Friday, February 26, 2016

Appy Friday 2/26/16

Appy Friday!
I have to apologize, not only am I posting late, my list of links to free apps is small today. Either developers are holding out or my blogs/apps have very little to share.
Have a great weekend,
Betsy

Reviews
Early Childhood
Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat Color & Create! by Random House LLC
Normally $3.99
In preparation for Dr. Seuss’s birthday, here is a cute coloring app that features coloring pages for younger students to color. It comes with 16 pages. You have a spinning wheel on the bottom to select paint colors and effects (stickers, stamps, confetti, etc). I like that there is an option to take a picture of your completed work and it will throw the screen shot in your photo roll. 


Elementary
Next - Numbers by Vito Technology Inc.
Normally $1.99
*Also free on Android, see Android section for link
Technically this is a game app (shhh!), but easily used for educational purposes! It gives you a mosaic like design with numbers 1-15 spread randomly on the screen. The object is to tap the numbers in number order as fast as you can. There are two modes, one where you beat the clock called “Blitz”. The other mode is “Zen”, where you can you tap the numbers at your own speed. The purpose of Zen mode is to work on beating your personal best time. In addition to speed racing, the more accurate you are in putting numbers in order, the bigger score you get. For special educators, this is a great way to practice counting. For Occupational Therapists, you can have students who are working on visual perceptual or finger isolation use this app. Obviously if your student dislikes being timed, this is not a good fit for that user. (In OT, it’s not just handwriting that should have no tears!)

Middle-High School
*Nothing exciting to report!


Always Free, Always Awesome
Trace and Share by True Digital Content and Media Company
*Also free on Google Play, see Android section for link
Here’s an adorable fine motor, early childhood app that works on pre-writing skills. The students trace straight, diagonal or curved lines on a path that slowly increases in difficulty. After you trace the line with your train, helicopter, fish and other objects and characters, it puts in it in a cute animation. If you go outside the lines, it will just stopped off where you left off so your student won’t get frustrated if they make a mistake. I like that it sticks to the basic pre-writing strokes and doesn’t put early childhood students into non-developmentally appropriate shapes. (If they need a challenge, you can use another app!)


Links
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Toca Hair Salon Me by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Build and Play 3D -  Planes, Trains, Robots and More by Croco Studio
Normally $2.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today


INTERACTIVE STORYBOOK/ELECTRONIC STORYBOOKS
Lil' Red - An Interactive Story by Brian Main
Normally $3.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

TeleStory by Launchpad Toys
Normally $1.99


MATH
6284 Calc by Amit Kalra
Normally $0.99

Russian Multiplication by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

MathJoy – The Friendly Calculator by Andres Alonso
Normally $0.99


SCIENCE
Elemental 2.0 by Jamie McBride
Normally $0.99


TASK RELATED
Matcha 3 - Notes, Journal, and Word Processor by InterAre, PT
Normally $9.99

Study Cal - Student Planner and Organizer by Nicholas Doherty
Normally $1.99

Audio Memos - The Voice Recorder by Imesart S.a.r.l.
Normally $0.99
*Also free on Google Play, see Android section for link


TEACHER TOOLS
Training for iPad by Joseph D'Alessandro Jr.
Normally $0.99


ANDROID
Amazon Underground
*No, you aren’t missing anything! I did not find any new educational apps for Amazon Underground

Google Play
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Trace & Share by True Digital Content and Media

VISUAL PERCEPTUAL
Next Numbers 2 by Vito Technology

TASK-RELATED
Audio Memos by Imesarte S.a.r.l


Friday, February 19, 2016

Appy Friday 2/19/16

Appy Friday everyone!
I’m excited that there are a decent set of math apps today for both younger and older students! 

Heads up, it has come to my attention that some app developers will pull marketing information from your user data or sell your contact information to other vendors. I highly suggest not using any student or teacher personal information in the apps for data tracking. Perhaps try student initials or fun nicknames and a generic classroom email address that isn’t going to spam your work email. As always, you get what you pay for!

It’s common sense, but just to remind you…I strongly recommend that you test all of your apps before you put in them in the hands of your student or child. I do my best to weed out the apps that are just games and/or have inappropriate content. However, due to time constraints I don’t completely test every app on this list, I just play around with a few that catch my interest. Sometimes I won’t know that an app has pop up ads or inappropriate content until I try them out (violent blood squirting typing game anyone?)
Safety first!!

