Profile of Frances A. | ReviewForDev

Shape Pals [text]

Rating
What I liked	I like about the application’s basic functionality. It let’s children identify shapes in a field of three. What I like most about this application is that it rewards students after they identify three shapes right. This serves as a great positive reinforcement for them. At the bottom of the child screen they will see a flower added when they identity a shape right. After three right answers, they are given a reward. The reward is a cute sticker that goes into a child's personal sticker book. I also like that they are not given the flower token if it is not the right shape on their first try.
Improvements	What needs to be in a future version of the app is a separation between basic shapes (circle, square, etc.) and advanced shapes (trapezoid, pentagon, etc.). It would also make the app more user friendly for children at different learning levels. Early learners will not need to practice identifying advanced shapes. Having advanced shapes should be placed in a different section or app. I also would like to see the graphics improved in the future. The background with child should be a realistic child or even include a child’s personal picture so that identifying shapes could be fun and motivating
General review	Overall, I think this app is very fun and can be good for educational purposes. I feel it needs a few minor improvements to become the amazing app that it could be. While using Shape Pals the children responded well to the game. They were engaged while identifying the shapes and they like getting a reward for correct answers. They cheered and clapped for being right. The application serves as a resourceful tool to help children learn their shapes

Screen Time - Media Time Manager [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	This app is a very good app for children with and without disabilities. It is easily customizable, so that every want and desire of a child can be reached. I like that you set the amount of time that they have to play. With children constantly sitting in front of a television or computer they are loosing out on building socialization skills (which is extremely important in young children) and well as everyday interactions. What I liked most about the application is that children can make the decision to bank their time and use it towards a better reward or prize later.
Improvements	What I would like to see added and or changed is an automatic logging of what the child does. For example, it is the child’s turn to use the I-Pad, screen timer will come on in the background and after the 30 minutes allotted it would lock the screen and deduct the time from the total automatically. If not, on the home screen place a button to start the timer. Also, pictures are a strong reinforcement. If we could upload our own pictures or you make a picture library for parents to use this will adjust the needs of the program to children at all learning levels and in all learning categories.
General review	Overall, I find this application to be helpful to manage and monitor children’s time on various activities. I like that the children can earn more time for the things they want by completing task such as cleaning their room. I love that children can bank their time for a major reward. A lot of children like to buy toys or go to places that become costly. By using this app it gives an adult a medium to let them ‘earn” that toy or that outing.

Budget Balance, version : 1.2 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I love the app. It lets you carefully watch over and balance your budget. The graphics are amazing for adults who are more visual and need to really "LOOK" at their budget to figure out what they need to change in it. It lets you easily manage your money and keep your money management safe and secure with a pass code with a back up for your personal information. What I like best is that it gives you your average daily spending and breaks it down into sub-categories so that the user may be more aware of where there money is going to because we all wonder where does our money go each month.
Improvements	What I would like to see changed in the future is to have an I-Pad version. Many users like to be able to have their budget everywhere on the go. I know while using multiple devices, I hate not being able to pull up the same information on all interfaces. If I cannot get the data from my iPhone to my iPad it is not as useful as other apps for money managements can be. I would like to see this app sync to your accounts to accurately pull all of your information from your credit cards, bank and any other personal accounts. This is easier for users than adding in all of the information yourself.
General review	Overall I think this is a very good app for balancing your budget but it needs to be able to be used on both the iPhone and iPad platform, This would make it an excellent application. You can budget the exact amount of money you would like to spend every month. You can import your salary and all of your bills; which is an amazing and not very common feature. I think this app is user friendly and overall an everyday app with great possibilities.

Tap Times Tables - Multiplication fun [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app provides a very fun and engaging way to work on math facts. I love that the app is simple and easy to navigate, thus making it child friendly. This is a useful for students to reinforce learning, a helpful study and practice tools. The best part of the application is that the level of difficulty can be adjusted per child's needs.I also love that it learns in sequence from the 1X table then proceeds to higher times tables. The squirrel is also a very cute positive reinforcement that will help students be proud of their accomplishments.
Improvements	In my opinion, as soon as a child gets the problem wrong it should not be changed. Perhaps the problem should pop up larger or limit the amounts of bubbles on the screen. By letting the problems change; you do not know if a child is just guessing. This happens in the challenge mode but we still have to give some reinforcement for kids trying to master the skills of multiplying. In your learning mode it lets children randomly picks the answer and even if wrong takes it away, the wrong answers should stay to check for mastery. Customization and background data would also be a great addition.
General review	Overall this is a great app for student/child learning. This can be used to teach multiplication skills, have fun learning various multiplication skills, reinforce skills previously learned, as well as test your student/child's multiplication skills. The easy to use interface makes this a friendly app that all educators and parents can appreciate. The squirrel in both the challenge and playing mode is very engaging for all students.

Math Guardians 1.5 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app is very fun and engaging for children. I love that this is an app that targets slightly older students because there are a lot of apps lacking to support the learning development of students from 7-11 years old. It is amazing to practice all of those math facts that are a must to learn and a must to understand. The types of images used in the game are also more responsive to older children. I also like that it is not simple. It takes time for the children to get used to the game. They just can’t master it in one shot, so it keeps the children coming back for more and more practice.
Improvements	What I think needs to be improved is that this is a great app but it is really geared more for boys than girls. Females as 51% of the population so maybe make a boy mode and a girl mode or just add a character or two that females could relate to would make this app even more effective. I also think if your app took background data and was able to do on multiple children it would be a great buy for parents and professionals alike. Overall I think this app is very good and well thought out.
General review	I love that this is an app that targets slightly older students because there are not many that support the learning development of students. The types of images used in the game are also more responsive to older children. I like that the app is customizable and that it has a mode that is not a game just to practice the math skills. I also like that it targets all four math skills (+, -, X, /). Overall, it is a great math app.

Preschool Kitty 1.4 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Preschool Kitty is a wonderful app that can be used to teach several skills to early learners. There are seven types of games offered in Preschool Kitty from patterns, puzzles and finding the differences. All of these games help to support the individual growth of early learners. There are varying difficulty levels, which works well for when children are ready to progress, as well as the ability to customize games. I love that you are able to see the statistics for children and that if the music is distracting it can be turned off, which is helpful for learners that need extra support.
Improvements	I love the graphics but I feel as if the graphics where three dimensional it could prove to be more engaging and realistic. Also, I would like to see on any or all of the pages having the ability to "tickle" or "play" with the kitty. This would let the children have more of an interactive experience. A wish for this game is that you would have the ability to track the progress for multiple children. Most parents have more than one child and most teachers teach six through thirty six children. Being able to track progress for multiple children would make this app even more outstanding.
General review	I enjoy using Preschool Kitty with children. I love that it touches upon all of the following concepts: Matching Objects, Spotting Differences, Locating Objects, Puzzles, Patterns, Capture Objects and Locating the Right Image. I love being able to see the statistics for the child playing, as well as being able to adjust the game based on the child’s skill level. This allows children to build their confidence and allows for flawless learning.

