Doink and Education

Doink is nice app that has a learning curve, but it allows students to be very creative.  Here is a screenshot from their website.  See a video below showing some results of how it can be used in education.  

How to use DoInk Animation and Drawing App for the iPad in Education from Kdoink on Vimeo.

iPad Creative

App Review of Toontastic

As mentioned, the highly anticipated Toontastic App is available.  We were very excited about this app as we see this as a great example for creating with the iPad.  Check out our post on creating and constructivism here.

Toontastic from Thushan Amarasiriwardena on Vimeo.

App Title: Toontastic

Grade Level: Early and Late Elementary

Purpose: A+  This product is an example of the best possibilities available for creating and creativitiy with the iPad.  It takes it a step farther than other good apps such as "Puppet Pals", "Story Patch",

Program Functionality: A- Moving the characters can be tough.  When you want to make your character face the screen, you have to try and pull up a little on the character.  This raises the character up and it was frustrating to the student that I tested it with.  Right now the "drawing tool" is a little on the weak side.  It is better when you have a stylus, but there are limited options.  The amount of characters and backgrounds available is ok but hopefully there can be some more available down the road. 

Overall Educational Value: A   This app is great because it is focused on teaching the "writing" process.  It walks kids through the steps and gets them to think about parts of a story.  This is their company philosophy from their website.

We should mention that the company is very "Internet Safety" focused.  You have to have an adult confirm an email to allow children to post videos.  I think it would be nice to export your videos in  some other fashion at some point as it is limiting to post only through their website. Maybe I missed this ability but I don't see other ways to export the video. 

Our Parent & Teacher Guide is written to encourage Collaborative Play between kids and adults. At Launchpad Toys, we don't believe in replacing parents and teachers with robots or bottling lesson plans into electronics. Instead, we build tools that are fun for kids, parents, teachers, siblings, grandparents, cousins, and general oldsters to play together and we do our best to provide curricular support for adults to help their kids learn through creative play. We hope this guide will be helpful to all you oldsters out there looking to get in on the 'Tooning.

Parent Guide

Cost: $2.99 - Very reasonable based on the quality.

Recommendation: Follow the app as developed, use a storyboard prior to doing the animation, and focus on the quality of writing.  The best stories will be planned out with good dialogue.  As kids are flowing with their story, feel free to also let them ad lib as they feel to keep it real but just make sure you have a plan for them. 

Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: They have some examples on their website already that you can see in the app.  The app speaks well for itself!

Developer Website: http://launchpadtoys.com/toontastic/

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic/id404693282?mt=8

Reviewer Name: Scott Meech

Reviewer Blog: SMeech.net

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Hey, check out our Ning (Online Community) devoted to helping teachers utilize these devices to the their fullest.  Please leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or have other creative uses for this app in the classroom, etc.

Math Snacks

App Title: Math Snacks

Grade Level: 6, 7, & 8

Cost: Free

Purpose: A (Animated videos that address various mathematical concepts)

Math Snacks were developed by NMSU’s Media Productions (New Mexico State University) and tested in the Learning Games Lab. They are a series of short, animated videos (3 minutes - 10 minutes) designed to help middle school students understand various mathematical concepts.

Program Functionality: A

These animated videos can be downloaded to the iPod Touch or viewed online. You can also download the version that includes subtitles, which may be helpful for those students who are visual learners. The videos are easy to navigate and load quickly.

Overall Educational Value: A

These videos explain a mathematical concept in an entertaining and engaging way that is appealing to middle schoolers. They can be used on a mobile device such as an iPod Touch or can be viewed online directly from the website. Each video has an accompanying pdf guide for both the student and teacher. These can assist the learner even more in applying their understanding of the presented topic.

Recommendation:

I recommend this app for both classroom and personal use at this time. With the application  being free, it is an appealing choice for students, parents, and educators. It is also nice to see that the learning can be extending for learners by providing subtitles and pdf guides for each video.

Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: This application can easily be assimilated into the classroom as a way for students to see the mathematical concept in a visual and entertaining way.

The following animated videos are available at this time: (descriptions taken from Math Snacks).

* Scale Ella (10 minutes 32 seconds) A crusading superhero clarifies and uses scale factor.
* Bad Date (3 minutes 27 seconds) This humorous animation visualizes the ratio of words spoken on a series of dates.
* Overruled (5 minutes 52 seconds) Rulers value proper units & proportional details.
* Atlantean Dodgeball (5 minutes 27 seconds) Ratio errors confuse one of the coaches in an epic dodgeball tournament.
* Number Rights (3 minutes 10 seconds) A passionate activist clarifies equality on a number line.

Developer Website: Math Snacks

iTunes Link: Math Snacks

Reviewer Name: Cheryl Lykowski