Schools rely on fundraising efforts from parents and supporters of their establishments, even more so in recent years thanks to the ever tighter budgets being implemented during these tough economic times. There are plenty of ways to raise money but so many of these are either time-intensive, hugely inconvenient or even expensive for supporters to back. Those people struggling need to check out Shoparoo. It’s a new app that’s set to make things so much easier and more profitable for schools and their supporters.
Basically, the app turns grocery receipts into money for schools. All the user has to do is take a photo of their receipt via the Shoparoo app and watch the “Roo Points” flood in for their designated school. It’s as simple as that. The more spent, the more points awarded with bonuses for clear pictures of receipts and regular submissions.
The folks at Shoparoo have managed to work out a deal that involves information gathered by the app being used to identify trends and general consumer behavior. Shoppers don’t have to worry about any excessive personal information being taken though as no credit card or bank details are required. Users can even cross out certain items on their receipts if they’d rather not disclose it. It’s a great way of ensuring that market research benefits you, not just major companies.
Jared Schrieber, co-founder and CEO of Shoparoo, explained the benefits to us. “The concept of turning grocery purchases into school donations is already widely adopted throughout the U.S.,” he said. “What’s so unique about our approach is that there’s absolutely nothing specific that parents have to buy, sell or collect in order to raise money for their school. This makes Shoparoo an amazingly hassle-free fundraiser and a natural complement to schools’ existing Box Tops and labels collection programs.”
It’s a pretty neat idea and it’s already been backed by numerous major companies such as Dove, Hellmanns and Knorr. Over 200 schools have already signed up to the project with it promised to be simple to join. Funds are then credited automatically based on the Roo Points accumulated.
Why not give it a try for your school? Let us know your experiences of the service.
Augmented reality (AR) apps frequently pop-up on the App Store giving users a visual experience over our everyday reality. LEGO has recently jumped on the AR game with LEGO Lens. LEGO Lens lets users watch and interact with LEGO creations at various locations in the U.S.
The app shows LEGO creations that are close on a Google Map. Once at the location, the LEGO creations can even be captured in a picture to share with friends. A radar shows the LEGO creations when users are close.
We hopped on LEGO Lens to check out the locations of where these LEGO creations are popping up. There were none in my immediate driving distance (but a fair few in my state). Looking at the pins on the Google Map, there are quite a few places boasting The Avengers & Loki in the sky. The locations that these LEGO AR creations are popping up in include movie theaters (lots of Carmike Cinemas), malls, and stadiums. The LEGO creations are swarming in New York, LA, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Chicago.
It’s important that parents supervise with the use of this app given the GPS capabilities and suggestions to visit the LEGO locations.
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.
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.
This week at 148Apps.com, we opened the floodgates for the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. Site founder Jeff Scott writes, “In its fourth year, the Best App Ever awards is a people’s choice awards for apps. Last year over 500,000 votes were cast in the quest to find the best apps, not just the best selling. This year it’s back bigger and better than ever. In a big change this year, not just iOS but also Android applications and games are up for nomination in the awards competition. Users can nominate their favorite apps and games in any of the multiple categories by heading to the app nomination page and choosing a category.”
Over at GiggleApps, our site dedicated to reviewing the latest apps for kids, reviewer Amy Solomon took a closer look at the new Charlie Brown Christmas App, saying, “It is lovely that children can decorate their own tree with included ornaments and other decorations, as well as a few that must be earned by finding all the hidden items as accomplishments. This area is found on the first title page of the book and can easily be overlooked as one starts to read. Please look for it. I am also smitten with the last page of this app where the characters are all shown with image and name, and a tap letting readers hear the line they are most noted for in this story, a great section for me to go over with my son as he is new to these characters.”
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-17 :: Category: Entertainment
Finally, AndroidRundown writer Carter Dotson published a commentary regarding the recent CarrierIQ revelations. Dotson says, “Some of the fallout is settling from the explosive Carrier IQ revelations – naturally, most parties involved are denying any kind of wrongdoing, or even that their tools are even installed at all on the phones. Apps to search for the existence of the tools on phones now exist. As well, apparently even Carrier IQ was found on iOS devices, although Apple has pledged to remove them in a future iOS software update. Interestingly, one researcher has found that the software likely isn’t sending vast swaths of user personal information back to carriers and manufacturers, although there are still some questions about the data that is being recorded by Carrier IQ tools. In fact, a lot of this data may be used for benign purposes such as determining where phone calls are being dropped, rather than any kind of purpose of spying on user information.”