Fire Rescue! [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	This is a wonderfully engaging app for young children to learn all the proper safety routines and techniques to follow when your home is on fire. This app is bilingual; so both English and Spanish speaking children can learn from the same application. I love that when it shows the children how to dial 911 it uses a phone that is comparable to many smart phones that you would see adults have today and that the keys are in the correct settings comparable to a normal smart phone. All of the actions taken in this application are wonderful for teaching effective fire safety.
Improvements	In a future version before the children are asked to know the steps to stop, drop and roll. They should have an example of a fireman telling them the steps, then they can put the steps in the correct order to help Toby learn how to Stop, Drop and Roll. This way you are first teaching the correct steps and reinforcing the teaching by having them sequence events. I would also add more puzzles. First start with a two to four to more difficult puzzles because some children cannot accomplish hard puzzles at an early age. Also, the touch sensitivity is not accurate enough and could use fine tuning.
General review	Overall, I think this is a wonderful, creative and engaging app that will help children learn sight words, fire safety techniques and how to cope with situations where emergencies can arise. To teach a child to dial 911 is also an essential skill and many people forget that in life! I think that the amount of engagement this app gets from children along with the variety of fun games will make this a success tool for parents and educators.

Heidi story collection - 3 in 1, Version 1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	This app contains stories that are filled with vivid images and characters that are engaging for children. With its multiple stories and multiple languages; it contains activities for readers and non readers. It engages children on all various levels of learning and helps them to learn to read by highlighting each spoken word. Also, every page is wonderfully interactive and becomes engaging to children. It is also amazing at how many wonderful activities are included for each story such as quizzes, jokes and games. It has more than any one person can ask for from an app such as this.
Improvements	The only improvement that I could ask for in this story collection is that you have an amazing version for readers on a normal level and even on an advanced level. Even though it does engage non-readers and early learners, I would love to see a tab for early readers/beginning readers. For early developing children it would be best to start with less words on the page and including the most important facts. Once a child can surpass this level they can read the story again on a normal level, then to an advance level learning new and more interesting facts each time.
General review	Overall, I feel this is an app collection has a lovely grouping of stories where the child can take something from it. It is not just a book, it is not just one story but it is something that means so much more; every page has meaning behind it. I love that every book in this app collection shows children positive morals values. I feel this collection contains good apps for student learning and will go far to help many children in the future!

Little House Decorator v1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I loved about the app is that from opening children wanted to play. They started to move the screen looking at all the houses. They were totally engaged. This is something I love most when apps open up from the beginning and they draw children in. I liked that when a child picked a house, a moving truck came to let them move all of their furniture in. The amount or choices given is also fantastic. You can start decorating and moving furniture around the house, when bored a child can exit and there were other houses to design. I loved that it also brought out the creativity in children.
Improvements	I have a wish list for a future version. Items children will use to decorate the house be put into categories into categories such as items belonging in a bedroom or bathroom. I also felt that there were a few things missing. Students with disabilities are not represented in the application along with the items those children would see in their homes. Children with disabilities are likely to see a wheelchair, sensory items, communication device and additional items. To add some of this content would be nice because it would be more real for a potential part of the children using this app.
General review	The app had wonderful and surprising features. Cars drove up and down the block. I also liked that when you exited the program you work was saved until you had cleared out the house. Then, after the house was designed children could take a screen shot of the work they did. This allows children to save and print out their work. The app is also self-motivating. Children did not need any redirection while playing it and they enjoyed the app.

The sweet song of the world [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The book The Sweet Song of the World is a creative and imaginative tale. All of the images on the pages are beautiful, very detailed and realistic. The story is wonderfully narrated and has lovely music playing every page throughout the story. The book is about a baby who turns into a young boy going through the processes of his life. If also goes into his struggles with learning but explains that loves nature, animals and poetry. He learns in a different way than others and wants to be a poet. I love that it states even though he is different; his parents are proud of him and love him.
Improvements	The book needs improvements. The children lost interest in the story rather quickly. I didn't like having to push the button for it to read to me. I would change it to two buttons read to me or read by myself at beginning. Something that could needs to be changed also is the use of script. Many young children do not understand how to read script. This will make it hard children to read. Another thing that needs improvement is its interactivity. Although the illustrations are beautiful and always in motion, the children were looking to play with the pages and they were disappointed.
General review	The story is filled with beautiful morals, as well as many teachable moments that can be broken down page by page for endless opportunities to learn. I also enjoy how you find out about the various names of the different birds because the young boy enjoys caring for them. I love that the book comes in more than one language, so it is accessible for more children.

MyCQs v1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app MyCQs is wonderful to use and I love it. It has a use in all educational settings. All you need to do is set up a user account and you are good to go. MyCQs makes giving tests and quizzes of any kinds a breeze. What makes this app so wonderful is that it is adaptable to meet so many different needs. I love that you can ask true or false questions, yes or no questions and multiple-choice questions with up to four answers. I also love that you are able to add pictures to the questions, so it gives students that have disabilities or who need visual aids the support they need instantly.
Improvements	There are many limitations due to this apps formatting. I do not like that it is for a single user. I would hope in a future update that you could add multiple users to this account because if you have a classroom with 6-36 children, you need to give that test to all of the children and record that data universally. Another feature needed is the use for a fifth answer because on many statewide tests it includes E- All/none of the above. This feature would be helpful to prepare children for real life testing situations. Also a question should be above/below the image and not on separate pages.
General review	The app MyCQs allows you to simply create tests and the app has an extreme ease of use and can be use on the go at anytime the program is accessed. I love that all of you quizzes are permanently saved in the new data bank. This is a great utilities educator’s to check knowledge retained and to quiz students to check that they are learning the material at the proper rate. It is a must have app for educators everywhere.

Wubbzy's Space Adventure [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Wubbzy’s Space Adventure is fun for the whole family to read and play along with. This app is filled with features that make is much more than a story about Wubbzy going to Space. The application has music videos based on the story, coloring pages that you can take a screen shot of and games to play. This app was amazing for all types of readers because it highlights the words as it is read and a child can touch a word if they do not understand it. Every part of this application is wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone with children, especially those who are Wow! Wow! Wubbzy fans.
Improvements	All of the children took to it right away that it left me with a wish list. I would love to see more videos added, as well as a few more games. Another thing that might be nice to have is a vocabulary page for young children who don’t know so much about the moon, rockets and other words that they might not yet know the meaning of. A suggestion is to take the Grown-Up's Corner and putting it into its own separate link in the menu. I would like to see this section expanded so that anyone using this app for education purposes will engage the children’s communication and critical thinking skills.
General review	The app is wonderfully interactive and has vivid images of fun and lovable characters on a fun space adventure. I love that it has three options of how to use the application, besides all of the wonderful extras. The children loved playing the app and just wanted to explore every page. Each page is filled with wonderful sights, sounds and even two games to help your friend Wubbzy get to the man in the moon to wake him up.

Animal Jigsaw Puzzle! v1.2 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Animal Jigsaw Puzzle is a delightful app that allows children to take familiar animals such as ducks, horses and cows and make them into puzzles. I love that you are able to choose from a variety of puzzle levels. You can start as low as four pieces and go up to 144 pieces. This is a great feature because it allows work to be differentiated. I also like that it tells you how long it takes the child to solve each puzzle. It can be made into a fun game of who can finish the fastest! I also love that you can choose to hide the hint button to the child to make the game more challenging.
Improvements	I do not like that on the very first page you have an ad to go to our other apps. I understand promoting apps are important but a child clicking it and buying it because the account could be signed in already. Also, you do have a variety of images and but I think addition of more images and more realistic pictures might be a little better overall for children. Something I'd want in this app is data. This data can be recorded and tracked for progress how long it takes to complete each puzzle. This will allow whoever is working with the child to know when to move them up to the next level.
General review	I love that this app while being a puzzle lets you work on several critical skills for children. A child can develop proper cognitive awareness, work on their memory skills and even work to stay on task for a longer amount of time with the addition of more difficult work. I love that this app provides positive reinforcement when the child finishes the puzzle so it helps them build up more confidence to carry on to more difficult puzzles.

