Week 6

There are tons of apps available for use in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom.  I have chosen four apps that go along with the core classes taught in most FACS programs. Those core courses are Parenting/ Child Development, Fashion, Foods and Nutrition and Housing/Interior Design.

The first app is for Parenting and Child Development. The app Parenting Ages and Stages for iPhone and iPad allows students to track the various developmental stages from pregnancy through childhood. The app also offers information on milestones and other topics like nutrition for both mom and child. This would be a welcome change from the developmental stages found in the textbooks. Also, this app would offer more updated information.

The second app I have chosen is for Foods and Nutrition. Epicurious is an app designed for finding recipes and creating shopping lists. This app would allow students to find and save recipes, as well as, creating a shopping list from chosen recipes. You can also use the app while cooking due to its easy to read feature. Although, I doubt I will let my sweet teenagers take new iPads in the kitchen. I often have my students use cookbooks to look up recipes and they would enjoy using iPads or their own devices instead.

Home Design Story is the third app I have chosen. Obviously, this app would be great for Housing and Interior Design. The app would allow students to design their own dream home from the landscaping outdoors to each individual room inside. Students can choose furniture, wall colors and make other important design decisions. This app is a game, but that would be a plus for my students. They always enjoy competition. I would use this as an ongoing assignment. For example, when we discuss color schemes, they could create a color scheme within a room in their dream house.

The last app I have chosen relates to Fashion. Most of you have probably heard of Polyvore. This app allows students to create an outfit collage using clothing, shoes and accessories. They can also search for fashion trends and price clothing. This app would be great for students to identify clothing styles or the elements of design within clothing. Students could create outfits based on a color scheme or find clothing that works within a set budget. Many of my students already use this app and I think they would be surprised (in a good way) to see it used as a learning tool.