
Engagement Factor
- Engaging
- Somewhat catchy themes that may keep students’ interest
Shelf Life
- Students may use this app more than once, and/or
- Students can benefit from repeated use
2-Star Rating
Educational Value
- Students are able to practice skills or memorize facts
- Somewhat effective teaching method, somewhat effective practice and review method
Engagement Factor
- Somewhat engaging
- Mediocre graphics, and/or
- Somewhat catchy themes that sometimes keep students’ interest
Shelf Life
- Students may use this app more than once, and/or
- Students will quickly master the material
1-Star Rating
Educational Value
- Skill development or fact memorization are not significant outcomes of this app, and/or
- Ineffective teaching method, ineffective practice and review method
Engagement Factor
- Not engaging, and/or
- Ineffective use of graphics
- Themes are not catchy and do not keep students’ interest
Shelf Life
- Most students will only use this app once or twice, and/or
- Students will very quickly master the material