Math Summoner [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Math Summoner is a fun and engaging app while children get to see magic come to life by simply doing math. They get to go through a variety of levels and problem solve on many different levels of cognitive abilities, using various math strategies to proceed to the next level. I especially like in the second stage where the children had to do the math quickly so they could use lightning to kill the aliens. I found that both amusing and motivating for the children. It is an overall fun way to present math calculations and concepts, where it is not busy work but they are learning through play.
Improvements	A wish list that I have for the app would be an easy way to exit for when a child wants a break. Many children could not figure out how to go back to the home screen without closing the whole app and I admit I had trouble with it to. It wasn’t natural as in other apps there is a tiny button in the corner to tap. I like that you cover the common core standards but I would like to see concepts broken down by grade level. So, if I was working with a child in third grade one period, then the next period a fifth grader comes in and they can be isolated to their specific grade.
General review	I love that the app will let you assign homework and challenges for students. This is a great functionality. Also, that you can send the results to an educator, teacher or parent will make sharing a child’s learning progress a team effort. The progress tracking system is amazing as well. I love the charts and graphs. Math Summoner is an all around great application that I hope to see expanded even further.

Ride a Pony with Kate and Harry v1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I love the absolute simplicity of design to the app Ride a Pony with Kate and Harry. The images are vivid and quickly will catch the eyes of young children. I like that everything is through non-verbal communication, even the instructions. From the beginning everything is very child centered. They get to pick whether they want to be Kate and Harry and then they go on to designing a horse to ride. I love that there are so many choices for the children to make they can play the game over and over again and it will still be a different yet young experience each time.
Improvements	I think should be improved upon are more pathways to the castle with different experiences upon them. I think if the path changes each time it would be additionally engaging and children actually play never memorize parts of the app. Also, what I think can be improved upon is adding more choices with the horses. I like the many combinations but it would be fun if the children can pick a mane and tail design and color it in and then decorate it the way that they wanted. Then the app would be more engaging and bring out creativity and higher order thinking skills within younger children.
General review	I found that this app had a multitude of uses. Especially since it is responsive to touch it allow children who are working on cause and effect to use this app and see many fun animation pop into life. It really allows children to use their senses by creating, exploring and at the end receive positive reinforcement once they reach the castle and everyone is applauding for them. I think this app is engaging and a great app for it target age range.

Chabadabada [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I like about the app Chabadabada is that is extremely humorous and plays out a modern tale to an older story making it applicable to children in today’s world. The navigation is simple; all you do if press an arrow to continue to read the story so even early learners can flip the pages of the book. I loved all the little hidden animations that you had to click around the page for. It made each page more engaging to the child. They wanted to discover what is going on, what they saw on this page and what it meant, which are critical thinking skills, which is what we promote in our schools.
Improvements	My biggest critique about this one is the same as another by the app developer. I do not like to click a button to make it read to you. I much prefer you click it off or a read to me or read by myself section made. I think the book is in the right age range for normally developing children from 5-10 years old but I feel students with disabilities may like the music but become lost in the length of the paragraph and story. This leaves me loving the book but wanting something slightly more similar so I can use it across all of my educational practices.
General review	The music and vivid images left a feeling of happiness around the room as the story was playing. I love that through the story you could sense yourself there with the characters. Also, the nightclub gave an aspect of something that younger children can hear music at and that parents and educators can relate it. I think the app good does its job at making reading enjoyable. I hope you would consider expanding further.

Professor Chomp v1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I think this game could use one major improvement. It was hard to write the review do to this. I kept playing myself to figure it out but I did. Once the game is finished, the children should not be brought back to the home screen but rather a lab, giving them a role in the creation. Have them drag the points to the battery or something to that extent and help the professor create the experiment. Seeing things just pop from the electricity for no reasons loses its education value in my opinion. They collected the energy now they should do something with it.
Improvements	I think this game could use a major improvement. It bothered me the whole time playing. I kept playing myself to figure it out the problem. Once the game is finished, the children should not be brought back to the home screen but rather a lab, giving them a role in the creation. Have them drag the points to the battery or something to that extent and help the professor create the experiment. Seeing things just pop from the electricity for no reasons loses its education value. They collected the energy now they should do something with it. If this change is made, I think the game will do great.
General review	In the game, the children collect orbs that give you points that you need for the battery, silver ones give bonus points, and the yellow grant bonus playing time, we want to stay away from the red orbs though, they take stuff away. With this being the premise, the children were very engaged and had fun avoiding all of the red orbs and trying to collect as many as they could to see what the professor would create. It is great fun for all children.

Meet the Insects: Forest Edition [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Meet the Insects: Forest Edition is an amazing app with a wealth of knowledge to help children learn all about the different insects they might meet when they are outside on a walk or even when on a camping trip. This is a great app for any science teacher, as well as any parent trying to get their children accustomed to what they may meet outside the front door to avoid any potential anxiety. I know a lot of children are afraid of flies for an example, so it would help with getting this information out there and real for them.
Improvements	Something that can be very annoying for me is with limited space on my iPad the app is quite large and I can’t delete it and re-download it fast enough if I needed to use it. Also, even though it has a lot of information, it is not as interactive as I would like it to be. I think this app would be perfect to let children explore the insects from a 360 degree view and learning just a bit more so they are not so terrified next time they see a beetle or other creepy crawly friend. The app did freeze up on me once and shut out when trying to go through the different bugs; not fun for children.
General review	This app's price is a great deal for considering all the information to help your children learn and grow. I also love that the children can write their own journal entries about what they have learned and this is a great reinforcement in and outside of school. It gives them important knowledge of bugs as well as a use of critical E.L.A. Skills. I think this would be good for children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old to learn new facts.

iHeroscope 1 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app iheroscope is a hot and erotic app just as it says in its title. It gives a new sexy twist on your daily horoscope. It allows you to program your sign, so that you will get your daily alerts on what your day should be like and the fun and frolic you should have or “try” later in the day. It lets you share all of your exotic horoscope on twitter and facebook, which could be a lot of fun, especially for the singles out there letting people know hello, I am here, check this and me out. A very fun filled app great for everyday use no matter single or with a partner.
Improvements	Something that I didn’t like about the app is though it tells you for couples; it is way too far off. I tested this with mine and my boyfriend’s signs and it never meshed, not one day. Something I would add would be for the couples that you can add your couple’s profiles in and get these “extra special” iheroscope by pairing signs together. Compatibility feature would be a big thing for me and would stop me from purchasing the app otherwise. I think this could make it a lot more appealing to couples to keep things always interesting and your partner always on their feet.
General review	I think this app is great in keeping that spark and flame alive in a relationship and for having some fun all by yourself or even on a night out with the girls. You can pick the time that you want your day to have that extra “heat” delivered which is a great option and I feel the app delivers what it promises to and for that I feel it properly represent itself. All it needs it the name of the sign under each symbol and you are good to go!

