Tag: iPad

Apps, Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Games, K-12, Student Products, Websites

Dinner, Not Art

Terri Eichholz
image from: http://www.dinnernotart.com/#home

Dinner, Not Art is both a website and a free iPad app.  It’s delightfully silly, but also encourages creativity and charity.  Every noodle that is used in the virtual art will result in 10 noodles being donated to the charity Feeding America by Kraft until the end of this year.  This is similar to the concept found at FreeRice.

Be sure to watch the short video on the website to learn about the reasoning behind the creation of this app.

In the app, the user can choose the shape of the macaroni noodles as well as the color to paint them.  You can place them however you like and even change their size.  You can also draw things on the rest of the page.  Once you are finished, you can “glue” your pieces to the paper, and hang your art on a virtual refrigerator.

Kids young and old would enjoy this app.  To deepen the conversation, students could do some research on Feeding America or some math to figure out the amount of macaroni art that needs to be done to create a real meal.  Maybe they could research other companies that have offered deals like this and find out “what’s in it for them”.

H/T to Cool Site of the Day for bringing this app to my attention!

3-12, Apps, Education, Games, Science

Isopod: The Roly Poly Science Game

Terri Eichholz

If you are like my daughter (9) (and , to be honest, me), then you went through a stage of fascination with “roly poly” creatures, also known as “pill bugs”.  Isopod, a new, educational iPad game banks on that curiosity and takes advantage of one of the unique aspects of iPads – the accelerometer.  Players of Isopod are given instructions to try to roll the isopods into other creatures and avoid ones that will decrease their “health.”  While playing, the user can learn about different creatures in that environment.  I played it for 5 minutes, and I was hooked.  I could see students 8 and up really getting value from this game.

There is a free “lite” version of the game, as well as a full version and a teacher version.  The game description on iTunes gives the details about each version.  I highly recommend, though, that you also visit the website at http://www.xylemandphloem.net.  There, you will learn about the extensive features of this game, which include a downloadable curriculum with loads of activities for students and a Pinterest link to related pictures and videos that support this game.

Although I dislike the idea of having to pay for the teacher version, I am very impressed with the supporting resources that Xylem and Phloem offers for free along with Isopod.  Unlike many of the apps labeled “Education” on iTunes, Isopod is one app that truly delivers for that category.

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.

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…