Brain Pop Jr. for iPad

While I was teaching Kindergarten and First Grade, Brain Pop Jr. may have been my lesson planning best friend (other than Courtney and Trish, of course).  Brain Pop provided an easy way to integrate technology through the use of colorful, animated multimedia that closely matched many of the concepts I was teaching at that time, whether it was for math, reading, health or history.  I could not envision my classroom without it. BPJr. follows Annie and robot Moby through a vast array of learning topics.  Each video lasts only about 5 minutes which gives you, the teacher, ample time to set up an activity (or clean up one!).  Using the videos also provides transitions in the lesson.

Here's what you need to know about Brain Pop Jr.

Like Brain Pop (Sr.), it requires a subscription to get full access.  This means all the videos on MLK, counting by 10's, nouns, George Washington, and exercise are neatly tucked away until you're willing to shell out some cash.  If your school has a subscription already, take advantage of it!  It's worth every penny and may not be there forever.  While the cost is not unreasonable, its impractical for a teacher to pay out of his/her own pocket.  At the very least, you can use it for upcoming holidays and historical events, which are typically featured for free during the week of the event. 

Pros

• Short, engaging videos
• Easy Tech-integration tool
• Follow-up quizzes (easy/hard)
• Topics familiar to Kinder-2nd Grade curriculum
• Catchy music, corny jokes
• The App is Free...

Cons

• Paid subscription needed for full access
• Post-video activities are weak
• Students can print scores from Quizzes, but cannot send digitally to teacher
• Catchy music, corny jokes

In closing, I feel without a subscription, this app will be quickly forgotten due to its limited features.  However, since it doesn't take up much space on the device, it's worth keeping if you have a few iPads in the classroom to use as a holiday lesson.  

Is the App right for You?

How do you know if an app is worth downloading?

How do you know if it is safe to put on your device?

I am that person who loves downloading new apps just so that I can see what it looks like and how it feels.  Whether it is for a game, department store, or traveling I have a my own checklist to help me determine if I should A) Download it and B) Keep it once I do.  This article is to provide some fundamental security-related FYIs as well as help you become better at rating/reviewing content.  Most of the suggestions are standard for Android or iOS apps.  However, the security recommendations are primarily geared toward Android apps via Google Play store, which has looser restrictions and screening of developers and the apps they post. 

Before you download...

How much does it cost? 
Remember, there's no refund.  If it doesn't look worthwhile, there is probably a reason for it.  Just because its not free, doesn't make it worth avoiding.  Sometimes its worth dropping $.99 on an app!  Think how many times you shop from McDonald's dollar menu and that should put things into perspective.

Who Makes it?
Does the developer have a good/bad reputation?  Have they developed other apps in the past?  A first-time app publisher could be a red flag for an app teaming with bugs that may or may not be adequately addressed.  How often are patches and updates released?  If an app released last year has had no updates, don't expect any new features to be coming soon.

How Many People are Using It?
If its a new app, you may be first in line...but it may be worth your while to wait a little while.  User feedback is important and apps could be potentially malicious.  Let some of your peers try it first.

Read the Reviews
Ignore most of the people offering 5 stars.  You want to know why people DON'T like the app.  Some people will have shallow reasons for their displeasure with the program, but others will provide meaningful insight as to how expectations feel short, usability issues, bugs, or design.  Negative comments don't have to deter you, but it should educate you at the very least.

What do you want it to do?
Think about what you are looking for in an app before using it.  If you want to know the weekly sales for a store but can't easily find it on the app, then it is not meeting your needs.   Check your expectations.  If you're expecting a full-scope of interactive features and user interface quality, maybe demanding all that from a free app is unreasonable.  A couple bucks may get you EXACTLY what you want, but if you got it for free, take a deep breath...it's going to be alright.

What does the App Access?
This is especially important when dealing with Android device security.  All app developers must specify what device features an app will access.  You, as the user, must agree to allow all these permissions in order to let it run.  Be wary of apps that require access to your contacts - very few apps actually need this information.  This could be the result of careless developing or a means of stealing personal data. 

Always Write a Review
If you took the time to research an app, whether you love it or hate it - Rate it!  Be fair during your review and offer a review worth reading.  Writing "It's a piece of crap" does not help anyone, nor will it win you a Caldecott Award.

Book Creator for iPad

Become a Self-Published e-Book Author!