SirMania - Play & Learn v1.1 [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The things that I like about the app are that the sounds and images are engaging to children. It is easy to figure out what to do on each board of the ten games. It is a fun app with a nice way of approaching beginning counting, reading, solving puzzles, matching and learning how to follow simple directions. It can hold the interest of children and engage them in learning and playing; which is always a great thing. The games are fun, the children do learn colors, counting and animals and this app has a lot of potential.
Improvements	What I would like to see improved is how fast the animations such as rats come out and to make sure they come out from a variety of different places, not all of the same two to three spots. I also think that a child will hold interest with this game past the first one or second time playing because there is little variation and the children did not seem very interested in unlocking items. I think each level should progress and introduce animals two to three at a time, you’re giving a wealth of information, just it’s too much too fast especially when the game needs change and expansion.
General review	I especially love that when you need to locate the rats, mouse or weasel it will shine a light around the animal in case the child does not see it. I think that this app has potential to young children early skills. I do think the game can use some changes in order to make it feasible for all children to use it and be completely engaged no matter how many times they play it but the games themselves are a lot of fun. Overall it is a good app.
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

Lulu in the Amazon [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I think that this is a beautiful app about the Amazon that can hold the interest of children in a variety of age ranges, especially those who like the Amazon and would like to learn some more about what is out there. The app is easy to navigate and fun to play. It is wonderfully interactive and it has a nice flow from page to page. The images and sounds on the page were enthralling and the children loved traveling all over the Brazilian Amazon. I also think it is great that it is a multilingual app. This is great because more children around the world can play with the app.
Improvements	I didn’t like about the app is that it kept crashing or would open to a black screen. This frustrated me and the children waiting to read. I hate to delete and reinstall a few times before I could get it working. I got the app to work most of the way through only once. So, I did get to see that the app was good but having an app I can’t utilize is useless. I still am having a problem with the app not opening and loading. Also, I think the games can use a slight improvement, the children enjoyed them but I think if they related more directly to the story it would be better for the children.
General review	I love that the game is like taking a field trip through the Amazon. For many children that do not have the ability to leave their homes and travel around the world this is an engaging way to show them what else is out there and around the world. The games on the app were fun for the children to play. I also like that you can align it with reading standards and use it as a lesson on the Amazon.

Word Scout Sight Word Finder v1.0 [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

The Whole Truth about Santa Claus [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked about the app The Whole Truth about Santa Claus is its very imaginative and original story. I also think that this story allows children to think outside the box and has the potential to ask them many questions allowing them to think and express their own opinions instead of just reading for the answers. It gives them the possibility to think, is this possible, what else could be possible if this is possible. I like that it gives the chance for this. I also thought the name of the people in the story was nice; it had names from all different cultures which is unique.
Improvements	What I don’t like about the story is the name. Many children believe in Santa Claus and they need that hope that Santa Claus is going to come and bring them gifts. When reading this stories it takes the magic away from the understanding of who Santa Claus is and why he bring children gifts (i.e.- on naughty or nice list). Another thing, that I did not like about the story is that children can just look at the pictures instead of reading the stories. I think the read to me option should be first and you should be able to turn off the read to me option is they want to.
General review	The story had an amazing positive message and morale; hard work and working together pays off in many different ways, you can help and bring happiness to others. The story was an easy read for children, especially because they have a read to me option; where a child can press a button to have the story read to them. Maybe making the book longer and splitting up the pages could help beginning learners read and enjoy the story as well.

Baby DJ 2.0 [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Baby DJ is very originally. I feel that is one of its best parts. It is really one of a kind. I think the images are all very vivid, the music is entertaining and I cannot see anyone who would not like it. Especially since children love music, I think letting them make their own music is touching into a key intelligence that children have and need to express. I love that there are a few free songs so you can test it out before buying more tracks and that you can just have a good time while playing it. You can record yourself, you can make your own music, so many ways to enjoy sounds.
Improvements	The app would be more accessible for children if instead of 9 choices you had the ability in the setting to change the turn tables to 2, 6 or 9 circles. I had a year old child playing with the app because he pressed on it and loves music but would just tap it with his hand so having two larger circles. One of the only things that turn me off is too many in app purchases and not enough free content to give the app a good trial. Also another thing is maybe make a 12 track album of nursery rhymes with images and make that free so parents can really see the full potential before buying more tracks
General review	I think that this is an amazing app. It has so much potential for so many different children. The fact that you can actually “scratch” the turn tables is amazing. There are just so many different features such as the fact that you can save the “mixes” the children make and that they can publish and send them that make this app, a step above other music apps that I have seen. Overall, this app is just a great fun time for children of all ages.
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

Bo's Matching Game V1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I like about Bo’s Matching Game is that it has an extremely cute start up. The song that is playing when you are on the board deciding where you want to play in is wonderful. I love that it matches the theme of the game to match and find two of a kind. I like that you can match on boards of six, twelve or twenty depending on the child’s skill level. I also like the voice that is telling the child what each item it; it is a nice feature of this app. I also like that you have a choice between two different ways to match items and play.
Improvements	There are a few things that I don’t like. I would rather ads not pop up during the middle of the game, when having children play they clicked on it and got brought out of the game. That should be on the home screen. Also, though I like the images I think that they might be a little too simplistic compared to other games with the same features. Another thing I wish the game had would be rather than counting how many times you guessed wrong, if there was a way to take background data on this instead. Also, make the ability to have multiple profiles would make it better overall.
General review	Overall, I think that the game is nicely put together, well thought out and adjusted for children of various ages and skill levels. Children did enjoy playing the game and loved the music, so that does mean a lot. It did not hold their interest as long as other games though. I think it needs a bit more work before it would be the best matching game on the market but it has a great amount of potential. I can't wait to see some future updates.

Kirin Wars [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Kirin Wars is a very basic turn based RPG game. It gives you a little bit of background and you must as in all RPG’s beat your opponents to gain points and level up. You are started off with two characters which is similar to most RPG’s. The graphics are also good for younger players. I like that there is an encyclopedia in the beginning of the game that tells you information you need to know to play the game. It goes over game mechanics, units and commanders, skills and abilities as well as the World of Kirin. It also gives you options to turn the music and sounds on or off which I liked.
Improvements	Things that I did not like about the game is that it crashed anywhere from 4-8 turns in and then you had to restart from the beginning again. On the first level there should be some tips and tricks given for those who did not go to the encyclopedia because they were eager to play. Most RPG’s will teach you the game in the beginning so you can continue to play. Also, at the level this game is, The app right now is not worth the price. It is not different from RPG’s that you can download for free. Make some improvement to graphics,learning strategy and overall function of the game and test again
General review	Kirin Wars is a turn based RPG game. I think there is potential here for something great but it needs some work. RPG’s that make money is because they have something people want to come back for; right now this is missing that magic. Users can learn from trial and error. It is a good game for children beginning to learn how to play RPG’s. Also, I would like to see this as iPad game because it would it would be better on the iPad due to the larger

iVocAudio, your memory chum (v 2.1) [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked about the app iVocAudio is that it is an excellent tool for learners of all ages to learn and master skills. I found this app was especially good for history, literacy and science. Learning historical dates and spelling new words can be difficult for many learners but with this app it makes answering questions a fun learning process. I love that it opens with a video tutorial as well. This makes the apps ease of use an even greater functionality. I also think it is wonderful you can make a test for others and send it to them.
Improvements	I would like the ability to have a lesson bank where other users can pull pre-made test by others. Another cool feature would be to share a lesson via bump or with its matching website up there would be more lessons in various languages. I would love to see English (from the US), Italian and Spanish added to the languages available. Making it more versatile for teaching foreign languages to students or to re-teach yourself parts of a foreign language you forgot or may need (such as for international traveling.
General review	Overall, I feel this is an app that has a variety of uses. I think that this app works amazingly. It has a wonderful interface. It is very easy to use and put to use. It can be used as a lesson on the go to practice skill, as well as a handy tool to memorize any bit of important information. This app gets rid of the need to use old fashion index/flash cards and takes learning from rote to interactive. I can see using this app daily with students