Happy downloading,
Betsy


Reviews:
Early Childhood
Attention And Memo Exercises for Preschoolers Pro by Sergey Rozovik
Normally $1.99
This is an an app that has several puzzles that works on visual perceptual and visual memory for younger students (I don’t buy into the title that it works on attention). The one puzzle I especially like (probably because it would be good tool for both Occupational Therapists and Teachers) is the visual memory one. It show three flashcards in specific spots for several seconds. Then the cards fly off the page and line up on the bottom. Your job is drag them to their original spots. It takes data progress as you go along. You can turn off the music and scoring if you want and I didn’t notice any pop-up ads. 

Elementary
Math Penguin by Jan-Willem Van Der Plas
Normally $0.99
Practice math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and mixed facts) in a game format. You have a penguin and you do a math problem to give him a chunk of ice to jump on. If you get the problem wrong he falls in the water, if you get it right your guy happily jumps up and down. The game tracks the number you get correctly as it goes along. It has no pop up ads or links on the page. What I don’t like is you can’t pick the problem set and you can’t turn off the music (it’s a bit annoying). It sort of reminds me of the penguin slide game I used to play on my Wii with the balance board, except you are doing math problems.

Middle-High School
Factoring Quadratics: Algebra 1 & 2 Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99
WOW math has several math apps free this week (see the math section for more). It is a tutorial app by a math teacher, Mr. Robb, that goes over a set of math concepts with tutorials of example problems. Each example has a link to a video and a link to the answer. You can also work a few example problem when you are ready. This app is not sophisticated at all. It’s basically videos of a math teacher writing on a piece of paper talking along. I am not going to even pretend that I am a math teacher, so I can’t tell you if the content of the videos are accurate or clear. However, if you are trying to give your students resources for those who need a visual paired with audio, this is a good thing to look into. You could also use it for a “flipped” classroom for students to learn the day before class. 

Always Free, Always Awesome
Inference Ace: Reading Comprehension Skills & Practice for Struggling Readers by Janine Toole (Happy Frog)
Lite or Full version for $2.99+
Inference Ace is one of several apps that work on reading skills and math word problems. A speech language pathologist  I work with (Thanks Brenda!) shared this groups of apps with me and I recommend them all the time to teams. The app presents sentences and then asks comprehension questions (starts with wh questions). Unlike other reading comprehension apps that just gives feedback if you get the problem wrong, this app gives you a hint. As you play you earn credits to play an in-app game. You can set up users to track their progress. If you end up downloading the other apps, the groups of apps do work off the same set of examples, but they have different questions or skills associated with it. The link above is for the lite version and it gives you the first four levels and allows you to track only one student. You can get all the levels and multiple players with in-app purchases. (If you are using a VPP to purchase apps, there is a separate school version with all the features.) 
*Also on Android in Google play, but not free today

Links
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Animal Game Show - Whose Toes are Those? - Matching Fun for Kids and Family - Ultimate Edition by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $2.99
*Also on Android in Google play, but not free today

BabyPhone Numbers and Animals pro by Turgay Gorgel
Normally $0.99

FINE MOTOR/VISUAL PERCEPTUAL
Skill Game by Sebastian Miedtank
Normally $2.99

ELECTRONIC STORYBOOKS/INTERACTIVE BOOKS
Peanuts for Raja by Bonnie Lee
Normally $0.99

LANGUAGE ARTS/ENGLISH
Dream-X by Pavel Tarabrin
$2.99

SCIENCE
Chemio - A Student's Chemical Reference by AppBit Software, LLC
Normally $1.99

MATH
Integral 1 : Calculus Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Integral 2 : Calculus Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Derivatives 1 Calculus Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Derivatives 2 : Calculus Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Logarithm : Algebra 2 Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Exponents : Algebra 1 & 2 Videos and Practice by WOWmath.org by WOWmath.org
Normally $0.99

Century Maths Challenge by Fabula Ltd
Normally $0.99

Addition and Subtraction Math Flashcard Match Games for Kids in 1st and 2nd Grade by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $5.99
*Lite version available for Android on Google Play, see Android section for link

Peter Potato by Philip Sinclair (ages 6-8)
Normally $1.99

Egyptian Multiplication Method by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

