Tag: Education »

Thanks to advancements in technology, transportation, and communication, globalization is bringing the world’s populations closer together at an accelerating rate. As this continues though, it is important for us to stay aware of the hardships of those in places where safety is not guaranteed. UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, hopes to bring these struggles to light with My Life as a Refugee.

The game casts players as one of three refugees hoping to escape from any number of war-torn countries. As they attempt to find freedom they will be presented with the kinds of dilemmas facing actual refugees. How will they protect their families? What will they do if the smugglers become violent? Will they give up if they are caught by the army after coming so far? Through this virtual journey, players will start to understand why millions of people are so desperate to run, survive, and restart their lives.

“Every minute eight people are force to flee. What would you do?” My Life as a Refugee is available now for free on the App Store.

[gallery size=”thumbnail”]

This week at 148Apps.com, writer Carter Dotson explored all things Zombie with his Favorite Four list. He writes, "May is Zombie Awareness Month. While pop culture seems intent on making us aware of zombies on a regular basis, this is the special month for zombies. May is almost over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not just enough time left to celebrate with some zombie-themed apps."

Read Carter's full list at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, everything over at GiggleApps got dotty, as Amy Solomon reviewed Dot Collector, saying, "Dot Collector is a very nice universal app for the youngest children with simple game play, wonderfully bright colors and soothing sounds that babies will enjoy. This app is utterly intuitive to use as players need to simply drag moving dots into a black dot, clearing the board. A new dot is added to each additional level, adding to the game play."

Read Amy's review at kid-centric GiggleApps.com.

Finally, Kevin Stout on 148Apps.biz reported on the increasing numbers of young children using smartphones. Stout writes, "There’s no such thing as to young when it comes to smartphones and tablets. When keeping in mind the younger audiences when developing apps, even the youngest of children have a high percentage of exposure to mobile devices. An infographic released by Schools.com has reported that 38% of 0-8 year-olds have used tablets or smartphones."

Read the complete report at 148Apps.biz.

That't it for this Memorial Day week. Summer's here, so keep your eyes on 148Apps.com, our Twitter and Facebook feeds to make sure you get the latest app news, reviews and contests. See you next week, tovarish!

It was Earth Day this past Sunday, so what better time to check out the second in the Painting with Time app series: Climate Change. The app has 17 pre-set images of geographical regions that have been severely impacted by global warming. If one has any reservations about the veracity of Earth’s rising temperatures going in, toying with this app should lay them to rest.

Each image first appears as a tracing. Users then pick one of eight brushes or pre-cut segments, but instead of painting with tubes of color, we brush on the effects of time. The consequences are jaw dropping. The app uses high quality photographs of each locale from two time periods. Some are decades apart, others like the Mississippi River only a year. Users can uncover the overlapping views one at a time by filling in the canvas quickly with broad strokes to compare, or get creative and paint or break up the image artfully. Each photo comes with information on the region and the impact climate change is having there. There is even a multi-media presentation on the issue in general.

For those who don’t want to be lectured, and prefer to see evidence with their own eyes, Painting with Time: Climate Change  is perfect. For believers and even activists, it provides a useful teaching and display tool.

This week at 148Apps.com, two great new apps for kids were featured: AutisMate and Ruckus Reader. Writer Jennifer Allen had this to say about AutisMate: "AutisMate was designed by Jonathan Izak, someone whose younger brother and first cousin who have autism. It allows users to add their own pictures, videos and voice recordings to the app in order to create scenes that help promote positive interactions."

Kevin Stout contributed the following about Ruckus Reader: "When a child is in possession of a device as versatile as an iPad, it could be just as distracting as it is productive. A new series of apps by Ruckus, Ruckus Reader, has been released that help parents keep track of their children’s progress through Ruckus Reader books."

Read more about AutisMate here and about Ruckus Reader here.

Meanwhile, at GiggleApps.com, Amy Solomon was investigating the hidden joys of Smash Your Food HD, "Smash Your Food HD is a highly entertaining app for iPad dedicated to the better understanding of the amounts of sugar, salt and oil found within foods that are commonly eaten. With five levels included, players are asked to determine the amounts of these substances by reviewing the nutritional facts of each food in question and then watching as these foods get pulverized – much to the delight of children."

Read more about Smash Your Food HD at GiggleApps.