Paddle Duck in Where's Carrie Cat? An Interactive Story V1.2 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Paddle duck is a wonderfully engaging app for young children. It starts out with a cute little duck fast asleep. When your child makes the sunrise, the little duck is up and ready to go. You help Paddle Duck get to the farm and then on the farm help him find his friend. Throughout every page there are wonderfully interactive features such as you will touch a flower and a bee will come out and the lily pads make sounds. When touching all the animals it makes the corresponding sound for that animal.
Improvements	My wish list for the app Paddle Duck is first that it would be a bit longer or have some more features. It is a great start for a wonderful app but perhaps if there were more parts to it, a child can play longer and stay engaged. It would have been nicer to search multiple places for Carrie the Cat. I also would like to see a few educational games to go with the app. It would have been nice to see paddle duck and his friends count to ten. Then another game making paddle duck row and count or row and do the alphabet, something additionally educational and interactive would be nice.
General review	Overall, I find this app very enjoyable but it did leave me wishing it was a little longer. I love that the app made children count, help paddle duck get around and look and search for his friend Carrie Cat. It is perfect for young children and the app is very enjoyable. I thought this app was wonderfully engaging and has educational value for young students and also for children with disabilities.

Christmas Karaoke: Christmas Carols & Christmas Songs vers 1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked about Christmas Karaoke is that has 16 songs to choose from. There are songs that range from religious, traditional to fun songs that all children would know. I love that it highlights the words in the song as it goes along and most karaoke songs forget to do this, so this sets this app above others that I have seen. I also like that the song goes into a full frame screen when it starts playing the song which makes it easier to read and use in a stand with a group of people. I think children of all ages would have fun using the app.
Improvements	What I would improve about this app is to have more songs. There are over 200 Christmas songs that I can think off of the top of my head and there should be a lot more children friendly songs. Right now this is geared more as an adult karaoke game but I think children would love this, it is great both to celebrate the season but for reading and literacy skills as well and children would be a great target audience. Don’t take out what you have but maybe break it down to sections, religious, traditional and children songs. I can’t wait to see an update with some added songs!
General review	Overall, I think this Christmas Karaoke is a very fun app to play with. It can be all around fun for the whole family. I think once the app has some more songs added this will be a great app that can be enjoyed. Since everyone loves Christmas Music (especially popular Christmas music) I can see this being used at a Christmas Party to entertain children then at end of the night where some adults can have fun singing along to their favorite songs.

The Meeting App 1.1.2 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I like that the meeting app has a functional tutorial beginning. I also like that you're able to draw, write, use a calculator, create a flow chart and insert typed text. I really like that since the last trial the flow chart was completely changed and it is now more useful than ever. You can have 1 major topic and link it to 6 sub categories and then have 100 connections around it. This is good for breaking down huge idea at meetings. I also like that the notes can now have a colored coordinated background as well.
Improvements	Over the course of an hour when trying to use the app, it closed out on me over 20 times. The app also cannot handle multitasking; if you tried to do too many things at once too fast it shut down and brought you back your home screen. Another huge problem with the app is that you cannot access your calendar or your contacts which makes the app useless. Instead of being able to have a meeting; delegating responsibilities; following up with other attendees this app actually created more work. This is ironic because the apps purpose is to save time and be an app that can fit all business needs.
General review	I still feel that this app has a lot of potential but it needs a lot of work. I can see that some improvements were made but not enough to make it a great app that it should be. There are a lot of improvements that still need to be made. I was very disappointed with the app as a whole, especially when they cost $9.99 to buy. At the current functioning level I would not spend more than $0.99 on it.

The Friendly Ogre [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I love the illustrations in the app and I liked the background music that was used throughout the story. I think that it is wonderful that through the contents button you can leave off on one page and come right back to it. I think this is very helpful especially if you would use this book for teaching. This is a story that will make children think more in-depth about the story. I love that this book takes place in a library and I think it was wonderful that the story included verses from Shakespeare which is exposing children to other literature.
Improvements	I thought that the story could use some more interactivity for each page since it is limited to one action. I also think that there should be a choice between read to me and read to myself. I also think that with the language used that it would be more appropriate for children 9+ to read or listen for understanding. On the opening page, I think it would be good if you had to hold down the buttons for 3 seconds before it let you go to the internet or facebook to make the app friendlier for children. I would love to see the languages used expanded such as English, Spanish and Italian.
General review	I think this is a wonderful story filled with imagination that can build a love of reading and literature in children as well as adults. With the background of a library it shows that anything is possible and for children it is important to let their imaginations run wild along with literature. On each page there was just something that draws you into the story. I think this app did an overall wonderful job and I would highly recommend it.

Tomo Garage 1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked most about Tomo Garage is that it was not what I was expecting, it was even better. I loved that the children had to spell the names of the different garage shop items in order to be able to have them as part of their garage work station. I also loved that it gave you a time limit, where every time you press a letter (especially the faster you go) it bring you back to the top of the chart. Every time you spell a word right you also get a score and an immediate reinforce that you did a great job. I love the intrinsic motivation put into the game for spelling every word.
Improvements	I think it would be a nice idea that if when you pressed on the individual letters or the word as a whole if it was spoken to you. This would bring in earlier learners just leaving their ABC’s and make this game appropriate for them as well. I think it would also be nice if you can change how much time the children have. Thinking about children with disabilities, I think that 30 seconds might not be enough time. Perhaps if there was a setting to add an extra 30 seconds this might be helpful for this population. No one wants to get a score all the way down in the red. Just my thought though.
General review	This is a wonderful app for young children who are interested in items found in a garage. I love that it brings the aspects of letter recognition, spelling and learning what each item is as part of the game as well. This makes it into a real educational app instead of just a game. I would love to see the children be able to work on a car or use the tools that they learned about in the game, so I hope we see more wonderful apps from this developer

Visual Routine v2.0.2 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	This is a great app to create a quick and simple visual schedule for a child and/or adult. After getting used to the program it is easy to use and simple to design with your own personalized pictures. I feel it is very appropriate for all children, especially those with disabilities. Besides as a basic schedule, it also provides parents and educators with the ability to teach children how to learn their basic daily routines. I found it easy to make a routine for washing hands and brushing teeth that can be useful as an everyday learning routine.
Improvements	Things that I would like to see integrated into a newer version: - Additional pictures- Having only 11 pictures are very limiting to the app. If there were additional pictures it would help those using it as a start up with the program. - An Example Schedule or User Guide- This will help people learn how to set up schedules and what can be included in a schedule. Many people do not know how to properly integrate a schedule into daily life so proper knowledge it helpful. - Expanding Options- New options such as a bank of prerecorded sounds & the ability to have Multiple Profiles would be nice.
General review	I like that this app does not have to have pictures for schedules. It gives the ability to create both word schedules and picture schedules to meet the various needs of different learners. Compared to other scheduling apps that are out there this is simple to use but has limitations. I think that it is a great price for the type of app that it is but with some modifications and updates it has the potential to be an overall amazing app.

