What does the inside of a seashell look like? What about an insect, a motorcycle or an iPad? Here’s an app that lets you find out. The app contrasts two images — before x-ray and after x-ray, and every possible gradation between. To move between the views, you swipe with a single finger, from top to bottom. Content includes 26 everyday objects, arranged from A to Z. A double-tap offers a stereoscopic option, or you can pinch to zoom and reveal detail. This app is based on the photography of Hugh Turvey, the Artist in Residence at the British Institute of Radiology. The accompanying text is by author Paul Rosenthal. There are different versions, one for iPad, the other for iPhone or iPod Touch. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Plants HD lets you drag and drop the seven stages of a plant into the correct order: seeds-dispersal-germination-plants and trees-flowers-pollination-fruits. Features of the app include the ability to tap on a stage to learn facts about the process (all text is narrated, a nice feature) and a quiz that lets you earn points. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Transform your iPad into a zany Dr. Seuss horn, with eight buttons, arranged as a whole-tone. Content includes 10 songs, including the soundtrack from The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss’s ABC, Hop on Pop and more. There are five horn-style instruments with different voices, and fun effects, including an echo-chamber fish bowl. The GameCenter feature lets you match scores with others. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Loud Crow Interactive and Peanuts Worldwide have partnered to produced a series of digital interactive books based on the cartoon specials. The first in the series, A Charlie Brown Christmas, features narration by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, along with original scenes and dialog from the 1965 animated classic, and digitally remastered illustrations, animation, and music optimized for your smartphone or tablet. See also “My Charlie Brown Christmas Tree,” a free add on designed to give you a taste of this app; that lets you decorate your own tree. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-charlie-brown-christmas/id484320301?mt=8 Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Blagojevic, B. (2011). iPads in K-3: Notes From Maine’s Leveraging Learning Institute. Children’s Technology Review, December 2011, Vol. 19, No 12, Issue 141 p. 4-5.
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iPads in K-3: Notes From Maine’s Leveraging Learning Institute
By Bonnie Blagojevic
“All kids are rockets. Our job as educators is to ignite the fuse.” Tom Morrill, Former Maine Superintendent
When the Auburn, Maine schools announced last April every Kindergartener in the district would receive an iPad, some people had their doubts. How could such an expense pay off? These questions were discussed last month (Nov 16-18) during a three-day conference, called the Leveraging Learning Institute. In case you weren’t one of the 100 participants, here’s a run through the agenda, along with some links that will let you follow Auburn’s iPad initiative.
This toy/screen experience turns your Nintendo DS into a remote control for a robotic dog. Instead of using standard infra-red signals, however, this dog is controlled by sound, in the form of coded chirps that come out of your Nintendo DS speakers. A microphone in Wappy Dog can “hear” the chirps, which can be sent to Wappy Dog’s computer for different responses. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Stretching the term “non-fiction,” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library is an ebook adaptation of the Dr. Seuss series, done in classic Oceanhouse Media style, where you can touch any item or word to see it labeled. You can also tap the stars on some of the pages to reveal constellations and see them identified. Other titles in the series will explore subjects including dinosaurs, pets, marine life and trees, each featuring classic characters from the original The Cat in the Hat series. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Along with Mario Kart 7, this title marks Mario’s debut on the Nintendo 3DS. By combining the motion sensing abilities of the Nintendo 3DS with a 3D screen, you can use depths and distances to get from one platform to the next. You can also share the game with another player using the Street Pass feature. New enemies include Goombas with tails, tall stacks of Goombas, and a Piranha Plant that spits ink to obscure your view. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Based on the children’s line of plush pillows from CJ Products, the idea is to collect accessories for your pets by completing each level. You also help pets find their friends. The story idea works well. Content includes 16 Pillow Pets characters, levels that include “Fantasy Woods,” and “Rainbow Valley”, and the ability to accessorize your pets with 40 items. Developed by First Playable. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This 2.1 megapixel digital camera comes with a 1.5 inch LCD preview screen and uses three AAA batteries, not included. The interface is confusing to use. Features include a flash and a digital zoom. The camera connects to your computer with the included USB cable. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Now Moshi Monsters (the popular virtual world)can fit in your pocket, in the form of this one player Nintendo DS game. Your mission is to explore eight areas of the Wooly Wilderness to see if you can spot hiding creatures, called Moshlings. There are 52 Moshlings to find, and each has specific needs that are met by shopping, searching and combining various elements such as the string with a banjo. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
