Story Patch

Story Patch

Category: Education

StoryPatch is a great app which makes story writing fun for younger children and reluctant readers.  This app provides prompts and choices allowing the child to see the process of story writing.  You can then take advantage of the creative functions such as adding images, backgrounds, making your own character or adding your own images.  The stories can then be saved and read later.

http://storypatch.com/

Apply to Learning:

This a fun way to develop literacy skills by making decisions about the story.  Children can then personalise their creation by adding visual images which best reflect the story.

Talking WeeMee

Talking WeeMee

Category: Entertainment

Created by WeeWorld

I have always loved WeeMees.  I like the design of them and all the accessories and choices you have.  So I was very excited when I came across this app.  You can now bring your WeeMees to life and add voice to create videos.

You can select how you want your voice to sound.

You can use WeeMees which have already been generated or you can import your own from the WeeMee Avatar Creator app, this allows you to personalise your video.

You can also select a background for your Talking WeeMee.

You can record your voice by selecting the Film Camera icon.  There are also a few animations you can choose from.

Once you have recorded you can save the video.



Apply to Learning:

This is a fun app to play with.  The great thing about Talking WeeMee is you can select the character you want to talk.  You can personalise the video.  This makes it great for creating messages, imagine a virtual gift card where you have created a WeeMee of yourself singing Happy Birthday.  It is also great for storytelling, giving instructions and practicing speaking.  Teachers could create one which represents themselves and play it at the beginning of the lesson to engage students.  For more ideas got to Avatars and Talking Characters.

Doodlecam

Doodlecam

Category: Entertainment

This is a fun and entertaining app where you can take interesting photos and videos.  You need a device with a camera and the app applies a filter to what you are looking at, you can choose from 11 different effects.  You can take photos or record videos with a cartoon effect.  The video mode also gives you the option of recording sound, mute or you can select from soundtracks provided.  You can save the photos and videos to the photo gallery.

Apply to Learning:

This app would have many applications within an art room.  Students could print out the images and add colour or transform it into a painting or print.  The video function could be used for creating digital storytelling, interesting book reports, reflecting on an event or unit of work, create a music video, the options are endless.

Make Me a Superhero

Make Me a Superhero

Make Me a Superhero Lite

Category: Games

Can be used on iPhone, iPod and iPad

This is another design app where you can create a superhero.  It offers a good range to choose from.

Apply to Learning:

This is a great app for creating characters for stories or comics.  It also allows children to play with elements of design by selecting the most suitable styles and colours. For more ideas see Avatars and Talking Apps.

Dinosaurs 360

Dinosaurs 360

Category: Education

Can be used on iPhone, iPod and iPad

This is a great app for exploring the world of dinosaurs.  It has 4 sections Photo, Quiz, Tour and Puzzle.

Photo: allows you to explore a range of photos of dinosaurs.  The Name is provided with a sound the dinosaur would make.  It also offers some information about the dinosaur.

Quiz: Offers a multiple choice question where you are given a name of a dinosaur and you have to choose from 4 images of dinosaurs.

Tour:  allows you to explore the different time periods Jurassic, Late Cretaceous or Early Cretaceous.

Puzzle: provides scrambled puzzles provided from the images.

Apply to Learning:

This is perfect for children who are interested in dinosaurs and want to know more.  They can memorise the names of dinosaurs and read the information.  The images could also be used for art activities.

Math Bingo

Math Bingo

Category: Education

Can be used on iPhone, iPod and iPad

Math Bingo is fun way for children to improve their numeracy skills.  It allows you to create a profile for 5 players or use the guest profile.  You can then select a character for the profile.  Math Bingo allows you to choose the type of sums and level of difficulty by offering the choices of easy, medium or hard.  The sum is shown at the top of the screen and you need to find the answers in the time given.  Once you have a line Bingo appears and you may win a bingo bug which you can collect.  You can also play Bingo Bug Bungee where you fling the bugs to hit coins.

Apply to Learning:

This app provides a fun platform for students to practice their mathematical skills.  It also provides challenges such as beating the timer and collecting Bingo bugs.

Sock Puppets

Sock Puppets

Category: Entertainment

Designed for iPhone and iPad

Sock Puppets is a fun app which allows you to create talking animations.  First you select the character which are sock puppets, you can then select background and then add props.  As you record you can move the character and record your voice.  The animations can be saved.

Apply to Learning:

By recording your voice you can create stories, role play or read stories.  This is a great way to practice speaking and understanding the concept of characters and settings.