We’re done for this week. But next week brings us that much closer to Christmas, and closer to the new year. Keep informed by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter. Jingle on your merry way….and see you next week.
We at 148apps know how tough it is to find the right games and apps for children. That’s why we have sister site GiggleApps. For those looking for a different sort of guidance, however, Apps For Girls and Apps For Boys might just be what they need.
Both freely available, these are apps that offer gender specific versions of the app store, presenting apps that have been recommended by other parents for children of the relevant gender. Different categories include the likes of Games, Fashion (for girls), Books, Utilities and Education. For users who have spotted an app worthy of being featured, there’s a handy app recommendation section which ensures others can discover exceptional apps.
While having always been a bit of a tomboy as a child, I’m not so sure about the color schemes available for the two types of apps. If you can get past the stereotypical color scheme, there’s no denying that this is bound to be a helping hand for many parents and children.
Fierce Grey Mouse HD is a delightful interactive story about a grey mouse who wants to be fierce like a wild animal. It is simply delightful to watch this mouse practice his fierceness – the roaring, and the pouncing, along with the exercising and healthy eating habits that it takes to grow big and strong. The only pitfall is that all grand, fierce gestures have scared his friends, and now there is nobody to play with. Rest assured; all ends well in this charming story that kids will enjoy, and maybe even relate to. Versions are available for both iPhone as well as iPad.
I believe that the old sport adage goes that, “practice makes perfect.” The funny part was that all of my coaches used to say that this phrase was a load of crap. They instead instilled in my impressionable young mind that “PERFECT practice makes perfect.” At the time, the difference seemed minimal at best, but now I can completely see what they meant. If you practice with bad fundamentals, no matter what the sport, you will replicate the same poor fundamentals during actual competition. I guess that explains my entire high school sporting career in a nutshell!
Though I was never much of a tennis player, I can understand that each sport has a defined skillset that needs to be honed at a high level. Whether it be a solid drop shot or nailing your lines properly, it stands to reason that if you learn these moves at a high level, you stand a chance at being successful. But how would you track all of the information necessary to know if you are improving? This is where the new app TennisProfiler steps in, allowing a watchful parent or coach to keep track of your detailed statistics, one swing at a time. Here are some of the highlights:
Enter practice records to the database.
Able to track all major strokes such as Drop shot, Groundstroke, Lob, Overhead, Return Serve, Serve and Volley;
Provide some suggestions on how to practice each of these strokes;
Plot the Daily, Monthly, or Yearly records of the strokes for certain period of time;
Consolidate all the records in the database such that there will be only one record for one stroke type with the same features (such as serve type, court position, etc) per day;
Email the database to keep a backup of the practice records.
At the risk of sounding like a kiss-up, this really sounds like it could be a coach or over-ambitious parent’s dream. This is the kind of high detail feedback that could very well define the difference between a good and a great athlete. However, if you are a parent, do yourself a favor and don’t try to coach your child’s serve from the sidelines. Rumor has it, that kind of behavior can embarrass your child. Just don’t say that we didn’t warn you.
We cover it all. The latest games, apps and more are all reviewed across the 148Apps network of sites. Just take a look at what you might have missed this week.
Basically, the app turns grocery receipts into money for schools. All the user has to do is take a photo of their receipt via the Shoparoo app and watch the “Roo Points” flood in for their designated school. It’s as simple as that. The more spent, the more points awarded with bonuses for clear pictures of receipts and regular submissions. 
Augmented reality (AR) apps frequently pop-up on the App Store giving users a visual experience over our everyday reality. LEGO has recently jumped on the AR game with LEGO Lens. LEGO Lens lets users watch and interact with LEGO creations at various locations in the U.S.
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, 
This week at 
Finally, 
We at 148apps know how tough it is to find the right games and apps for children. That’s why we have sister site 
Fierce Grey Mouse HD is a delightful interactive story about a grey mouse who wants to be fierce like a wild animal. It is simply delightful to watch this mouse practice his fierceness – the roaring, and the pouncing, along with the exercising and healthy eating habits that it takes to grow big and strong. The only pitfall is that all grand, fierce gestures have scared his friends, and now there is nobody to play with. Rest assured; all ends well in this charming story that kids will enjoy, and maybe even relate to. Versions are available for both iPhone as well as iPad.