And last, but certainly not least, 148Apps.biz writer Kevin Stout reported on Apple's recent change in policy regarding iAd revenues: "Before April 1st, developers earned 60% of the iAd revenue they generated within iAd-supported apps. Now developers will receive 70% of iAd revenues, according to Apple’s Developer Center. Developers will now receive this higher percentage for both app download and iAd revenues. This is likely to be a rather large boost in income for developers that use iAd as their primary source of revenue for their free apps."

Read more about this change at 148Apps.biz..

And, to paraphrase Cronkite, that's the way it was. Keep track of all the latest happenings across the iOS and mobile universe by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. You'll be glad you did. Until next time, watch out for the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!

LazyTown, the popular children’s show about health and well-being, now has an iPad storybook filled with interactive features. LazyTown’s Friends Forever BooClip is a digital book app that not only narrates a story but includes animations, video clips, music, and more interactive features all about the LazyTown TV series.

This particular LazyTown adventure follows Stephanie and the new play park she’s created for her friends. Stephanie competes with her rival Robbie, who entices the friends away from Stephanie’s park to an attraction of his own with the promise of fake prizes.

In addition to the interactive features that the kid’s will enjoy, parents will also feel good about this app. The development of the LazyTown’s Friends Forever BooClip app was supervised by psychologists, teachers, consultants, and linguists. So parents can be assured that their child’s experience is safe and educational.

Other BooClips include Garfield’s BooClips and The Bible BooClips. BooClips are “edutainment” apps that enhance the reading experience for children with interactive features, word for word narration, and more.

When a child is in possession of a device as versatile as an iPad, it could be just as distracting as it is productive. A new series of apps by Ruckus, Ruckus Reader, has been released that help parents keep track of their children’s progress through Ruckus Reader books.

There aren’t many Ruckus Reader apps available yet, but the ones that have been released include big names like Transformers, Crayola, and My Little Pony. The Ruckus Reader apps send weekly “Reader Meter” emails to parents (information is also available on the website) with information about their children on subjects like phonics, print awareness, fluency, alphabetic knowledge, sequencing, and story comprehension.

All of the three big name apps (Transformers: Ruckus Reader, My Little Pony: Ruckus Reader, and Crayola:Ruckus Reader) include features like word hunts, games, mazes, and “make-your-own” sort of pages (make-your-own stickers, make-your-own story, etc). All three apps are free.

Parents will receive “Reader Meter Progress Snapshots” for free with a Ruckus Reader account. For full “Reader Meter Progress Reports” and unlimited access to their entire Ruckus Reader iLibrary, parents can subscribe to a Ruckus library membership for 6 months at $24.99. Both types of accounts can support up to four children who may access the books across various app and devices.

SparkNotes have saved many a student in need of help as they study various pieces of literature. Figuring out the subtext behind some classic pieces of work isn't always immediately obvious, and these notes can make all the difference.

That useful helping hand is now available through the SparkNotes iOS app. 50 pre-installed study guides are already available with the option of viewing hundreds of others online. These guides can then be downloaded for offline use if the user so wishes.

Numerous different works worthy of studying are included here, like Shakespeare and Orwell. Poetry and Philosophy is similarly covered along with short stories to appeal to all arts students.

Search functionality is extensive, making it easy to browse through different sections of the guides from thematic analysis to scene by scene breakdown.

There's a social element, too, with users able to share their location and what they're currently studying, thus encouraging friends to gather round for a study group session.

SparkNotes is out now and it's free to download.

Happi Papi, developer of education apps for kids, has recently started an App Evaluation Program for Schools where the developer makes Happi Papi apps available to educators for free. Interested educators can sign up for the program here.

Happi Papi has already started releasing free apps for the program. Over 100 schools have already received their first promo code links to Happi 123, the first game available for the program.

Happi Papi is an active member of the Moms With Apps (MWA) forum of family developers. Five other developers have joined the program created by Happi Papi. All developers in the program share the common vision of creating children’s apps without ads, in-app purchases, or links.

Happi Papi is a joint venture of two dads creating quality apps for children. They call their apps “edutainment.” They create learning environments for children between the ages of 2 and 8 that are both educational and fun. Happi Papi apps include Happi 123, Happi Spells, and Happi Reads.

It's a little cliched to say but Starry Night Interactive Animation is utterly beautiful to look at and interact with.

Taking one of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous pieces of art, Starry Night, iPad users can watch the creation move as well as interact with it themselves.

