Friday, May 27, 2016

Appy Friday 5/27/16

Appy Memorial Day Weekend!
Today was my last official day of the school year! Whoo-hoo! I will post occasionally this summer as my schedule allows so you won’t have to go cold turkey!

Though I actually have time for app reviews, none of the apps got me excited enough to write about them. However, I do want to point out that there was a huge list of interactive fairy tale stories this week from iBigToy. I did my best to sift through the list to find the ones actually on sale, not just a lite version that you can download anytime.

Have a great holiday weekend!
Betsy

Free Today:
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Lume by State of Play Games
Normally $1.99

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

Tiggly Story Maker: Make Words and Capture Your Stories About Them by Tiggly
Normally $2.99
*Lite version on Google Play

Match and Learn The Professions by Petita Demas by Petita Demas Ltd
Normally $2.99

My PlayHome by PlayHome Software Ltd
Normally $3.99
*Lite version available on Google play, see android section for link
*I did a review of the school version of this app in September:



ELECTRONIC STORYBOOK/INTERACTIVE BOOKS
Three Little Pigs - A Play by C&B Unlimited
Normally $1.99

I imagine by Bizzibrains
Normally $2.99

The Secret of the Red Shoes - bedtime story interactive book ibigtoy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Snow White - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

The Fox and the Grapes - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

The Boy Who Cried Wolf - bedtime fairy tale iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Swan Lake - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils - bedtime story interactive book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Alice in Wonderland - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book by iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Little Red Riding Hood - bedtime story  Interactive Book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Hansel and Gretel - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book by iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

The Monkeys Who Tried to Catch the Moon - bedtime fairy tale iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

Puss in Boots - bedtime fairy tale Interactive Book iBigToy by iBigToy inc.
Normally $4.99

FINE MOTOR
Draw Kid - Drawing Pad for Kids - Kids Color & Draw by Tom Nilsson
Normally $9.99


LANGUAGE ARTS
Phonics Fun: Ending Sounds: Digraphs and Consonant Blends by Clever Goats Media
Normally $0.99

Phonics Fun: Ending Sounds by Clever Goats Media
Normally $0.99


MATH
Animal Math Games for Kids in Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st Grade Learning Numbers, Counting, Addition and Subtraction Premium by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $3.99
*Lite version available on Google Play, see Android section for link

Pythagorea 60°: Geometric Constructions on Triangular Grid by HORIS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Normally $3.99

Kids Math Fun — First Grade by One Step Ahead Apps, LLC
Normally $1.99

OctoPlus by Zyrobotics LLC
Normally $1.99
*Also available on Google Play, but not free today

ZyroMath City Count by Zyrobotics LLC
Normally $0.99
*Also available on Google Play, but not free today

Formula Calc - The Calculator With Built In Formulas by Jack O'Donnell
Normally $0.99

TASK RELATED/STUDENT TOOLS
Smart PDF Scanner: Scan Documents and Receipts to PDF by Qrayon, LLC
Normally $1.99

Everfocus by Manuel Martinez Alonso
Normally $0.99

MadNotes by Arsenii Feshchenko
Normally $2.99

iChecklist by Kaisatec
Normally $1.99


TEACHER TOOLS
Make it for Teachers & School - tool for classroom to create & share educational games and activities. by Planet Factory Interactive
Normally $4.99

QuickGrader by LZK Concepts
Normally $0.99


ANDROID
Tiggly Story Maker by Tiggly

My PlayHome Lite by Shimon Young

Animal Math Games for Kids


Friday, May 20, 2016

Appy Friday 5/20/16

I’m rushing out the door to a school event for my child, so I am short on time for reviews or Android links. Sorry! 
Enjoy the iPad app links though.
Have a great weekend,
Betsy

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Orca Puzzles for Kids Jigsaw Wonder Edition by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $1.99

Makanim - Multi-touch Generative Art Graphic Animation by Appakabar
Normally $2.99

