In a couple of weeks, I'll be interviewing Rob Franek, author of the Princeton Review's “Best 368 Colleges”, about the soon-to-be-available SAT Vocab Challenge game from Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPod touch. As usual, The Princeton Review is keeping up with today's technology trends, and Rob will be answering some questions about this new SAT-Apple App. I wanted to ask my readers, who might be in the same college-application-panic mode as I am (were or will be, too), to help me prepare for the Q&A by answering a couple of questions.
First, here's a short bio of Mr. Franek:
Robert Franek, 36, oversees The Princeton Review's guidebook publishing program — a line of nearly 200 titles from best-selling test-prep guides to college, graduate school, career-related and reference books. As the company’s chief expert on higher education issues, he directs The Princeton Review annual surveys of college, business school, and law school students upon which the well-known Princeton Review rankings are based. As lead author of the company's annual “Best Colleges” guide, he visits more than 50 colleges a year and has been a lecturer and panelist on college admissions for audiences of educators, parents and students. Robert has been interviewed and sourced on standardized tests, college, graduate school, financial aid and career topics by a range of media from Time to The Chronicle of Higher Education and from USA Today to the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared on ABC “Good Morning America,” CBS “The Early Show,” (viewable at http://tinyurl.com/5w3dzj) and NBC “Today,” (viewable at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9050138/) as well as several CNN and FOX programs, National Public Radio and network radio shows.
The SAT Vocab App. for the iPhone and iPod Touch is a vocabulary-building application which can help prospective SAT takers boost their vocabulary scores by focusing on the top 250 words which most frequently appear on the test. Four fast-paced games require users to know the antonym, synonym, definition and connotation of each word. Points rack up until all 250 terms are mastered.
Parents, teachers and students:
. What do you think about the effectiveness of an iPod or iPhone app. as a tool to help increase vocab. skills for the SAT, and therefore increase scores which could possibly translate into savings on college tuition?
. Do you think your high school students would spend the time and money ($4.99) on this application?
. Parents and/or caregivers: Would you purchase this app to help your student's vocab. score? Why or why not?
If you have questions other than these, please ask away!
Thanks
this is a test
I believe that this would be a good application. My daughter is all about her grades and improving her ACT and SAT test scores to make it in to college. I can see her using this application. I would definitley pay the $4.99. I would rather her be walking around with her iPod learning than playing touch piano!
The kids today are connected through their cellular devices and it is not uncommon for kids to have iPhones. Our 21 year old recently took a flight out of town for a graduation where he would be gone for one week. He called us from the terminal at the airport to tell us that he had left his phone in the car and could we fedex it over night to him (which we did), but my point being that kids can not live without their phones, they carry them everywhere with them and who can say the same about a text book or resource book. I would buy the app, it would go everywhere with him/her and if they used it would be up to them.
I certainly agree with you. I also think more applications like this one could help students make better use of today's technology to their benefit! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!
You're spot on Tonia! We really don't see kids with books that much anymore (except for those Twilight tomes!). Games like this new vocabulary builder could be just the thing, even for younger kids, to start getting in tune with what could be the future of learning on the go. Glad you stopped by!