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Animal Photobook 1

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FREE for a limited time for the iPhone/iPad – This educational app (for 3 – 12 year olds) contains beautiful pictures and fascinating facts about 12 animals. Each page poses a question about an animal such as: Is it true that snakes smell with their tongues? How do chameleons change color? etc. The answer can be read independently or read aloud by a narrator. The narrator’s voice can be set to US English or UK English. There are lots of interesting facts in this app – the kind of things kids love to learn. One minor caution – The question about the wolf asks: Are wolves really evil?  We actually addressed this issue in my third grade class when we our fairy tale/folk tale unit because the wolf was always the villain. Their answer gives a good explanation of how wolves ended up with bad reputation – no problem there. My concern is the line: You shouldn’t be afraid of wolves because they are neither evil or dangerous. I agree that wolves are not evil but I think kids need to know that any wild animal is somewhat dangerous. Other than that, this app is great.

Animal Photobook - CYBERLINE

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Comic Book

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Comic Book

On sale for only $.99 – Comic Book. This app was named Best Photo App of 2011 and was the App of the Week in 12 different countries! Using the app’s selection of image filters, comic fonts, customizable captions, classic comic graphics and page layouts, you can easily change your photos into comics. So many creative uses for the classroom!! Download now, brainstorm uses for this educational app later!!

ComicBook! - 3DTOPO Inc.

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Cool Writer

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Cool Writer

Free today – Cool Writer – Awesome Writing & Note Taking App and that it is! This educational app comes with 5 built-in keyboards to make writing and note taking fun. They are: Special Characters Keyboard with 2000 special characters, Emoji Keyboard with 471 emoticons, Article Keyboard with 400 popular characters/emoji article pictures, Crazy Text Keyboard with fun features like ‘upside-down’ letters, and Shortcut Keyboard that you can personalize. The app has 12 themes or you can create your own theme using images from your photo album. With it you can create, rename, delete, copy, and move your notes. You can also sort them by name, size, type, or time. There is even as search option. This app also converts text files to PDF or image format.

I visualize using this app as a digital version of the 5-subject notebook – kids could keep track of their class notes for all subjects in their device. It syncs with Dropbox so they can also access class notes at home. Teachers could share notes with students and vice versa. This app could be used to write exit slips at the end of a lesson and emailed to the teacher. Or, a teacher could assign reading/note taking for homework then have kids email the completed notes. Lots of possibilities here and slick enough that kids would probably enjoy using it – VERY cool!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cool-writer-awesome-writing/id477698296?mt=8&uo=4

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Compare a Twist

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Compare a Twist

FREE for a limited time – Compare a Twist, an educational app. This easy-to-use app allows teachers and/or students to create lessons that compare/contrast or categorize items. The app supports the use of text and images making it useable for multiple levels of students. Compare/contrast or categorizing lessons can be created across the curriculum: Language Arts – long/short vowel sound, synonyms & antonyms, characteristics of the main characters; Math – factors of numbers, equivalent fractions, characteristics of geometric shapes; Science – living or nonliving, characteristics of animals. The possibilities are endless. The app gives students get instant feedback when they have completed the activity. Teachers can also use that information to check students’ understanding.

They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it… I think kids would really enjoy creating quizzes to share with their peers.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/compare-a-twist/id510922341?mt=8&uo=4

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ABC Aquarium

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abc aquarium

FREE for a limited time – ABC Aquarium for the iPhone/iPad introduces your toddler (3 – 5) to the marine world through sight, sound, and touch. This educational app opens to a grid arranged in ABC order. Kids can tap on a letter to find marine creatures that begin with that letter or they can tap on a specific creature to learn about it. As a photo appears, a child’s voice says the initial letter then reads the name of the creature (which appears in writing at the bottom of the screen.) A little cartoon person drops down on the left hand side of the screen with a link to a video clip or an interactive scene. The child can scroll to the left for additional pictures and videos about each creature. Also included are fun facts (written and spoken) for each entry. The app can be used in English, Spanish, or dual language mode (permits switching back & forth between the two languages) – a VERY cool feature.

This app needs an internet connection to work because the 100+ videos are actually links from You Tube. They are chosen by Peapod Labs and checked to be interesting and safe for kids. Kids cannot link from this app into other You Tube content. This app is nicely done  – great for building vocabulary and beginning to read/spell words.