Cutie Monsters Jigsaw Puzzles by Paul Smith
Normally $2.99

Backyard Zoo Flashcards Gold by DONALD KLAUS
Normally $0.99

Three Little Pigs - A Play HD by C&B Unlimited
Normally $3.99


COMMUNICATION/LANGUAGE
EESpeech Lite - AAC by Elite Express Solutions Inc.
Normally $9.99


LANGUAGE ARTS
Dream-X by Pavel Tarabrin
Normally $2.99

Hairy Phonics 1 by Nessy Learning Limited
Normally $1.99

Speak2See by Speak to See LLC
Normally $1.99


MATH
Animal Second Grade Math Games for Kids in First, Second and Third Grade Premium by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $3.99

Kids Math Fun — Second Grade by One Step Ahead Apps, LLC
Normally $1.99

MultiFlow: Times Tables Reimagined - Practice Multiplication by Connor Duggan
Normally $2.99

Solve - A colorful graphing calculator by Pomegranate Apps
Normally $1.99

Picture Math by Brainingcamp, LLC
Normally $0.99

Calculator HD Pro - Note Calculator by LingLing Chen
Normally $0.99

Speech Calculator Pro by SER_INT
Normally $0.99

NumPad - Wireless Numeric Keypad by MartianCraft
Normally $4.99


TASK-RELATED/SCHOOL TOOLS
Dreamdays HD - Countdown to the Days that Matter by Guxiu Design Inc.
Normally $0.99

PDF Pro - Sign Documents, Fill Forms and Annotate PDFs by Irfan Farooqi
Normally $4.99

NOTE'd by Suxxexx
Normally $1.99

Draw Calendar - Fun Scheduling and Events by Fishington Studios
Normally $2.99

Beesy - Take meeting notes with automated To-Do list and Task / Project management by BeesApps
Normally $5.99

Recorder Pro - Recording, Voice Memos, Photos, Notes, Markers, Tags & Password Protected by Happy Tap
Normally $4.99


Friday, May 13, 2016

Appy Friday the 13th and Assistive Technology as a crutch 5/13/16

Appy Friday the 13th Readers!

We’re a little light on free apps today (especially in language arts), shall we blame it on it being a Friday the 13th or the full moon? 

Well it gives me a little extra time to share with you an Assistive Technology issue I had today during a consultation meeting. I met with a team who is new to Assistive Technology and the SETT (decision making frame work, Student, Environment, Tasks and Tools). Right before we discuss our feature match, I ask if there is anything else we need to consider when we are picking a tool (typical examples are student has another device in a black case and needs a case in a different color, the school is starting a Chromebook initiative in a couple of years), but today the teacher said she was worried that the student will use AT software as a “crutch” and never learn how to spell or write on his own. 

My response is that you don’t stop teaching how to spell or write. The purpose of the AT tool for this student (every kid is different) is for the student to show what he knows without having to think about how to spell every word in the sentence. The only way to know how it’s going to go, is to try it. 

This brings up a bigger point about the perspective people have about Assistive Technology. That’s it’s negative, something to hide or that it is only for those with severe disabilities.  A long time ago I was at an AT conference and someone explained Assistive Tech in a way I loved (I wish I could remember who said this!). They said AT is like a kickboard.  Remember what it is like learning a new swim stroke? Sometimes it’s hard. If the typical teaching strategies aren’t working, you have to switch it up. So your teacher gives you a kick board. The teacher doesn’t worry that you will become dependent on the kick board. She gives it to you so you can concentrate on learning the leg movements in the water without worrying about staying afloat or running out of energy. Yes, some people will need the kick board for weeks. Some people need it for 30 minutes. And yes, there are some people who will always use a floatation device in the pool. At the end of the day, you’re still in the pool right? This is why working in Assistive Technology is rewarding. It is all about participation and meeting personalized goals. The technology is just the tool to let a person do their individual version of better, faster, or more independently. 

