Tag: apps

Apps, Education, K-12

Rover

Terri Eichholz

Rover is a free app for iDevices that opens as an internet browser.  Why, you may ask, do I need another internet browser?  Well, this browser allows you to access Flash-enabled sites that you cannot usually use on your iPad or iPhone.  And if you have ever had a crestfallen child looking at you accusingly after he or she could not use a web site that has always been available on the computer, then you know how important Rover might be for your home or classroom.

I just downloaded Rover yesterday, and tried a few of the “Old Reliables” that educators might like students to visit:  Starfall and Illuminations.  Both sites worked well in the Rover browser.  I will caution you to pay attention to the directions on “swiping” that will appear upon first use, as quick swipes on the screen will have disappointing results.  Other than that, I was thrilled to see the immediate appearance of the Flash games on my iPad.

Give Rover a try, and let me know what you think!

Apps, Critical Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Problem Solving

Daisy the Dinosaur

Terri Eichholz

Daisy the Dinosaur is an iPad app that teaches basic programming to young children.  It has a Challenge Mode, in which the user is given 5 challenges that increase in difficulty, beginning with programming the dinosaur to walk forward.  In Freeplay Mode, the user can experiment with several different commands, including making Daisy grow or shrink.

I think that this app is perfectly appropriate for students as young as Kindergarten.  They may need some help with the reading, but will enjoy solving the problems.  My daughter is 9, and I handed her this app with no instructions.  With no previous experience in programming, it took her a few minutes to understand her task in a couple of the challenges, but she quickly resolved them.  She loved the Freeplay Mode, and was very disappointed that there weren’t any more challenges after the 5th in Challenge Mode.

Daisy the Dinosaur is a good introduction to programming.  If you have a child that catches on to Daisy pretty quickly, you might want to also let them try Cargo-Bot, another free programming app.  I reviewed Cargo-Bot previously on this blog.  Cargo-bot is addictively fun, but is definitely aimed toward older children (probably at least 9 or 10).  Another way to hook children in that age range, although much more complex and expensive, is to get them involved in Robotics using the Lego Mindstorms kit.

All of the above activities are fabulous for working on problem-solving skills, logic, and perseverance.  Even if you have never learned programming, give Daisy the Dinosaur a try, and I have a feeling you will understand how easily it can engage our students.

3-12, Apps, Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, Student Products

App Design and Icons

Terri Eichholz
image credit: http://baart.weebly.com

I love this blog post from Suzanne Tiedemann on Brunswick Acres Art.  She tells about a lesson for 5th graders in which they pretended to be app developers, and went through a simulation of the design and creation process.  The students drew their own “icons” for the apps, and created descriptions that would appear in the app store.  This idea could be used in all kinds of creative ways in the classroom.  Wouldn’t it be fun to have the students design their own app ideas for apps that would tell about them as a Beginning of the Year activity?  Or, how about design an app that a character in a book would find useful?  What about an app that reflects an understanding of a science lesson or that would have changed a moment in history?  The great thing about this is that you do not need to actually know how to design apps – as it can all be in your imagination.  But, just in case you have an aspiring app designer in your classroom, you can always show him or her the TED talk video of 6th grade app developer Thomas Suarez that Tiedemann helpfully includes in her blog post.

Apps, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Problem Solving

Windosill (Reblog)

whatimeant2say

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around:

Windosill is an app for the iPad for $2.99.  A free version is also available online, though you would also have to make a purchase to experience the second half.   I have to admit, though, that I am glad I purchased the iPad app.

It is difficult to describe this mysterious, whimsical game, so I will quote the iTunes summary, “Explore a dream-like world of eleven beautifully-constructed environments in this iPad adaptation of the classic desktop adventure. Equal parts puzzle game, playful toy, and living picture-book, Windosill rewards playful investigation with mysterious and beautiful surprises.”

My nine year old daughter saw me trying to solve a level, and soon we were both deeply engrossed in finding the solution.  We completed the game together, and then she wanted to start it over again from the beginning.  Her perseverance in trying to puzzle out each level was admirable.

Vectorpark, the company responsible for this game, also has other iOS apps, which you can view here.

Apps, Education, Games, K-12, Problem Solving

Cargo-Bot

Terri Eichholz

Cargo-Bot is a free iApp that I can’t decide if I love or hate.  Currently, I am stuck on one of the levels – and it’s in the Easy Category.  But, I can’t stop!  I will keep working on it until I figure it out.  This is why it would probably be a good app for gifted students.  They need challenges that they cannot immediately solve, but that they really want to unravel.

While navigating Cargo-Bot, users are learning the basics of computer programming.  This may not sound like fun, but this app is strangely alluring with its simplicity.  The user is asked to direct the program to move colored crates into certain configurations.  It gives tutorials, and then progresses to the challenges, which begin at Easy.  After Medium and Hard are the Crazy and Impossible levels.  I am halfway through Easy.  I think this says more about my ability to do logic than it does about the difficulty of the app…

Apps, Art, Creative Thinking, Education, K-12, Language Arts, Student Products

WordFoto (Reblog)

Terri Eichholz

For the summer, I have decided to use my Tuesday and Thursday posts to reblog some of my favorite posts that some of my readers may have missed the first time around.  Although this iApp is not free, I think that it is one of the few that is well worth the cost for classroom use.  There are so many applications for it that allow for very creative uses.  Since this post, another project that we did was to import a picture of “Scream” by Edvard Munch, and have the students apply their deepest fears to the picture.  

WordFoto is an iApp ($1.99) with a lot of potential for creative minds.  The app allows the user to either take a picture or load a photo from the device’s Photo Gallery.  Once loaded, the designer can then crop the picture if necessary.  The main appeal, however, is adding words to the picture.  There are sets of words already provided, or a creative mind can provide his or her own.  You can also choose the style by selecting from different themes or creating your own.  In addition, there are some fine-tuning tools to tweak things a bit more.  Below you will find an example of an original photo by one of my 4th graders, and her interpretation using WordFoto.

Original Photo
WordFoto Version

Thanks to Laura Moore, who first brought this app to my attention in her blog!  Be sure to check out her post for ideas on how to use WordFoto in the classroom.