Hamster Chase [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Hamster Chase is a wonderfully designed app created to challenge the mind and have fun while playing as well. I enjoyed going through the various levels, each level did get progressively harder, which is another feature I enjoyed. I like that the person playing receives a trophy depending on how fast they finish the level and they also receive a correlating amount of gold coins; Gold (3), Silver (2), Bronze (1). I also like that it lets you set records and attempt to break your own records if you play the game more than one time. The game is a lot of fun all around.
Improvements	My wish list for the app: A help button for children playing who cannot figure the puzzle; It would be nice if it highlighted the path for a moment and then it went away. I would also like it if the coins could buy something other than skipping a level, such as stopping the cat from pouncing. Maybe a better hamster ball, something that would make the player feel a little more in control of the game. I do not like that you can go right to FB/twitter, even though you can shut it off in settings but for safety, I would like if it had to held it down for a few seconds before it went off the app.
General review	I love that you move the iPad around in order to move the hamster ball around each level. I think this is a great thing to play while working on hand/eye coordination. I think this app is a wonderful app for children and I love that it gives you the ability to skip a level if it is too hard, select a level which gives you the ability to unlock every level you beat so that you can go back and play again. Overall, I think it is a great app!
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

AdjustGrid / version1.0 [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Adjust grid is a very interesting photography app with a different way of looking at photography. Unlike many other photography apps, it gives you the ability 12 different format compositions, including your original basic photography full shutter and this leads into over thirty customizable grid lines that help to shoot a photo with better accuracy than normal. What I favored about this method was that I could make my pictures straight by matching up the lines and I could catch a shot of the perfect sunset using tunnel. Also, I like that you were able to use a timer to capture photos as well.
Improvements	My wish list for the app: Ability to edit within app Ability to use compositions to collage pictures together The ability to set timer for more than 7 seconds Ability to use this app while taking a video such as using it to test an app, the composition settings could be helpful in pointing out key features in an app and making the video look more professional. A use for the camera roll besides just viewing your photos that you have taken Increased sharing abilities to social media such as twitter, facebook and youtube Ability to use along with other apps such as wordpress, box, google sync
General review	Overall, I think it’s a good photo app but I would like some more features. I liked that in the settings I was able to see the reasoning behind all of the composition methods and what they are used for. This helps to make pictures look more professional. It reminded me of the new app based camera, which this app could be perfect for. I also liked the customizability where I can control the grid color and have a gradienter for shooting photos.
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

What's Faster LITE Cars- Ultimate Trivia & Puzzle Game [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I liked that there were a wide variety of cars. I also liked that there were cars from every country represented. I thought that it was wonderful that it progressed to the next country as you mastered every level. It also believe it is helpful that it gives a player six chances to be wrong and keeps count of them for you. I think it was fantastic that when you get an answer wrong, the next time the car is shown it has a different picture so a person isn’t just memorizing the answers. I can tell you my experience with the app is wonderful. My car enthusiast (fiancée) will not put the game down.
Improvements	During play time, it crashed (closed out of the program) over five times. Also, it would be helpful if there were 5-10 more seconds to decide between cars, 20 seconds does not leave enough time to read about the cars. Also, after you answer which car it is, I would like to see the actual top speed of the car shown so while playing you are also gaining more knowledge about automobiles. It would also be helpful if the short blurbs were read aloud giving five seconds for each blurb and this could possibly eliminate the need for more time to read.
General review	The facts and knowledge that you can learn about automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft's are wonderful. Even when you get a problem wrong, it doesn’t discourage from playing. It has a great ease of use for players as well. The radar gun is a helpful tool when you really don’t know which car is faster but I don’t like the costly in-app purchase for additional guns. Overall, I think this app is enjoyable especially for car lovers and enthusiasts.

Baby Phone [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I think the app Baby Phone is a cute and engaging app. If used with an iPod/iPhone can simulate a phone call experience. When watching a baby use it; it was very amusing, the tapping of random numbers and the accidental tap of call had the children listening to a variety of nursery rhymes. There was a wide variety of music offered for children, all songs are appealing and are generally sons they would hear in their everyday environment as well.
Improvements	Improvements for future version: - I absolutely did not like that there were adds in this game meant for babies and young toddlers. During gameplay it took the child out of the song and to the Internet which is not appropriate. - Also, the ads blocked the number combination used to find the nursery songs and the title/words to the song. - A second thing I did not like is that the songs were snippets and not full songs. - I don't like in-app purchases and I feel for the content offer an ad free version at $0.99 and not as a $1.99 in app purchase. I don't feel this app should cost two dollars
General review	Overall, I think the app Baby Phone is an app that is very appropriate for babies and young children. It is very cute that you can dial numbers; have the phone ring and then a song play. Baby Phone will help children learn functional skills of 1:1 correspondence with the iPad/iPhone/iPod. I think children will get a great deal of enjoyment out of this app but it should be ad free!

Jungle Picnic 10.2. [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked most about Jungle Picnic was the fun and fast paced games and the fact that they were related to the story. It is the perfect way to promote literacy skills, matching skills and one to one correspondence in early learners. I thought that the story was enjoyable and easy to follow, which is appropriate for children ages 2-5. I liked that the idea touched upon a variety of concepts, even more than I mentioned to promote learning as well. One of the games that stood out the most was matching the correct fruit items. It was something similar to what I see taught within schools.
Improvements	My wish list for the app comes from the games mostly. It did crash a few times when choosing just to play the games. During each game (such as you find in the The Picnic game) I believe each item should be named when clicked onto it. Not only if you click the picture of it (such as above the giraffe’s head) to help create a greater understanding. I also think that the color idea and possibly the shapes as well when the fruit is tossing can be very abstract for early learners; especially those with disabilities. Perhaps, this could be broken down more into levels for different learners.
General review	I think that the game Jungle Picnic is well created and diverse. I think that it is great that it has a safety method in order to get into the parents section. I truly like this feature, child safety is key in an app. I think that the story is enjoyable for all children, even above that of children ages 2-5. The games are also imaginative, creative and engaging which promotes learning. Overall, I like the app Jungle Picnic.
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

Meet the Insects: Village Edition (1.0.0) [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Meet the Insects: Village Edition is an amazing app with a wealth of knowledge to help children learn all about the different insects they can see when they are outside. It is a great in conjunction with Meet The Insects first app. This is a great app to use when teaching science such as life cycles and about all insects. I think this is a fun way to engage children in science. I know a lot of children are afraid of bugs for an example, so it would help with children get over their fear of insects with the ability to write a journal about what they think about when they see a bug.
Improvements	The app hold a lot of information but it is not as interactive as I would like it to be. For example with the life cycles if you could click on it and it blew up bigger on the screen it would be more helpful. I think this app would be perfect to let children explore the insects from a 360 degree view and learning just a bit more about insects but the app doesn't offer that type of view. I think that would be a bit more helpful and including the names to the various parts of the insects would serve a more educational purpose.
General review	I love that the children can write their own journal entries, including a picture of the bugs they see and write about what they have learned. I think the app gives children important knowledge of bugs and can be used to meet Common Core Learning standards in Science and English. I think this would be good for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old and I think it has the potential to make a wonderful teaching tool within the classroom.