*Stepping off soapbox*

Have a great weekend,
Betsy


Reviews
Early Childhood
Tiggly Shape's Got Talent by Tiggly
Normally $2.99
The theme is America’s got talent, but all with animated shapes. Your child can experiment with shapes, dress up shapes like paper dolls, record stories and take pictures. This is a great app for learning attributes of shapes, cause and effect, finger isolation, dragging, listening to a story, etc.  Very cute!

Elementary
Kids Time Fun by One Step Ahead Apps, LLC
Normally $1.99
Kid Time fun works on practicing basic telling time skills such as telling time, elapsed time, time after and time before, setting the time and then you can have a mix of questions. What I like is it tracks the number of correct/incorrect answer, you can choose if you want them to do 10-50 questions or work for 1-5 minutes and select a difficulty level (1 minute time increments to 30 minute time increments). What I don’t like is when they present a field of answers, the answers are in very small text boxes with tiny font. I also don’t like the design (flowers, rainbows and sunshine), it might be too distracting for some students or may look too young or babyish for older students.

Middle-High School
Vintage Gadget by HolosOne
Normally $0.99
This is a Steampunk styled bundle of tools: timer, stop watch, flash light, level, ruler, compass, protractor and counter. You move through the tools on a cogwheel and every time you close a tool, it puffs out steam. You can tell this is really an iPhone or iPod Touch app (1x is in the corner), which only matters when you are trying to use the flashlight. It’s a fun way to access some tools that typically spread out amongst several different apps. 


Always Free, Always Awesome
Irregular Verbs - English Grammar Games by Innovative Mobile Apps
Innovative Mobile apps are always on my favorites list, so it feels a little like cheating that I’m reviewing another one of their apps. I can’t resist though, I like this one!
Innovative Mobile Apps makes Bitsboard, which is a flash card app. Then they also post Bitsboard formatted apps that works only on a specific skill, this one is on irregular verbs. It has several games to allow for repetition and drill. It starts with flash cards so you can learn the words in the activity. Then you can play games like true or false, unscrambling sentences, fill in the blank and matching, etc. Depending on your student, you can make it easy (field of 2, lots of visual hints) to tough (field of 6, no visual or audio hints). The best part of the app is that you can make your own boards, it takes data and you can export and import activities. 

Also free today!
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Dr. Panda's Toy Cars by Dr. Panda Ltd
Normally $2.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Toca Band by Toca Boca AB
Normally $2.99

INTERACTIVE BOOKS/ELECTRONIC STORYBOOKS
Chug Patrol: Ready to Rescue ~ Chuggington Interactive Pop-up Book by StoryToys Entertainment Limited
Normally $3.99
*Also free on Google Play, see android section for link

Chuggington - We are the Chuggineers by StoryToys Entertainment Limited
Normally $3.99

VISUAL PERCEPTUAL/FINE MOTOR
ColoredEye by Sanhita Choudhury
Normally $0.99

Cursive Writing - abCursive 3 by Yosuke Oki
Normally $0.99


MATH
Kids Coin Fun by One Step Ahead Apps, LLC
Normally $1.99

Algebra Pro by Larry Feldman
Normally $0.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Times Tables Trainer Brain Game Universal by Andela ICT
Normally $3.99
*Also free on Google Play

STUDENT TOOLS
InstaWeb: Web to PDF Converter, Article Cleaner and Reader by DIGISET LLC
Normally $1.99

Memory : Your Memo by yoon sik kang
Normally $0.99

Quick Notes - Brainstorm, Save Ideas and Remember Snippets by Insomniac Industries
Normally $3.99

My Reasons - Habit Builder by Binary Formations, LLC
Normally $2.99

TEACHER TOOLS
iGrade (Classroom Gradebook for Teachers, Students and Parents) by Zysco
Normally $3.99


ANDROID
EARLY CHILDHOOD 
Kindergarten learning Boost by Kevin Bradford, normally $1.99

