Earth’s Rocks and the Rock Cycle
© 2015 Tasa Graphic Arts, Inc.
Turn your iPad into a geology lecture, complete with the ability to zoom in on rock samples, a set of animated movies (e.g., to illustrate a process like lithification) and a set of quizzes. The app is designed to introduce students to the three rock types found on Earth, and the geologic processes behind them. The design of this app is as dry as the title. Content is presented in school-report format, one narrated slide at a time, with the ability to zoom in on different rock samples... but the narration is not timed with what you are examining. The navigation could be better. A Rock Builder activity lets you test your knowledge of the rock cycle to build new rocks from existing ones. This sounds good, but there's no formative feedback in case you get lost. Other features include a glossary, optional narration and a quiz that can be shared. Topics include: The Rocks - Igneous Rocks, Sedimentary Rocks, and Metamorphic Rocks; The Processes - Cooling and Crystallization, Weathering, Lithification, Metamorphism, and Melting; and The Rock Cycle. Note that this is a big download (Size: 694 MB). See also Focus on Earthquakes, CTR Editor's Choice Award April 2012.
$7.99, iPad (iOS 7.1 or later)
Teaches: earth science, rocks, the crust, geology
CTR Rating: 82.5%