Noodle Words

Noodle Words

by NoodleWorks Interactive

Are you looking for a clever way to share words with your children or students? Does your child need a more interactive approach to learning? If saying a word isn’t enough, maybe your child needs to see it in action. If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you will want to read on. Our 165th review goes out to Noodle Words. An educational and very interactive application designed for an iPad device running iOS 3.2 or later. Since its launch to the App Store it has been awarded several mentions: voted the #3 slot as Apple’s New and Noteworthy in the Education store, featured at the end of 2011 as a New York Times Best App for Children and the winner of the 2012 KAPi Award for Best Educational Product. If you thought your children had energy, you should see what adorable bug friends, Squish and Stretch are capable of doing.

It is no big surprise when you hear a parent or an educator say, not all children learn alike. Some children just aren’t ready for certain academic skills at a particular age. Attempting to push them towards those skills will only frustrate them more. But what if learning was seen as playful and interactive as exploration occurs on their time, rather than their parent or teacher’s time. Regardless of how your son or daughter learns, providing them exposure, repetition and connections to words is critical so as to build ones comprehension skills. Who knew that a box of words could become a toy for your mobile device. Come interactively play with your screen as you tap, swipe, drag and shake 18 action words or verbs in order to learn their meaning. Even Squish and Stretch get in on the action as they dance, grow, blow bubbles, shake and act surprised. Which action word will be your favorite? Noodle Words is a perfect educational app for children ages 4-7 with its clean and easy to navigate design, children will not want to put the bugs of Noodle Words down. The sounds and visuals that come from your device are well done, but those that come out of your child will just be priceless!

Although the application is simple to use, it was a pleasant surprise to see that developers included a “Tip for Parents” option within the menu screen. Noodle Words can be experienced individually or with a parent or teacher. Our target audience, children ages 4-7, love to show off new things, so be sure to take time to explore with your child, you will not regret it. The developers of KwiqApps have taken all learning styles into consideration and that is why Noodle Words is also an adaptive application for children with special needs. If your child or student doesn’t have the control or ability to use their fingers or hands, then be sure to check out one of the hidden gems of the device, blowing into your microphone for word exposure and understanding.

Noodle Words gets Applicable2U’s seal of approval. It is equipped with many academic and social skills that it certainly keeps us coming back. As mentioned on their website, this is the first set of words and we hope to see many more in future updates as either a free download or an in-app purchase. Adding more action words or other parts of speech, nouns or adjectives, would be an excellent addition. To learn more about KwiqApps, please visit their website by clicking here. To get your action on with Stretch and Squish, then begin downloading Noodle Words from your iTunes library here for $1.99 today!

Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL videos

Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL Videos

by Interactive Touch, Inc.

In any home or school, reading individually or as a group is apart of ones daily routine.  No matter how this time is spent whether it be with little books, big books or educational videos, a number of key academic concepts are reinforced.   Come build your virtual bookshelf by downloading a free app called Interactive Touch Books – For Kids.  Designed by developers, Interactive Touch, Inc., their library of big and little books and interactive videos are for children as young as 18 months and as old as 10 years of age.  Reading and viewing can take place on your iPhone or iPad device running iOS 4.0 or later.   An app that promotes reading through wonderful animation and a great deal of interaction.  Young and old readers will be very content.  With your free download of Interactive Touch Books – For Kids, readers will be provided with a few free books and videos.  With a simple stop at the in-app store or online bookstore, parents can enlarge their child’s bookshelf with just a few clicks.  Children’s minds are like sponges, they want to learn as much as they possibly can, well why not add learning American Sign Language to their list.

Today and tomorrow (2/17 and 2/18), developers from Interactive Touch, Inc. and Spirit-led Designs are sharing a very special offer that you won’t want to miss out on.  Once your device is equipped with the Interactive Touch Books – For Kids app, search the store for Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL videos.  During this promotional two day event, this interactive book will only cost you .99¢.  With very few interactive children’s book applications currently in the App Store that apply to understanding or learning about ASL (American Sign Language), this is a great introductory book that could spark conversations and appreciation of differences as a variety of reading and mathematical skills are being reinforced.  Each page has its own story to tell as your son or daughter interacts with each as if it were an educational workbook. As your child or student experiences Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL Videos, parents and educators will be pleased to see that a “Read to Me” and a “My Narration” option have been included. This is a book that will intrigue and motivate young and old readers through multiple visits to their virtual bookshelf.  With the first few exposures, have the narrator tell this number and color story as your child interacts with a few simple drags, drops and taps of objects. As children become more familiar with words, have them choose to read the book on their own as their device records their words.  This recording feature will allow users to listen back to their audio, thus building and improving upon a child’s fluency skills.  While learning numbers 1-20 and brightening their colored rainbow, children will also be provided very short video clips.  These video clips will teach your child how to say these same numbers and colors without any words, but rather through the power of their hands.

Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL Videos is very simply, a book with lots of surprises.  Users will learn numbers and colors through words and pictures as it is taught in two languages: English and ASL.  Amazingly, while at the same time it will also provide game breaks with coloring pages and matching games.  The only note to the developers that Applicable2U has for a future update, would be to make the last few pages, numbers 13 – 19, less crowded and overstimulating.  By using the space differently or possibly just shrinking the graphics, users will not feel overwhelmed.  No matter what your child’s learning style or academic goals are, this interactive educational book is applicable to many.  Applicable2U was not sure what we were going to get when downloading Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL Videos, but we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

If you would like to learn more about Spirit-led Designs and the other educational books they currently have on the market, please visit their website here. To investigate more about the free library app, Interactive Touch Books – For Kids, please visit the Interactive Touch, Inc. website here.  Remember this great .99¢ offer only lasts till 2/18, so why not begin the process immediately.

Tapikeo

  Tapikeo

by Jean-Eudes Lepelletier

It’s story time on this fabulous Friday.  From the creators of iVocAudio, they recently launched last week, Tapikeo for your Apple device running iOS4.1 or later. This multi-purpose application allows your child’s voice and pictures to come to life in a number of ways.  It’s scrapbooking, creative writing and an adaptive communication application that can be used by parents, teachers or children.  When using Tapikeo, users will notice that stories are organized or managed into grids.  Before getting started, a new user might find it helpful to view the 4 preloaded examples to see how all the pieces/grids come together.  Socially and academically, this application has a great deal of potential.

When ready to begin communicating or telling a story, simply click the plus button in the upper right hand corner.  It is here that new grids are created and named.  Through our exploration, we noticed that when building a new grid that there was an e-book feature which you can turn on or off.  Unsure as to the possibilities that this feature may have for my own experience or my students, Applicable2U began searching the settings tab and their FAQ section.  Unfortunately, this was not explained, but would love this to be added in a future update.  Regardless, Applicable2U was determined to find the answer.  Through trial and error, my answer was found.  When the e-book feature is set to off, grids may have multiple images and recordings, however, they will not play like a book.  Each individual page must be selected in the play mode in order to see and hear.  If the e-book mode is set to on, when grids are played, users will now notice a green forward and backward button, allowing users to read this compilation of pictures and sounds like a real world book.  Having this option will make the creations vary depending on ones needs – flashcards, soundboards, digital photo album, verbal prompts and so much more!

Once a grid has been made the fun can now begin. At the bottom of your Tapikeo screen, users will notice four buttons: Play, Edit, Grids and Settings. Select which grid you would like to build within and click the edit button. Here storytellers can add text, picture(s) from your Apple device photo gallery or use the devices camera to take a picture.  In addition, sounds and voices can be recorded, played back for clarity and deleted if necessary.  After editing is complete, grids can then be played.  Upon entering a grids play mode, users will see a 4X4 array representing the pages within.  A flashing image will indicate where in the story you left off or may want to begin.  Regardless of what is flashing, other images may be selected and viewed.

The initial cost of this application is free!  However, additional features can be added for an in-app purchase of only .99¢.  Additional features may include the ability to download additional template grids with an internet connection.  Tapikeo also offers the option to email friends and family members grids that you have created.  If Tapikeo is loaded on their device stories, flashcards, and things like albums can then be shared.  To gain these options right away, you can download Tapikeo HD for 2.99 and receive the Premium options for free.  To access the HD version and its premium capabilities, please click here.  Recently, Applicable2u also reviewed iVocAudio which is also designed by Jean-Eudes Lepelletier.  While writing this review, we wondered what the possibilities may be for the two applications to interconnect.  Within a classroom setting, we can envision a story being created by the teacher.  As this story has now been differentiated through visuals and recordings, the student can then go into iVocAudio and complete pre-made flashcards that correlate to the story in Tapikeo and test their knowledge and understanding.  This is just one of the amazing options that these two applications can have within a classroom in school or at home.

If you would like to learn more about Jean-Eudes Lepelletier and the educational apps that he and team of developers have created, please visit their website here.  You will be amazed at the creativity and independence that Tapikeo will provide your child at any age.  To begin downloading Tapikeo to your iTunes library, simply click here.

