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Are you interested in using Apps to build a language classroom that your students can join and learn from home? Do you know which Apps can help your students study English with their smartphones?While navigating this website, you will learn about 8 helpful Apps that can be used to build online connections and engage students in learning English at home.

Why We Need Apps to Build an Online Connections?

Hurricane devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017

Mother nature took a turn towards Puerto Rico last year. Hurricane Irma and Maria devastated the island last September 2017 destroying roads, homes and schools. Among other terrible consequences, these disasters left students with very few resources to start the school year.

According to news reports, the storm was strong enough to crush the power supply and burst the water tubes. Twelve hundred buildings that serve Puerto Rico’s 350,000 public school students went dark for weeks and the ones who were able to reopen have done so to serve basic community needs. According to Andrew Ujifusa, “Some schools may never reopen due to extensive damage. Others may operate without power, and therefore without things like air conditioning and lights, for weeks or months” (Stateline, 2017, np).

In communities where teachers face daunting challenges related to isolation and lack of resources, educational technology tools may be the answer for these needs. It is the era of “education beyond school limits”. Innovative technology tools can help support teachers and their students in meaningful ways by providing access to educational content and regular prompts and tips on how to utilize this content. Thus, we present ideas using free Apps with smartphones, that can be well suited for Puerto Rican classrooms as well as other locations where might encounter the similar dilemma.

In this project, we will only focus on the utilization of 8 Apps in English language classrooms, which could be a resource for ESL/EFL teachers in Puerto Rico.