MadPad, the latest app from Smule (of Magic Piano and Ocarina fame), turns your camera equipped iPhone or iPad into a sound mix board. Instead of using existing songs and beats, it lets you capture everyday sounds, which can be easily recorded and played back or warped with a two finger swipe. To make your first sound collection, you touch “create” to divide the screen into 12 empty squares. Touch one of the squares and your microphone instantly starts listening. A feature called “SoundTrigger” grabs up to about 4 seconds of sound. To make a set you tap any box to start the recorder, or you can import sounds from the Smule server. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
As with other I SPY titles, the riddles form the basis of the castle theme. They also hide 12 mini games and three logic puzzles. The more riddles you solve, the more items you collect. These, in turn, unlock more rooms. A hint system helps you find the most challenging objects. There are three sign-in slots, so three players can save their progress. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Inspired by the 1963 book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown and moved into the age of apps and Facebook by Dale Hubert, a Canadian elementary teacher, the Flat Stanley App is a free download that lets you superimpose a Flat Stanley cutout character over a photo taken with your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch camera. The idea is not unlike a message in a bottle. But instead of a bottle, your image captures your location, and you can type a little story about what Stanley is seeing. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
One of the first ever math facts programs to use augmented reality, Lunch Rush provides an “out of device” experience. Here’s how it works. After you download the app, you must print out a set of cards from the Fetch Lunch Rush web site: http://pbskids.org/fetch/games/hollywood/lunchrush.html. There are nine cards; one per number. You lay the cards around a table (or room) and sign into the program. You’re then given a math problem, such as 14 – ? = 5. To enter the answer, you find the correct card (9) using the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch camera. This also causes a set of food items to appear over the numeral, superimposing computer graphics onto the real camera image. Content includes five rounds of addition or subtraction questions (three per round). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Adapted directly from the printed Golden Book with the same title, by Janette Debring Lawrey, this is a 23 page, 12 screen ebook (two “pages” per screen). The story — of mischievous puppies getting into trouble — is supported nicely with good interaction, professional narration, and guided exploration on each page. The story is tried and true, and the springy illustrations wait quietly for a child’s touch. It is easy to jump to any page at any time, making this a solid addition to your ebook library. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This second edition of Bartleby’s Book of Buttons contains 17 pages, each containing one or more puzzles that must be solved in order to unlock the next page. In the page labeled “Whale in the Way”, you must figure out how to get a sleeping whale to wake up, in order to see the door to a hidden cave. This requires playing records on Bartleby’s phonograph (spun with your finger). If you pick the right record (street noises) long enough, the whale wakes up. Other screens have you tilting the screen to steer a bubble and shining a spotlight on various points on the screen. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This playful baseball simulation features a roster of Nickelodeon characters that take on professional players from 30 MLB teams. The Nicktoons roster includes SpongeBob SquarePants, ZIM, Dudley Puppy, Fanboy, Chum Chum, and Ren and Stimpy. Major League players include Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals), Andre Ethier (Los Angeles Dodgers), Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), Jason Heyward (Atlanta Braves), Cliff Lee (Philadelphia Phillies), and Robinson Cano (New York Yankees). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Originally called the InnoPad, InnoTab is designed for children aged 4 to 9 years-of-age, whose parents are wary of giving them a smart phone. As tablets go, InnoTab is massive in size. When layed over an iPad you realize that it is the same height and width (but much fatter). Despite the bulk, the screen is relatively small; just 5 inches diagonally, which is slightly larger than an iPhone. Inside, are accelerometers for tilt and motion sensing, a microphone, headphone jack, SD card slot and a USB connection to a computer for downloading additional content. There’s also a game card slot. The screen is touch sensitive, like the Nintendo DS. Included software includes a music player, games, an Art Studio with painting and drawing applications and a Photo Viewer/Editor. Other included apps: an MP3 player for both videos or songs, a Calculator, Calendar, Notepad, Clock with personalized voice alarm and Friends Address Book. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Based on the 1955 book of the same name by Crockett Johnson, this app tells the story of a little boy’s journey into his dream, where he uses a crayon to draw things that he wants to see. For example, when he falls into the sea, he draws a “trim little boat.” Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Here’s what you get when you cross a frozen Antarctic world full of penguins with a Guitar Hero theme. The musical rhythm adventure game for one or two players is inspired by the of the upcoming film Happy Feet Two. In the game, new dancers are threatening the penguin nation and everyone must work and dance together in rhythm to save them from extinction. How? By dancing, carefully matching the beat by tapping on your game controller or touching the screen (with the DS). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Disney’s virtual world for kids, Club Penguin, is reaching into your mobile device with this game built around a series of cannons that float in the air. The cannons shoot a ball-shaped Puffle (the furry pets from the Club Penguin virtual worlds) through a course full of moving hazards. To make it through, you steer your puffles from cannon to cannon by touching the screen. As the Puffles float, they bounce off balloons. The better you do, the more levels you unlock. The challenges are arranged in 24 levels that can be unlocked. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This 15 page/screen ebook lets you customize one of the cars (from the movie) with pre-made patterns and a spoiler. You then can enter a race which is held on one of three tracks, at the end of the story. Features include the ability to toggle between English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Swedish. All text is highlighted as it is read. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
If you liked Nosy Crow’s iPad treatment of “The Three Little Pigs,” you’ll love their rendition of Cinderella. The interactive design is springy, responsive and multi-dimentional. For example, you can touch any character to read and hear a pop-up sentence of dialog, but if you touch a second or third time, you get another line. You can also help Cinderella with jobs, such as dragging and dropping scattered logs in the fireplace. Options are available for either UK English or US English. You can also choose the length of time the text appears (short, medium or long) to give early readers more time to read. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
First released in 2007 under the name “EyeClops TV Microscope” by Jakks Pacific, this year’s edition has been simplified once again. To use, you put in five AA batteries, plug the yellow composite video cable into your TV and start exploring specimens at 200x power. Objects are illuminated by three white LEDs. The kit includes one SpyClops Bionic Eye, one Converter Unit and four top secret documents. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Looking for some cut and dry spelling practice for the iPad? After you create a user account, you start working through a set of 25 word lists (about 10 words in each), spelling each one letter at a time while your progress is saved. The words are presented verbally and in a sentence. A keyboard is shown beneath the letter grid. Letters can be typed or dragged into place, and it is easy to get a hint or re-arrange the letters to make a word. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Your goal in this app is to shoot math answers from the sky. You aim by leaning left or right. To fire, you must choose from three triggers (each with a different number). If the number matches the math equation displayed on the alien spaceship, your bullets will cause damage. If you shoot with the wrong answer, the ship gets stronger. As you increase in levels you can get more lives, ship shields and machine guns. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This math app turns your iPad into a stretchable number line, letting children freely play with the relationship between quantity and space, just like silly putty. This “virtual manipulative” ability is combined with a game — a series of timed challenges that ask you to find a mark on the line. The faster you find the mark, the higher your score. Unfortunately, the only way to get this app is as a free sample that consisting of just level 1 of the 24 levels. To continue, you need to use an inapp sales feature to pay $4.99. The game starts when a bubble floats down from the top of the screen, with a number, like 1.2. Your job is to swipe up or down the number line to find the safe landing spot (in this case, on the 1.2 inches). Scale is shown by creatures lined up along the number line from fleas (for the hundredths), to bees, to rhinos for larger units. Things get harder with correct answers, so you want to see how many points you can earn, and levels you can unlock. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This game of concentration features three challenge levels — a 4×2 grid with 4 pairs of picture cards; a 6×4 grid with 12 pairs; and an 8×5 grid with 20 pairs. A correct match displays the name of the animal in one of five user-chosen languages – English, Spanish, French, Russian or Ukrainian – and is also pronounced in that language. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
MathBlaster.com is a 3D virtual world where you are sent on various missions. The idea is to join the Intergalactic Space Patrol (ISP), a team of Blasters sworn to explore and protect the universe. MathBlaster.com requires the installation of the Unity 3D engine. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