In January 2012, Apple released a beautiful free program called iBook Author, which allows you to create rich and beautiful e-publishable books to upload to an iPad's bookshelf.  Despite being a free download, the program has its drawbacks:

• MAC device-only 
• steep learning curve
• EULA (End User License Agreement) concerns 

This PC-user was disheartened, especially knowing that a similar program (i.e. Adobe InDesign) could cost as much as $500.  A little iPad App Store search brought me across this gem, Book Creator.  While I normally like to keep my app purchases below $1.99, I took a leap of faith and picked up this $4.99 treat.  So far, I am not disappointed.  Book Creator allows you to create digital e-Pub books to upload to your iPad Library.  After a quick tutorial, I set out in full pace.  5-10 minutes of playing around should make you a Pro...or at least comfortable enough to use it.  The features are limited, which helps minimize the learning curve, but I was still impressed by how much I could do!  Here's a quick list of features available on my current version of the app:

• Font editing (size, font, color)
• Change background colors
• Adding images
• Hyperlinks
• Embed video clips
• Add/Remove/Reorganize pages
• 3 Layouts (Portrait, Landscape, Square)
• Animated Page-turning features
• Import to iPad Library, send to Printer (app required), Email, or send to Google Drive (app required)

What drew me to this app is how easily I imagine using this with a group of students.  They can quickly learn the features and create their own work adding interactive content.  I quickly saw limitless potential with a group of students.  My first brainstorming lesson ideas were:

• Demonstrate a process/steps for a task
• Short story
• Informational Book using Web-search images
• Reinforce writing process (Publication phase)

Alas, this app is not all gold.  As stated earlier, this app sells at a mid-range price ($4.99) that can really add up when downloading to multiple devices.  The features are limited, which means for some (like myself) this hinders creativity and what you can do, but that is at the sacrifice when making a very user-friendly app.  Also, typing long expositions using the iPad keyboard is tedious.  I would recommend copying and pasting from another document or using a Bluetooth accessible keyboard for lengthy works.  Red Jumper Studio seems to take care of this app and provides regular upgrades and maintenance.  They have created something fun, imaginative, and inspiring.  Time to put all those great novel ideas to pen! 

To learn more about this app and its developers, visit the Red Jumper Studio website.

Toontastic - App Review

This is the first a 5-part series of of iPad app reviews I'll be composing.  In each case, I'll discuss a little background about the app, its strengths and weaknesses from my perspective, ideas for its implementation, and any success/horror stories from my attempts.  If you have an educational app you recommend or one you'd like reviewed, please submit your suggestions.  The first app is:

Toontastic!

Price:  FREE with option for in-app purchasing
Availability:  iPad iOS5 or later

Summary:  Use scenes and characters to create stories.  You can create your own drawings of backgrounds or character/objects or use some of the items made available to easily design a story.  While the app is free on the iTunes App Store, there is the option to purchase sets of characters and scenary to add to your story-telling collection (jungle set, U.S. Presidents, etc).  In addition, Toontastic records your characters' actions, records child's narration, and provides music selections to apply a mood to the scene.  The program is very intuitive.  I briefly demonstrated to a four-year-old child (3-4 minutes) how to use the program.  For the next 40 minutes, he was completely engaged in creating story after story.  This was a great application that allows you to easily create digital stories and engage students in learning. 

ToonTube:  It's essentially a private YouTube within this app that lets you publish your story to be viewed by other users around the globe.  All videos are geographically sorted and can be rated by others.  ToonTube has an easy-to-navigate "global view" that allows you to search the world for exciting tales. 

How to Use in Classroom:  While children as young as 4 will enjoy, this app is probably best suited for 1st grade (late in year) to 3rd grade.  Introduce the application first, let students play around with it, goof off, and experiment with creating backgrounds, characters, and props.  (15-20 minutes).  Teach a series of lessons of parts of a story (problem, climax, resolution, etc), and have students develop a short story with 2-3 characters.  Go through writing process to develop story (brainstorm, draft ideas).  Work this application in as the final part of a creative writing (publishing).  Allow students to publish work (with school/parent permission first) to ToonTube (or external site if this is an option) to share work and let students view others' stories. 

Strengths:  This is a great app to practice creating story arcs.  It promotes creativity and discovery.  Creates a published product that can be used as a culminating activity that assesses learning.  It's fun, engaging, and very easy to use. 

Weaknesses:  Does not "teach" or scaffold the process of creating a story; however, the Toontube site may have good examples of story development for students to view.  Publishing methods are limited.  I want a way to save my work and view it through other mediums, such as save off the device or upload to a website.  I believe the iOS5 update improves upon these capabilities. 

My Score: 4.5/5