Also check out my review of ABC Wildlife and ABC House by the same developers :)

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Shadow Puppet

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Shadow Puppet

FREE for a limited time – Shadow Puppet, a photography app currently featured as one of the “Best New Apps” by Apple. Using this app, it’s easy to create “puppets” – recorded explanations of your photos. First you choose your photos and put them in the order. Then you talk about your pictures. Everything is recorded. Finished “puppets” can be shared via email, SMS, Facebook and/or Twitter. There are so many ways for everyone to use Shadow Puppet: to teach something new, to share adventures with friends, to record children talking about their experiences, to tell the story behind old family photos, etc.

And… the classroom uses for this app are only limited by your imagination: Take pictures of a child’s work and have him/her explain it to parents. Send pictures and voice recordings of the class field trip. Have kids give a step-by-step explanation of what happened in a science experiment. Draw & sequence pictures to retell a story. Make a “talking timeline” by sequencing photos of historical events. Have kids use it to present mini reports on any subject. Have virtual “pet day” – kids bring in pictures/recordings of their pets. Because you can use anything saved to your photo library, you can explain photos from the web, artwork created in other apps, and so much more. The possibilities for using this educational app are endless. What a fabulous resource!!

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-puppet/id700902833?mt=8&uo=4

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Princess Piano

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FREE today, this app for the iPhone/iPad usually costs $1.99. Kids help Princess Piano dance her way back to the Cloud Kingdom by playing the songs on the piano as well as they can. The app introduces musical notation one note at a time (starting with c,d,e….) as well as the timing of notes (quarter notes, half notes). Kids are given practice as each new note/concept is taught. There are three modes of difficulty: beginner (keys flash, key/notes are labeled, 60% or better to advance), advanced (keys labeled, 80% or better to advance) and virtuoso (90% or better to advance). As kids advance through the levels they unlock outfits for Princess Piano – which they can use in “Dressing Room.” There is also a “Song Maker” tool for kids to compose their own music. This app is a great introduction to reading music!

Highly Recommended!

Princess Piano - Dented Pixel

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Draw Along with Stella and Sam for iPad

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FREE for a limited time – Draw Along with Stella & Sam, an adorable & educational app for preschoolers. This app is based on the television show and book series by Marie-Louise Gay. The Stella and Sam books have been translated into 15 languages and have sold over a million copies. Disney Junior Canada sponsored a Draw Along Contest using this app last summer. Winners were featured on a special Stella and Sam event. What a cool opportunity for kids!

Kids choose one of 10 shapes to color, stamp, and/or add pictures to. Finalized creations can be shared with family and friends as images or animated videos clips. Here is a link to a You Tube video showing how this app works: Draw Along with Stella and Sam for iPad – YouTube.

5 other Stella and Sam Adventures are available on iTunes and are sold for $2.99 each: Into the Snow We Go, Rainy Days and Rainbows, Backyard at Twilight, Go There Square, Cocoons and Caterpillars. OR… you can purchase all 5 titles for $6.99  in the Stella and Sam Story Pack. These apps are also supported in French. Don’t miss this one!!

Highly Recommended for preschoolers.

Draw Along with Stella and Sam - zinc Roe

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Classic Tales: 3 Little Pigs

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Classic Tlaes- 3 Little Pigs

FREE for  limited time – Classic Tales: 3 Little Pigs. From Italian developer, Jekolab Srl, comes a cute & colorful, interactive version of the classic tale  – 3 Little Pigs. Kids can choose to have the story read to them or they can read it one their own. This educational app can easily be switched to 4 different languages: English, French, Italian, or Spanish  – making it great resource for a foreign language class! Nicely done with a happy ending – the pigs all get away!

Classical tales: 3 little pigs - Jekolab Srl

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Homework+

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Homework+

FREE again, for a limited time – Homework+, a simple to use homework/test planner. This educational app is geared towards older students who are taking multiple classes. It could also be used with younger kids as an electronic assignment book. It’s never too early to teach kids how to be organized. 🙂

To set up the app, first edit the subject list & category lists to reflect what you are studying. After that, it is very easy to add assignments to the calendar – just give the assignment a title, choose the subject & category, put in the due date, choose a level of priority, and save. As you finish an assignment, mark it as complete and the app moves it to the finished list. App badges show you how many assignments you have and how many you have finished. Notifications can be set (1 or 2 days before) to remind you of an upcoming assignment. The app also keeps track of overdue assignments. Very slick and intuitive – great for teaching kids to be organized!!

Homework+ - Chijang Huang