Using Pocket to keep your digital life organized and accessible is a great way to practice the Organization, Planning, and Self-Awareness thinking skills. Try some of our suggested activities or leave a comment at the bottom of the page to share how you made this app work for you.

Organization Activity

Browse some of your child's favorite webpages or search youtube for interesting videos. When discovering something interesting that your child might like to revisit later or share with a friend, save the link to Pocket. After the webpage, music, photo, or other media has been imported to Pocket, be sure your child uses "tags" to make sort the content and make it easy to locate in the future. Pocket will automatically sort content by media type, but your child can also sort the content by topic or other keywords to personalize the media library.

Planning Activity

Talk with your child about the ideal times to browse his or her saved content from the web. Your child can set aside time for exploring and learning on the web after homework is finished or before bed. While browsing the web or searching for news, your child may come across content and articles of interest. Encourage your child to prioritize and concentrate effort where it is most important. For example, while searching for information or sources for a school project your child may come across an unrelated video or article. Using Pocket to save this interesting content and using the planning to return to it when appropriate is an excellent way to exercise the Planning thinking skill.

Self-Awareness Activity

Assist your child in compiling a catalogue of interesting and fun media in Pocket. Your child can spend time archiving interesting articles on Wikipedia or browsing for videos of a favorite music artist on Youtube. You're child should make an effort to populate Pocket with content that is personally interesting or useful. For example, if your child has a great interest in hockey, he or she can spend time populating the app with interesting articles, videos, and even pictures. To keep the media organized your child may want to employ the "tag" feature which allows the inclusion of keywords with archived content. This feature can help your child keep track of related content and maintain a well organized log of expanding interest areas.

ADHD & Pocket

For some children with ADHD staying on task and keeping materials organized can both be a challenge. Success in school often relies on practicing and developing these skills inside and outside of the classroom. Pocket can be an excellent tool for both helping children with ADHD practice and develop organizational and planning skills. For children who have difficulty staying on task due to distractions in their immediate environment, Pocket provides a great resource for archiving media for later use. Children who have trouble staying organized during research and school projects may also benefit from the features which Pocket provides.

How to Use Pocket for Children with ADHD:

• Work with your child to exercise the Planning thinking skill. While working on homework or another school assignment if your child comes across an interesting video or article, use Pocket to save it for after the assignment is complete. Your child can use other helpful apps like 30/30 to stay execute a schedule which best suits his or her needs. For example, your child should work hard to prioritize schoolwork and concentrate on the task at hand for an increment of time. During breaks, after the assignment is complete, or before bed, your child should plan for free time to leisurely browse the content previously archived in Pocket. Be sure to stress the importance of the Planning thinking skill to your child to help create both time for working and time for pursuing hobbies.

• While working on homework or a school project, utilize Pocket to keep resources organized. Your child can browse for potentially useful sources on the web like articles, videos, and pictures saving them to the app for further assessment and later use. Pocket can allow your child to cast a wide net for resources and while automatically arrange them by media type. In addition, your child should utilize Pocket's "tag" feature to include additional descriptions and keywords for easy locating later. Your child can use similar tactics when browsing personally interesting material during leisure time. Learning to keep an organized digital life is an essential skill for students and a great way to practice the Organization thinking skill.

Dyslexia & Pocket

For children with dyslexia who struggle with reading and writing skills, additional practice outside of the classroom can be of great benefit. These children may have difficulty recalling the definitions of different words, identifying and decoding individual letters, or synthesizing and extrapolating information from their reading. Utilizing apps like Pocket to help archive practice materials for reading outside the classroom can give children a safe and unthreatening venue in which to practice and enhance reading proficiency.

How to Use Pocket for Children with dyslexia:

• Browse and archive written content to help your child practice reading outside the classroom. For some children who struggle with symptoms of dyslexia, reading often seems like a daunting and uninteresting task. Try searching for content that your child finds particularly interesting to encourage practice. Your child might enjoy reading articles about a favorite sports team or band. Finding materials that particularly interest your child can be a great way to encourage reading without your child feeling like it is a chore. Use Pocket to archive particularly interesting content for later reading pleasure. The app can help your child keep track of and organize large amounts of potentially interesting text-based web materials. 

• Utilize other web-based services like Wordpress or WikiTravel to locate non-traditional reading materials. Some children who lack reading proficiency may be intimidated by the size and scale of novels or longer formatted texts. Reading short articles about exotic locations on WikiTravel or finding a blogger who updates readers about the latest music or movies through short interest pieces might be a more accessible and approachable format for children who are not necessarily enthusiastic about reading. Encourage your child to save favorite text-based materials to Pocket to share with the family or friends later. Take turns reading the articles with your child after dinner or before bed.

• Create a shared Pocket account. Find an interest that each of you may have in common and work to locate reading materials that you can enjoy with your child. Throughout the course of a few days or a week, compile a list of interesting articles and apply telling tags for easy location later. Set aside time to read and later discuss the articles you and your child have found for the week. Giving your child incentive to search for and read articles to share may help encourage the additional practice he or she needs outside of school.

• Utilize Pocket's customizable reading options to make reading an easier experience. The app offers an "easy on the eyes" reading view, as well as options for enlarging text. An uncluttered and simple design makes keeping track of large amounts of links and media easy to navigate for children with dyslexia. These children may benefit from less amounts of text on the screen at one time and enlarged formatting for text.

Pocket is just one of many places to store important or personally interesting information from the web. Try some of our other suggested apps below and let us know which one you prefer in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

Delicious

Delicious is another bookmarking website and app for helping users save and share their favorite websites and media. This service also allows users to archive and tag content from across the web for ease of access in the future. Learn more in our Delicious review.

Evernote

Evernote allows users to save media and content across a large array of formats, as well as personal voice and text based notes. This app is an excellent way to organize, save, and share a constantly expanding digital footprint. Learn more in our Evernote review.