My Pictures Talk

I am excited to share with those following my educational/parent applications review blog an assistive technology app that can assist children, parents, and teachers.  According to the developers and Lunchbox Reviews “this app will help you catalog, share, remember, and can teach skills to those with autism or developmental delays. It also allows you to document trips, adventures, class trips or create your own stories. Use your imagination! It will allow you to bring your photos to life with text and audio. You can create talking photo albums, or use as a teaching tool to help promote wanted behaviors.”  My review is based on my experiences with a 4th grade group looking to build an interactive class newsletter.  As a class, we discussed the options that they wanted in this newsletter, a number students were interested in making auditory visuals of their lives within their classroom and school.  Those individuals using My Pictures Talk were of varying learning needs and styles.  This project was designed to let them be creative rather than having a direct focus from me.   I provided them very little assistance and they were on their way.  Collaboratively they worked together to take photographs, design a script and to then record their stories.  I was amazed at the end result.  This form of documentation allows outsiders to see what is going on in the classroom.  Our next steps is to then embed these quicktime videos into an interactive file for parents and other educators to see.  This application gives a voice to all students.  The possibilities are endless!

In addition, I plan to present this application to a team of special educators to see how it might be an effective tool for our special needs population. Please be sure to visit Grembe Inc. website to learn more about My Pictures Talk along with other assistive tools that they have to offer your child or student.  Or you can visit your iTunes library to begin downloading today!

Dragon Dictation

Our student population this year has students all over the educational spectrum.  Some students require the use of a computer to produce their writing, others require graphic organizers and there are those that just refuse to write because they can not put their thoughts down on paper.  Our school purchased the MAC software version of Dragon Naturally Speaking for a classroom computer.  When researching more about Dragon Naturally Speaking, I happened to come across an assistive technology app that would run off of an Apple device called Dragon Dictation both of which are designed by Nuance Communications.   I began to wonder how we could use this in the classroom or even at home with the help of a parent through our handheld devices such as the iPad or the iTouch.  Initially my energy level towards this app were very high as I had great expectations of how it might accommodate our population of struggling writers.  Unfortunately, I quickly found the limitations of the app when using it on an iTouch.

When you enter the app you are immediately instructed to tap the screen to begin recording.  In order to do so, you will need to connect your earbuds that have a microphone on them.  Once you have completed your recording, hit the DONE button. It will then process your recording onto a blank screen.  As I reviewed my recording I noticed that there were no signs of punctuation. Interesting….so I decided to do a little searching on the web  and came across a link with Tips and Tricks.  After having viewed it, I was able to figure out that I had to speak what punctuation was necessary.  I was impressed with it’s recording abilities being so accurate.  However, I was a little disappointed to see that I could not press a button which allowed me to hear what I just wrote so as to check for fluency.  Besides having struggling writers, these same students also have challenges with punctuation and yes, even capitalization.  If a user sees an error(s), tap at the beginning of the error and scroll with your finger to highlight what needs to be removed.  In addition, you can also tap the screen to edit a mistake and rerecord wherever necessary.  Just be certain to place the green cursor where you would like the recording to begin.

So what do you do with your recording now?  You can select to email it, copy and/or  post it on Facebook and/or Twitter. Unfortunately, having this application on an iTouch, limits the ability to copy the text and add it to another application.  I attempted to copy my text and paste it into my Notes application but was unsuccessful.  Returning back to Dragon Dictation to find that my last recording was no longer there.  A thought to the developer – might it be possible to add the option to save recordings for future use if a student doesn’t finish in the time allotted.

For Dragon Dictation to work effectively with my current population, I feel as though some things might need to be considered for the next update.  1) Recording with a play back option and 2) the saving of those recordings.  In addition, I don’t know that I would recommend using this application with elementary students and an iTouch.  At this level, we do not use student email accounts and Facebook is blocked.  Although Twitter has a great deal of validity in the classroom with our students, I am not quite sure if this is a priority for those students struggling to write a paragraph.

If you happen to have an iPad, this application might open other opportunities for students.  As I am unaware of its capabilities, I do question can you multi-task and have Dragon Dictation open at the same time as having a word processing application. If this were possible, once in the word processing application, a parent or teacher could sit with their child/student to conference such errors like punctuation and capitalization.  If so, then I would definitely recommend downloading Dragon Dictation.  If you want to learn more, then please check out their website here.  Or you can start downloading it for free today in iTunes here.