PUZZINGO Puzzles (Pro Edition) – Animated Kid’s Puzzles [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I think that the app PUZZINGO Puzzles did exactly what is set out to do. Build a perfect puzzle app that can be purchased by educators especially as a VVP with such an amazing variety of content. The music is wonderful. This app will delight and engage children. I love that it incorporates all the senses. I really like that the puzzles are interactive, they repeat the names of the items that need to be placed around & they use themes that appeal to both children and educators. After you complete a puzzle, I love that a theme matched prize (balloons, stars, etc) will pop up and are interactive.
Improvements	My Wish list: Even though the app is going to grow and future puzzles will be included for free in this app 14.99 is still a lot of money and educators have to convince others that the app is worth it. So, it would make is 7.50 an app by 20. A lot of educational institutes will send that money for one app when they can have more than one. If it was priced around 9.99, personally I think it would be more feasible on the educational end. I also think some of the terms covered some of the puzzles were more advanced and not all children could easily accomplish the puzzles.
General review	One of my favorite puzzles covered are basic concepts. It covers the alphabet, animals, colors & shapes. These core concepts are very important for fundamental learning. I like the approach that the puzzle uses for teaching children concepts. I think that children will really love the overall interactivity throughout the game combined. With this app there is great learning bundle that will teach the children as they grow and learn with the app.

5 Dice: Order of Operations Game v1 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	A few things I like about the app as a teacher is that you can send progress reports can, it is able to be used with multiple players so it can be an educational “game” that is appropriate in the classroom setting. I like the white board feature as well. The app does encourage students to use higher-order thinking. I like how it gives that answer but not the equation; kids solve the target number by working backward. I like that you are able to make multiple user profiles which is great for teaching. I see over eighty students and this app would be helpful for an educator a similar position.
Improvements	The downside of the app is that I think this would not be appropriate until middle school and it is something that some children with disabilities would not be able to benefit from without lengthy instruction and help as well. The overall app is good but it can be hard for children to pick up what they need to do in order to keep playing before getting frustrated and leaving the game. I think this game could be better if you were able to start with less dice and build your way up to using all five dice. This way it starts as a learning process with children and builds up to the app we see now.
General review	What I love is when using this app with middle school students it promotes that players use multi-step problem solving skills in order to get the desired result. It also engages and intrigues children to keep trying until they get the right answer. This is something that I feel is important because children get bored of using apps very easily. I think the app is good to help learn order of operations and promote higher order thinking in an app.

Wubbzy's Fire Engine Adventure [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I love the app Wubbzy's Fire Engine Adventure. There are a variety of fun and engaging aspects to the app. You can have the book read to you, you can read and play or just read the book. I loved the three music videos that were provided within the app. The songs were wonderful and all pertained to what the story is about. Another option that I loved was the Wubbzy's games. The first game is number recognition which reinforces number and counting skills. The second game is the alphabet and is useful for letter recognition. I think these are both excellent pairings for the app.
Improvements	My Wish List: First, in relation to the games, after they finish they should have a second level that would have the number or letters in different orders to make it more educationally sound in order to make sure children weren't just using memorization but that the games are helping them to learn and grow. - I would hope to see in future more videos added. - I also would like to see additional pictures for painting in the paint section, three is kind of limited. - I would also like to see the tiny modifications or additions to the games in upcoming version as mentioned above.
General review	All of the pages were wonderfully interactive. The story was wonderful and appropriate for young children. It is important to learn about for safety from a young age and one of my favorite features of the story is the grown up corner and also has Sparky The Fire Dog's Fire Safety Tips and more resources to follow up with online, it was also so much fun to have a painting pictures option. Always fun for children. I think that the app is wonderful.

Weather and Clock for Kids [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked about the app Weather and Clock for kids is that children were able to explore times and weather in various parts of the world. These concepts than lead into lessons on geography, as well as just math and science. I love the concept of the game teaching them the time and the weather, I think the funny speaking mouse is both cute and engaging for children. I liked that when they clicked on the TV they were able to learn about the days of the week, which is a great addition to the app. Also there are many parts of the page that is interactive to play with which I feel is a must have
Improvements	This app needs help. The concept is great but how are children supposed to learn time and weather without going through any processes. It would be wonderful if when clicking on the clock, it brought you to a game to teach you about the time. Next, when touching on the weather I wish it went over different aspects of the weather and had the child match today's weather, not just show the picture of the sun or a cloud. Maybe a matching game to match weather picture to pictures or to words. If you added mini games teaching even just the basic concepts of time and weather this app would be amazing!
General review	I like that children were able to view two different types of clocks and that the weather was accurate for the day. the pages were amusing but it left me wanting to see something a little more out of an app that has such potential. Overall, I think that the app did show the weather and time but it was not on the educational side, which is what I would want to see out of an app. With an update, I think this app would be a wonderful teaching tool.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp was both interesting and intriguing. It starts similar to other stories of Aladdin but with a different twist on how Aladdin was introduced to the lamp and the variety of ways it affected his life (though the same outcome was achieved). What I liked about the story is it is appropriate for children 7+ that can work on reading compression and vocabulary skills. This story has over forty pages and holds very few pictures with is good so children can use their imaginations to let the story play out. Overall, it is very appropriate for educational uses.
Improvements	What I would like to see in an updated: - Though the graphics were nice there was not enough interactivity with the book. Some children need a moderate amount of interactivity to stay active. I would like to see more parts of the pages have interactive parts; if not the whole page. - Additional Reading Options- I would like to be able to click on the word and have it read or have the choice to have the page read to me. For some children multiple paragraphs of reading can be hard and they might need a little bit of support as to not lose interest.
General review	Overall, I do like the app for its educational purposes and opportunities that it provides but I feel that it can use a bit of work. It is a great adaptation of the story but I am not sure how long it is going to hold the interest of readers, especially those who are struggling or might have a disability. I think with an update that it can be a fantastic app that can be very useful for literacy in schools.

The Lonely Beast ABC [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app The Lonely Beast ABC is a well developed app based on a children's book. Each page is intriguing, enthralling and interactive app for young children. Each page is the representation of a letter and introduction to new sight words. I like that there are multiple parts of the page that are interactive and helps young children to play and focus on what is on the page. The ability to click on the letter and words give children to recite each letter and word multiple times helping them to retain what they have learned from the app and enjoy what they learn.
Improvements	Things that i would like to see in future updates: - I think that the price is slightly high for an ABC app. Most of the apps in this category are prices free to $1.99 at most; the priced app also come with a variety of features. Perhaps lowering it would help to intrigue new readers. - This app would need major improvements if it were to be used in a classroom in the United States. I ran into a few words that have different sounds than we would teach such as the letters S and Z.
General review	Overall I enjoyed the app. The music was delightful and it is filled with activities on each page to keep the children interacting with the story. The voice saying the words and letters is pleasant and it is a great app for letter recognition, letter identification and sight word recognition. It has the possibility of becoming an amazing app to use with children with minor adjustments. I would recommend this app to app to parents and educators.

flippi memo v1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I liked that the app flippi memo had an extreme ease of use for children. The app is very touch responsive and gives children the ability to flip and move cards around the screen. It has a wide variety of uses such as for matching and identification skills. Children can play hours on end just flipping the cards and finding all of the pictures held underneath them. The pictures are engaging and have beautiful illustrations of different animals; a category that is recognized by many children.
Improvements	Even though this game provides the medium of flipping cards from memory it lacks to much structure. I agree with taking out restrictions and blocking game mechanism but it would make for a better app if there was direction of something that happened when you make a match. I think though it is a game needs some instructions to follow. I found children would just start stimming on the flipping of the cards and were not doing anything constructive. It doesn't provide motivation for children and this app should be free without additional features added such as multiple levels or difficulty ranges
General review	I think the app overall can be very fun and used for a variety of means such as educational and recreational. This app supports communication skills, memorization, socialization and fine motor skills. I think it does need a few slight modifications and then I think app would better serve children on a variety of educational levels.