Musical Play clock by pro forma, normally $0.99

Chuggington Chug Patrol

We are the Chuggineers

LANGUAGE ARTS
Phonics reading & spelling by Literacysoft.com, normally $16.99

Order the syllables by Cuca Games, normally $1.15

MATH 
Times Tables Trainer

Friday, May 6, 2016

Appy Mother's Day Weekend 5/6/16

Appy Mothers Day Weekend!!
Here is my gift to everyone, links to free apps and reviews! Whoo-hoo!
Like most educators, I’m counting down the days until summer break with both excitement and terror. (Terror on how much I still need to do before the end of the year!) You can also tell the students are getting spring fever, so hopefully some new and exciting apps will draw them back to academics. There wasn’t very many apps for older students, but at least we have a good list for the younger ones.
Enjoy the weekend and happy downloading!
Betsy


Reviews
Early Childhood
Happy Valley Friends: Letters, Numbers, and Shapes by Knock Knock Lab LLC
Normally $2.99
Three animated animals appear on the screen sitting at a table with three plates. You have to match the food presented on the table with what your hungry friends need and drag it to their plate. For example, the animal wanting rectangle food will get the pop tart and the animal wanting 5 items will get 5 blueberries, etc. All while working on basic matching of shapes, numbers and letters. If you get it wrong the animal will sniff it and then say no thank you. Super cute!! Besides early childhood teachers working on pre-academics, Occupational Therapists can also work on visual discrimination and finger isolation.

Elementary
Vault Assault by NumberWorks'nWords
Normally $0.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today
Cross math facts with Indiana Jones, you have this cute game where you do a bunch of math facts and when you get them right, it unlocks one of the locks on the door you are trying to get into. The tough part is you have to get all of them correct to have it unlock it. What I do like is its timed and you work on beating your personal best, you are not trying to beat the clock. Using Chromebooks? It is also a website http://www.numberworks.com/arcade  

Middle-High School
Sorry, nothing to get excited about this week. (However, check out the Always Free, Always Awesome review.)

Always Free, Always Awesome
Trello by Trello
This is a to-do list that is organized like Google Keep or like Pinterest.  What I like about it is that each list is a board. All your boards are formatted like its on a bulletin board. Then each to-do list item is on a card. Why is this great? You can move the cards around from board to board. My head immediately went to visual supports!! This means you can move cards from a to-do later to a to-do now board. Or you can use it as a visual schedule. Each card is a task and as they finish the task they can move it to the done board. Or you can use it as a homework organizer. Make a board for each day of the week and then if you didn’t finish a task on Monday, you could move it to Tuesday. It’s not just text on those cards. For students who need pictures or videos, you can use that in addition or instead of words. Still not impressed? You can assign tasks to others who are using Trello. Imagine the group work now! So cool! 

Also Free today!
EARLY CHILDHOOD 
MarcoPolo Arctic by MarcoPolo Learning, Inc.
Normally $2.99

Pre-K Math Odyssey by @Reks
Normally $1.99

ABC Fill the Line - Toddler Pre-school Learning game by YSD.hk
Normally $0.99

Blue Bird Academy - Learning Alphabet, Numbers, Objects and more in 5 Languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Russian) for Toddlers and Preschoolers by Studio 121212, LLC
Normally $1.99

Zoi's Colors by northernVenture
Normally $0.99

Mark's shapeAbet by northernVenture
Normally $0.99

Ana's Numbers by northernVenture
Normally $0.99

Animal Pre-K Math and Early Learning Games for Kids in Preschool and Kindergarten Premium by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $3.99
*Lite version available on Google Play, see Android section for link

Block Art II by Choofun Games AB
Normally $1.99


ELECTRONIC STORYBOOKS/INTERACTIVE BOOKS
Ocean Forests by Bright World eBooks
Normally $2.99

Once Upon a Mutant by Lana Sultan
Normally $2.99

Beauty and the Beast - Interactive Bedtime Storybook by Paul Smith
Normally $4.99