With a shape that can slide into a large pocket, the new LeapPad Explorer is based on the discontinued didj (2008) operating system. Features include a 5 inch color screen, accelerometer (for tilt input), monotouch screen with tethered stylus, d-pad controls and a single, front-facing camera. There’s also a USB plug to connect to your computer (needed to download apps), a rather low res but fully functional camera, 2 GB of memory and no SD card expansion. For sound, there’s a microphone (in) and headphone jack and speakers (out). It is powered by 4 AA batteries. Software is managed the old fashioned way — by plugging in a $20 cartridge (sold at retail) or downloaded at less cost by tethering the device to a Windows or Macintosh computer. By year’s end (holiday 2011) the software library will include about 80 “apps” that will include 14 onboard LeapPad activities, 20 cartridges and 50 learning games that can be downloaded by way of the USB port, when plugged into a host computer. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This CD based series of four titles features a set of exercises drill with arcade-style games. There are four titles: Phonological Awareness, Following Directions, Sequencing, and Auditory Memory. In Phonological Awareness, children play instruments and form a rock band while learning to segment, blend and manipulate sounds. In Sequencing, children are shown a set of cards depicting an event, such as building a snowman, and are asked to drag and drop the cards in the correct order. The cards contain print, which can be read outloud as each word is highlighted. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Turn your iPad into a talking alphabet/language generator. To build a word, you drag it from an alphabet strip onto a 44 letter grid, where it snaps into place, pronouncing any word that might be created, including nonsense words. The main menu offers two choices: Moveable Alphabet, for free exploration of word combinations; and Spelling Quiz, a talking spelling ten word test with 173 built in word lists (e.g., nature words, or 1000 most frequently used words). In the spelling tests, you hear the word, and must spell it using the same alphabet strip used in the Moveable Alphabet. Options include a spell checker that highlights unrecognized words, American and British voices, the ability to change the speed or tone of the voice, uppercase or lowercase letters, and two backgrounds. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This I SPY-like ebook starts each page with a rhyming poem, and then lets you tap around nine pages of hidden objects. There are 50 items, some hidden rather cleverly — for example there’s a small cabinet in the cabin of a sailboat, requiring that you open the door to find it. The view changes slightly if you tilt the screen, adding a realistic effect. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Good facts and illustrations are combined with Oceanhouse Media’s excellent labeling techniques to create an excellent early literacy experience that can enhance a child’s emerging reading abilities. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Your challenge is to spot the “odd one out” from a set of moving fruit, shapes or colors in this app. You start with a challenge, e.g., “spot mango” (with a picture of a mango). As the mangos fly across the screen, mixed with other types of fruit, your job is to tap just the mangos, and not the strawberries or bananas. The shapes and colors present harder levels. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Comic book super heroes meet math facts, in this iPad version of the tabletop card game of the same name: Numbers League. Your goal is to rid Infinity City of villains by making a super hero that has a mathematical value. To do this, you use a spinner which generates a hero with a random value. Your job is to add up that value, and pick a bad guy with the same or less value to defeat. When all the bad guys are locked up, you win the game. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Like the Incredible Machine, this physics puzzler let’s you try to unite two cats — Milk and Coffee, by dropping different widgets and gizmos such as balloons, pins, speed boost and speed brakes onto a game board. There are 100 levels (and progress is saved automatically), offering plenty of content. Created in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The iPhone or iPad game uses the OpenFeint leaderboard system, and requires iOS 3.0 or later with 16.8 MB. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This ebook app is based on the children’s book of the same title (by Eric Drachman). In the story, Leo — the littlest lightning bug of all, can’t make his own light. The other lightning bugs tease him, but eventually Leo learns to light up the night. Features include professional narration, background audio, and enlarged artwork for each scene. There are three presentation modes available from the main menu — Read to Me, lets you listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read; Read it Myself, lets you read the book in its traditional form; and Auto Play, which plays like a movie, automatically reading and turning pages. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This talking story construction activity is designed to let young children experiment with sentence construction. There are two modes: Edit and Write. In Edit, you see a page of print, from the Three Little Pigs. It is possible to touch select words, marked with an underline, to toggle between different options. So, for example, you can change “there were three little pigs” to “there were three smelly hippos.” In Write, there are 10 blank pages with “word drop” zones. Made with GameSalad. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.