It's positively delightful, both peaceful and wondrous with a similarly attractive musical score. Supporting multi touch, users can interact with Starry Night with up to ten fingers at once, making it an ideal app to use with others.

Using a finger to ripple through the artwork is a mesmerising experience, even despite the occassional moments of blurriness.

While I've yet to get a chance to see the real Starry Night, this app is a great substitution in the meantime. It'd be great to see other works of art implemented in a similar way in the future. It makes art accessible for the masses and brings it to life for children.

Check out Starry Night Interactive Animation now, priced at $1.99.

Fairlady Media just released a new educational game, Grandma’s Garden.

Grandma’s Garden features Granny and her gang of whacky veggies teaching preschool and kindergarten level skills via five included mini-games (many of which are vegetable-themed). Educational skills that are covered in the app include shapes, colors, letters, counting, and memory. These games are “Match the Vegetables,” “Color the Vegetable,” “Count the Vegetables,” “First Letters,” and “Shapes.”

Players are showered with positive words and funny, Granny-typical gifts. The players are rewarded with items from Granny’s purse including candy, toys, and other grandmother-oriented items (lipstick, perfume, and more). The goal of the game is to provide a pure and sweet experience for children to learn kindergarten and preschool skills.

Grandma’s Garden is available for $0.99. Other games from Fairlady Media include Bust A Marble, Spazzle, and Ghosts!.

Check out the video below that includes gameplay of Grandma’s Garden.

I think we all know by now that technology is pretty awesome, as well as a great educational aid. Thanks to the beauty of touch based controls, very young children can easily reap the benefits from certain apps. One potentially ideal app for children aged 3 and up is CookieCoo Dancing Star.

CookieCoo Dancing Star is all about teaching kids to sing and play along with a number of different educational songs from the Hokey Pokey to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes to other classics like Mary Had a Little Lamb and I Can Sing a Rainbow, available through an in-app purchase.

The songs teach kids some valuable tips and they also get to improve their motor skills as they have to match the rhythm on screen. Best of all, they'll have fun doing it!

CookieCoo Dancing Star is priced at $0.99 for either the iPhone or iPad version. In-app purchases are then available to purchase extra song packs covering colors, animals, toys and numbers, each priced at $0.99.

The non-profit Khan Academy has released an eponymous app for the iPad, which offers free educational how-to videos on many subjects. The app currently offers over 2800 videos, designed to educate in the fields of math, science, humanities, and standardized test preparation. Videos largely consist of screencasts that try to explain various topics, and go step-by-step through each topic, as explained by founder Salman Khan and others appointed by the foundation to help create content for other subjects.

The videos on iPad support AirPlay to a remote display, can be downloaded for offline access, and shared to Facebook and Twitter. The videos also offer scripts that correspond to the various points in each video, which helps with not just going back to repeat a specific part of a video, but also opens up accessibility to those with hearing-impairments. It is also possible to log in using a Facebook or Google account to synchronize progress with the Khan Academy website with videos watched. The app is available for completely free.

Zinc Roe Design has released a new app for iPad that can help out with education. Entitled Doodlecast Pro, this is an app that allows users to draw on the screen, with various colored backgrounds, pointer options, and the ability to import backgrounds from the Camera Roll. The catch is that all of this can be recorded by the app. Users can doodle to their heart's content, and have the drawings recorded and saved, with the ability to record audio from the mic along with the video. The video can then be saved to the Camera Roll, emailed, or uploaded directly to YouTube.

This app could have amazing applications in the field of education. Teachers could use this to record math lessons, by drawing out problems, and providing detailed explanations of how they work, which the students can then rewatch at their convenience. Science teachers could use it to point out the features of atoms and molecules, or to point out specific features on diagrams, again with voice commentary included. Students could make use of the app, as well: they could use this to record their notes or homework, and go back to see not just the solutions to their work, but to see their thought process in doing it. Videos can be saved in their crisp high-resolution quality as drawn on the iPad, or in lower qualities to save space.

This is an advanced version of Zinc Roe's earlier Doodlecast for Kids app, and with some more of these advanced features, and design intended for serious usage, their technology can be used to everyone's benefit. This is the kind of app that shows how education can take advantage of the latest technology, and how the iPad in particular could be a major part of the way that education is improved across the world. This app has that kind of potential. Check it out in motion below.