Spatter and Spark

March 29, 2013 | appydazeblog

FREE again- Spatter and Spark, a cute interactive book from Polk Street Press. Spatter (an artistic porcupine) and Spark (an inventive fox) team up to figure out how to get a look at Hubert, the baby crow, so that Spatter can paint Hubert’s picture. Kids are invited to help as Spatter & Spark problem solve their way through the story. There are 10 interactive scenes within the app. Each scene is beautifully illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell, the illustrator of Goodnight Safari (another wonderful FREE app from the same developer – see my August 28th review). The story, primarily for 4 – 6 year olds, is very cute with purposeful interactivity that adds to the story. Spatter and Spark could also be used with older students to encourage them to think and write about their own inventions. An activity pack (with 4 additional activities) is available as an in-app purchase. Very nicely done – recommended!!

ClickySticky Easter

March 29, 2013 | appydazeblog

FREE – just in time for the holiday weekend – ClickySticky Easter!! This creative app for kids lets them decorate eggs, fill Easter baskets, hide eggs in the yard, and more!

Phoster

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

JUST named App of the Week and FREE for a limited time – Phoster is an app to create your own posters and invitations. The app includes 197 templates with a variety of designs. You can also use photos from your photo libraries or take new photos with your device’s camera. Background colors, fonts, font colors, brightness, saturation, size, position, etc. are all changeable. There are also many options for sharing your creation – Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and email. Kids could use this app to make posters advertising a book that they just read, a place they just studied, geometric shapes they just learned about, an animal they are reporting on, etc. – lots of creative uses for learning!!

Suzy’s Zoo Storybook Collection

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

FREE again today – Suzy’s Zoo Storybook Collection: Witzy’s Friends Forever is the first in a series of e-books featuring the Suzy’s Zoo characters created by award-winning artist, Suzy Spafford. Witzy the duck is searching for a wishing puff so he can make a wish to be friends forever with his buddies – Boof, Patches, & Lulla. Beautifully illustrated, this sweet story can be enjoyed in 3 modes: autoplay, read to me, or read to myself. Children will enjoy the animations on each page and looking for Tickles, the ladybug. After reading there are 3 activities: coloring, a matching game, & a puzzle. Download it for your iPhone/iPad today – it’s a sweet one!

ClassDojo for Teachers

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

Recently updated, ClassDojo for Teachers is a FREE & fabulous tool that helps improve classroom behaviors. Teachers are using it in different ways: to give feedback in real-time, to track behavior, and to generate reports. Reward good behavior in real-time – all it takes is a click. You need one device (computer, smartphone, a laptop, or a tablet) and an internet connection. It is very easy to set up with your class list. Each student is assigned a cute, monster-like avatar. Kids earn points for positive behaviors and lose points for negative behaviors. ClassDojo is also fully customizable so you can delete behaviors from the original list and/or add your own behaviors. As you use it, it automatically logs any data that you input. This data can be used to generate behavior reports to share with parents and administrators. How awesome is that? You can go into a meeting/conference with reports in hand!

If I were still in the classroom, I would enter my class list twice – once for data on work/study habits and the other for data on behaviors. I would make my habits/behaviors match exactly what was on my report cards. Then as I used the app, I would also be gathering data for my report cards. At the end of the grading period, I would just print out the date and enter it on the report cards – how easy! I would also have the data (in a printed report) to be able to back up any grade on the card. “As you can see Mrs. Doe, Jane only turned in her homework 56% of the time.” Instant data would also be available for the RTI process, IEPs or any other team meeting on a child. Wow !!!!

Check out the website for more information: www.classdojo.com

Highly recommended !!

Baby Learns Colors

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

FREE for a limited time – the full version of Baby Learns Colors, a darling app for teaching kids to name 12 basic colors. Toddlers learn and play on three animated screens – ink blobs, fish or spaceships. Older kids can use the app to learn colors in 20 different languages! Parents can personalize the app by adding their own voiceovers. As your child learns, they earn prizes called Bebekas, little creatures that live in the World of Bebebe. Baby Learns Colors is a cutely designed app for the youngest iPad users – 12 months and up!

Fossil

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

Auryn Apps is giving away an interactive book each day in March to support National Reading Month 🙂

FREE today – Fossil by Claire Ewart. This story transports kids back in time to age of dinosaurs when the Ornithocheirus soared through North American skies. It proceeds to teach kids about the transformation of dinosaur bones into fossils.

Like other apps from this developer, the story can be personalized by having your child narrate it – a super option for kids who are learning to become more fluent readers.

Three Little Pigs – A Play

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

FREE again – Three Little Pigs – A Play for the iPhone/iPad for kids 4+. An updated version of the 3 Little Pigs is presented as a play starring Mitch, Clara, Ran, and Clarence Bear. The book is brightly illustrated and the characters respond when they are tapped. The background music and narration are nicely done. The book can also be read alone. The story generally follows the traditional tale – the first pig builds a house from straw, the second pig builds a house of sticks, and the third pig builds a house of bricks. All of the pigs get away (rather than the first 2 being eaten) and wolf runs away yelping in pain. The first 2 pigs learn the lesson: Take your time and do your best. The story ends with the first 2 pigs starting to rebuild their houses in the spring – this time with bricks, of course!

In my classroom I used different versions of the same fairy tale/folk tale for studying story elements as well as comparing & contrasting. This would be a good version to compare with the traditional tale since its setting is in modern times. Kids can look for evidence to prove that the story takes place in current times. They could also use Venn diagrams to compare the traditional tale to this version or other versions that they have read. Lots of possibilities to extend the use of this book as you get comprehension strategies.

Recommended!

Zachy the Robot: The Leaning Tower of Robocity

March 28, 2013 | appydazeblog

Recently updated and FREE for limited time – Zachy the Robot: The Leaning Tower of Robocity, episode 1 of an interactive cartoon series for kids ages 3-7. The series was developed and tested in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University Children’s School. It introduces basic STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) concepts to kids. In this first episode, kids are introduces to basic engineering concepts when Zachy and his friends, the Repairbots, are called in to fix a skyscraper that is leaning. Kids will love watching this animated adventure and helping the Repairbots solve the problem. This app was a winner of a Parents’ Choice Recommended Award in 2011 – a well-deserved honor! It exposes kids to STEM concepts in a fun & engaging way!

Collins Big Cat Story Creator Apps

March 27, 2013 | appydazeblog

8 of Collins Big Cat Story Creator apps are currently FREE (for a limited time) for the iPad. Collins Big Cat is a reading series used by over 9000 schools in The United Kingdom. Titles included are: Playing Story Creator/Around the World/ Farmer’s Lunch/ In the Garden/ It Was a Cold,Dark Night/ My Bike Ride/ The Steam Train/At the Dump. These apps normally sell for $3.99 each so take advantage of this great offer if you have young readers/writers in your life.

These apps, geared towards children ages 4+, include an animated story (with hidden surprises on every page) and a story creator. The story creator allows the child to transfer what they just read into writing. Children can create their own story using the scenes, characters, etc. from the book. There is also the option to record the child’s newly created story. Nicely done for young readers/writers!!

Highly recommended!