Suee and the Shadow Pt 1 by B hive, Inc.
Normally $2.99

Read Along Interactive Kids StoryBook Dexter and Friend for Preschool Children! by DEXTER AND FRIENDS
Normally $0.99

Tip Tap Toe by Nicholas Verhoef
Normally $1.99


FINE MOTOR
Peterson Handwriting by Randy Nelson
Normally $5.99

FutureCalc: ergonomic calculator for single-handed use by Hovik Melikyan
Normally $0.99

Knots 3D by Nynix
Normally $1.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Jigsaw Wonder Puppies Puzzles for Kids by Eggroll Games LLC
Normally $1.99
*Lite version is free on Google Play, see Android section for link

Flowpaper by Diatom Studio
Normally $0.99
*Lite version is free on Google Play, see Android section for link


LANGUAGE ARTS
Teach me to read - A gripping race, an Educational Montessori Tool with Activities and Books for Learn to Read. by AucaDigital
Normally $4.99

Fourth Grade Spelling by Kissyface Interactive
Normally $0.99

Third Grade Spelling by Kissyface Interactive
Normally $0.99

Second Grade Spelling by Kissyface Interactive
Normally $0.99

Sentence-opoly by Digital Pigg
Normally $0.99

Read To Me - Text to Speech (TTS) by Jaehyun Park
Normally $6.99

MATH
Multiply Pizza Pie by FIZZBRAIN LLC
Normally $2.99

Monster Math 2 Pro Multiplayer – Fun Math Duels Game for School and Homework by Makkajai Edu Tech Private Limited
Normally $5.99

Cool Math Games: Worksheets for Kids in 1st 2nd 3rd Grade by Bas van der Wilk
*In-app purchases are Normally  $1.99 each
**The app itself is always free, so you need to open the app after downloading and individually download the activity sets that have a lock on them. Note that most SSD student devices do not allow in-app purchases. Sorry!

Kids Math Fun — Fifth Grade by One Step Ahead Apps, LLC
Normally $1.99

Mind Math - Mental Math Brain Training by Brandon Heavener
Normally $0.99

7 × 9 = 63 – how to learn multiplication table fast in the form of a game by Bogdan Novikov
Normally $0.99

The Abacus for Kids by Permeative Technologies Pvt Ltd
Normally $3.99

FinCalcPro - Financial Mathematics solver / calculator by Francesco Grassi
Normally $2.99
*Free on Google Play, see Android section for link

SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Amazing World Atlas by Lonely Planet Kids - Educational Geography Game by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Normally $2.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

Recycle Hero for Kids by Yogome, Inc
Normally $1.99

State The States - Learn the 50 U.S. States and Capitals Education Edition by ecom enterprises, inc.
Normally $0.99

SOCIAL SKILLS
S.E.E. by saym basheer
Normally $9.99

TASK-RELATED/STUDY SKILLS
My Handwriting Notes by Crater Tech LLC
Normally $0.99

DayGram - One line a day Diary by SaltyCrackers Co., Ltd.
Normally $0.99
*Also on Google Play, but not free today

A+ Signature - The photo annotator by Pixtolab Technologies Inc.
Normally $1.99

Audio Notebook: All-Day Sound Recorder, Widescreen Notepad, and Color Coded Note Organizer by Qrayon, LLC
Normally $4.99

TEACHER TOOLS
Percentage Calculator -  solve every percentage problem in no time AND SHOWS THE CALCULATION, the ideal tool for the school. by Francesco Grassi
Normally $0.99

ANDROID
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Animal Pre-K Games for Kids

Puppies Jigsaw Puzzles Free

Flowpaper Free

MULTI-SUBJECT
5th Grade Learning Games by Kevin Bradford
Normally $1.99

4th Grade Learning Games by Kevin Bradford
Normally $1.99

6th Grade Learning Games by Kevin Bradford 
Normally $1.99

MATH
7th Grade Math Learning Games by Kevin Bradford
Normally $2.99

FinCalc

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...