Maths Martians HD: Fractions by Cambridge English Online Ltd.
Normally $0.99

Vector for mathematics and physics students by Francesco Grassi
Normally $0.99

Super Number Triangles by Fabula Ltd
Normally $0.99

TASK-RELATED
Extreme Reminders - Tasks and Todos with GTD Features by Birdsoft LLC
Normally $0.99

Week Agenda Ultimate by Johan Burgler
Normally $0.99

iReminder (Reminder and To Do list) by TechBase LLC
Normally $0.99


ANDROID
Google Play
MATH
Addition Flash Card Match Game by Eggroll Games 
id=com.eggrollgames.matchmathadditionfree&hl=en

Subtraction Flash Card Kids by Eggroll Games 

Amazon underground
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Elmo loves 123s by Sesame Street
Normally $4.99
*Also on iTunes, but not free today

My Town: Stores by My Town Games
Normally $2.99
*Also on iTunes, but not free today

TASK-RELATED
aCalendar+ Android Calendar & Tasks
Normally $4.99

Genius Scan+ by The Grizzly Labs
Normally $6.99
*Also on iTunes, but not free today

OfficeSuite Professional by MobiSystems
Normally $14.99
*Also on iTunes, but not free today

Friday, February 12, 2016

Appy Friday 2/12/16

Appy Valentines Day and President’s Day!! 
Here’s my gift to you, iPad reviews and links. Just what you always wanted! 
I didn’t add any Amazon Underground apps this week, I have been checking and noticed that there hasn’t been any recent apps added in education. There was also slim pickings for Early Childhood. No worries, there are other goodies for you to enjoy!
Happy downloading,
Betsy

REVIEWS
Early Childhood
*Nothing exciting this week

Elementary
Monster Math 2 Multiplayer - Free Mathematics Duel and Homework Drills for Elementary School by Makkajai Edu Tech Private Limited
Normally $2.99
This game-based app works on basic math facts for grades 1-5 (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). You can play against the computer, split screen, nearby user or online. Basically your guy is put in a starting spot opposite to your opponent. It provides you with an answer (like equals to 4) and an array of problems. Depending on the grade you select, the problems in the array will change. Anyway, you go through the problems and when you find one, you tap on it. Your guy moves to that spot and you keep going. The idea of the game is to find the answers before your opponent. If you get it wrong, it tells you the answer and you have to start at the beginning. 

Middle-High
Power of Words! SAT® and Critical Reading Vocabulary by Panafold
Normally $0.99
Technically this is really just for high school getting ready for the SAT, but why not branch out? The app throws out some words with definitions on the edge of the screen. Then you match them (errorlessly) to a synonym. It pops up a dictionary bubble you can tap for a more complete listing along with a web link. Cool part? You can use the iPad’s built in speak screen with it! (you need a newer iPad though) Here’s a personal tip for parents. My kids can only play computer games on the weekends (well we try). Each week I change the computer password. I use SAT words as the password. I put the word for the week on a flash card with a definition. My kids get the opportunity to type it, again and again and again. You can easily use this app as a way to find words to use! Not ready for SAT words? I used this same sneaky strategy to teach my kids our address and phone number when they were little. 


Always Free, Always Awesome
Google Keep
My favorite apps are ones that I like to call device agnostic. Since it’s a Google product, you are guaranteed that it follows you everywhere and is free! The purpose of Google Keep is to have notes and to do lists arranged in a sticky note arrangement. You can add photos, check boxes and audio recording to the sticky notes. My favorite application to this app for students is to use it as a homework organizer. I have many students who use the strategy of taking the picture of the board instead of copying their homework into a planner. The problem is it becomes all mixed in with their other pictures. Can you find your history assignment between selfies? Hmmmm. Using Google Keep, you can snap a picture of the board right into your sticky, add text or recording and then file it in a category, using different colors if you like. It also includes reminders, both traditional time related and location (if you have location tracking on your device) and the ability to share it with someone else in your address book. You could also use it as a low tech choice board and probably 20 other ways I can’t think of right now…The only thing I wish it did was be able to add a recording after you make a note (you have to do it first and then add text and/or photos). 
*Also on Android (and Chrome)

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Tiggly Submarine: Preschool ABC Game by Tiggly
Normally $2.99
*Also free on Google Play (see Android section for link)

Tiggly Story Maker: Make Words and Capture Your Stories About Them by Tiggly
Normally $2.99
*Also free on Google Play (see Android section for link)

Sue Sheep, tales for children by Kirill Medvedev
Normally $3.99

Early Literacy by Active Learning Apps LLC
Normally $1.99


INTERACTIVE STORYBOOKS
The Bird Book - an Interactive Storybook for Children by BME Precision Technologies
Normally $1.99


FINE MOTOR/VISUAL PERCEPTUAL
Orca Puzzles for Kids Jigsaw Wonder Edition by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $1.99


LANGUAGE ARTS
Essay Writing & Essay Topics by Seema Agarwal
Normally $0.99


MATH
Multiplication and Division Math Flashcard Match Games for Kids in 2nd and 3rd Grade by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $5.99

Animal Second Grade Math Games for Kids in First, Second and Third Grade Premium by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $3.99
*Lite and full versions on Google Play 

Trade-First Subtraction by Esa Helttula
Normally 3.99


SOCIAL STUDIES
Where? - Atlas Game by Aqua Ventures Limited


FUNCTIONAL SKILLS
Egg Weather by Kirill Kachinsky
Normally 0.99


TASK-RELATED
DoItQUICKLY: Deadline Reminder with Alarm by Alexander Deplov
Normally $1.99

STUDENT/TEACHER TOOLS
Grade Calculator Plus by Altra Solution LLC
Normally $0.99

Flip For It - Heads or Tails - The Simple Decision Making App by David Thomas
Normally $0.99


ANDROID
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Tiggly Submarine

MATH
Animal Second Grade Math Free

TASK RELATED
Google keep


Friday, February 5, 2016

Appy Friday 2/5/16

Hi readers!
Sorry this is late! I’m rushing between my kid's activities this evening, so no reviews tonight.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the links!
Betsy

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Toca House by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99

Toca Store by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99

Toca Robot Lab by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99

Toca Kitchen by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99
*Also free on Google play, see Android section for link

Sago Mini Babies by Sago Sago
Normally $2.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Sago Mini Music Box by Sago Sago
Normally $2.99

Sago Mini Music Box by Sago Sago
Normally $2.99

Coloring Animal Zoo Touch To Color Activity Coloring Book For Kids and Family Preschool Ultimate Edition by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $2.99

Touch Follow Numbers by Hatch Works Ltd
Normally $0.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

A to Z Monsters -Alphabet Learning for Kids by Arjun Gupte
Normally $2.99
*Also free on Google Play, see Android section for link



FINE MOTOR
Shape Tracer | Learn to Draw Shapes by Red Ape Mobile
Normally $0.99

Alphabet Tracer | Learn to Write the Alphabet Letters by Red Ape Mobile
Normally $0.99


LANGUAGE ARTS
inku - tool for dyslexia by Therapy Box Limited
Normally $19.99

Document Writer - Word Processor and Reader for Microsoft Office - Personal Edition by Mindspeak Software
Normally $4.99

Wordplay Kids by Igor Migun
Normally $1.99


MATH
Long Multiplication by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

Column Addition by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

Column Subtraction by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

Long Division by Esa Helttula
Normally $3.99

Calculus Pro by Larry Feldman
Normally $0.99

Mathseeds Kindergarten by Blake eLearning
Normally $7.99

Mathseeds Grade 2 by Blake eLearning
Normally $7.99


SOCIAL STUDIES
Who Was? Adventure by Penguin Group USA
Normally $0.99


TASK RELATED
Habit Builder - Positive Habits by TechBase LLC
Normally $1.99

Moment : Easy Memo by yoon sik kang
Normally $0.99

WorkBreaker – An Elegantly Designed Pomodoro Timer with Today Widget by Alper Beser
Normally $2.99

3-IN-1 Bundle Pack #2! | AmbiScience™ • Binaural & Isochronic Ambient Mind Utility by Tesla Audio Sciences
Normally $1.99

ANDROID
GOOGLE PLAY
Toca Kitchen

AMAZON UNDERGROUND
Numberboard HD

A to Z Monsters


Can't we just talk?

Built in speech recognition tools in mainstream and Assistive Technology tools I started providing AT services a long, long time ago. Speech...