Math Mathews 1.0 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Math Matthews is a wonderfully engaging app for children in which they play a serious of three games in which they find answers to multiplication problems in order to advance the level. The bonus rounds are quite fun and filled with multiplication problems along with coins and treasures children can find along their way. The visuals images and characters are wonderful and the game itself is a different but excellent way to teach children multiplication. I love that children learn multiplication in a different format, one for each game which makes a child's learning complete.
Improvements	In future versions I would like to see: - An added level to go above the basic 1-9 multiplication table. - A level or problems dealing with the multiplication of a number and "0" - An additional practice mode that is more like the problems and in the fashion they will see within the game itself.
General review	Math Matthews is an absolutely amazing app. The practice round is wonderful and it holds a stress free way to play and learn. Overall, it is an excellent way to practice and reinforce skills in multiplication. The description of this app is correct when it states the game provides a playful and quality environment for learning. I would recommend this app for parents and educators that are working on multiplication skills with their children.

Matryoshka! deluxe [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Matryoshka! Deluxe was a very fun nd engaging app for children to play. I liked that you had to disassemble each doll as if it was a real Matryoshka doll. I liked that the app used animals and people familiar to children to make the dolls out of. I also like that the last Matryoshka doll was a mini game in which the children had To remember how to put back the dolls from smallest to biggest. It is a great app to work on fine and gross motor skills with young children. Each different matryoshka doll had its own background and music, which was really appealing to the children.
Improvements	What I would like to see in a future version is: - New dolls that are in addition to the Matryoshka in the app now but that are more realistic to what a child would see if they played with a real Matryoshka doll in person. This would help children to relate this to dolls they may see in their house and/or in the house of a family member or friend. - Additional Matryoshka dolls (same design as now) to play with.
General review	Overall I think this game is fun and engaging. It had a parent's section which was very nice, which was locked and prevented children from getting in. This is something that I feel is important in an app. The app was able to hold the child's interest. They enjoy playing in the app moving all of the dolls around. They were able to make their own imaginary scenes without losing the meaning of what the matryoshka dolls were. I hope to see new dolls.

He is Risen, An Easter Story [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	He is Risen is a very nice app explaining the true meaning behind Easter and why we celebrate it. The illustration are beautiful and I liked that the pictures changed and if the pictures were flowing with the story. I liked that there were multiple options to read the book, learn and plenty of activities for follow up with children such as a word search, mazes and painting. I like that the activities have a variety of levels of difficulties appropriate for a wide range of children. My favorite activity is the painting because children can take a picture of what they painted, which is nice.
Improvements	Updates that I would like to see in future versions: - Even though this is a beautiful story it isn't actually 100% accurate. I would actually like to see this more accurate to the bible. This way this app can be a reinforcement of what children have learned and read already. - The read to me part of the app should have an auto-play feature where children should not have to turn the pages themselves. I think this would be more effective. - I would like a version for younger learners as an option. I would like to see larger pictures and simpler text still conveying the meaning of Easter.
General review	Overall I think this is a wonderful book for children showing the meaning of Easter. I like the vivid images that are almost a mini movie as you turn the pages. I think that the app if engaging and can support learning. I like that there are two different reading level (but I would like to see an easier on added). Also, it is not only a nice book but there are plenty of games to keep children interested which is an excellent addition to the story

Cutie Monsters-Jigsaw Puzzles [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	First off, opening the app and seeing that it won the 2013 Editors Choice award for excellence in design had me very excited to use because I love apps that are used for educational technology. This left me with very high expectations from the app. I like that the app was very diverse. It was a lot more than what I thought it was at first just a game. I was pleasantly surprised to find an interactive counting book from 1-10 and a jigsaw puzzles with the same theme that appeared in the story. There were 9 puzzles that a child needed to match 3 or more pieces. I think it is great for children.
Improvements	Things that could be improved: I feel that there are several things that can be improved. One thing would be for the reading portion. I would like to have seen a read to me or an auto play version of the story for non-readers and early learners. I think this would increase the educational value of the app. I would like if the app had a math concept added to it since it has the potential for it. Count how many eyes, teeth legs, claws, tails, horns, etc. The app can have them say "one", "two" when touching item while reading. Then they could learn to count better. This would be a nice in the app
General review	Overall, I really enjoyed using the app but I think the app can use a few minor improvements that would make Cutie Monsters-Jigsaw Puzzles an even stronger app than it already is. The app tested well with young children. It is engaging for children and had characters that were cute and fun. The app also has a great ease of use and there were no distractions, which made it a perfect app for early learners.

4 Dice: Fraction Games v1 [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	I love that this app can be played between two players. By allowing students to connect using bluetooth they can play together. Another thing that I like about the app is that you can send progress reports. Also, using it with a variety of students you are able to be used with multiple players in order to track progress with different classes throughout the day. I see over eighty students and this app would be helpful for an educator a similar position. I like the white board feature as well. It is wonderful that students get the chance to work out the problems as they would on scrap paper.
Improvements	What I would like to see in a future version: - A hint button to help students who might get stuck. - Multiple levels such as easy, moderate and hard; so you can choose what is appropriate for the child working on the game. - Built in rewards for when a child gets the problem right. This is in order to provide positive reinforcement to children while playing so that they will continue to play the game.
General review	Overall, the app does encourage students to use higher-order thinking. I also like that when shaking; kids can shake the ipad to throw the dice. What I love is when using this app with students it promotes that players use problem solving skills for adding, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions.I like how it gives that answer and you must find out what would give you the answer by working with the four dice that you roll.

Fractions+ [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	Fractions + is an amazingly engaging app that truly makes learning math fun. Teaching fractions are such an abstract concept to many children but this app starts from the most basic concepts and makes learning fractional parts into a lovely game. The game is fast paced and fun so children were concentrating and waiting for their chance to put everything into order and make the pieces disappear every time they got a fractional match right. My favorite part is that each level is a progression a child is building and reviewing what they know, while learning what comes next. It is wonderful!
Improvements	What I think can be improved in future versions: - Instructions can be made simpler for children. Perhaps an audio component could be added for children who are not strong readers. - I did not like that the pieces locked, this caused a bit of frustration for children that touched the wrong tile by accident or who were not sure of the answer. They were saddened when they were seeing game over on higher levels. - Perhaps making a simpler game for students with disabilities that they can drag and drop matching fractions on top of each other. This app could be a great teaching tool for them also.
General review	I love that this app includes picture representation of fractions, numerical representations and that you can use the metric or standard system, which was a nice inclusion. Overall, I like that this app can be a wonderful guide to teaching children how to identify, locate and match fractions. There are so many levels within the app. The children were going past twenty and still more to go! Plenty done and more to do, this app will not disappoint.

Simply Missy:Shopping Adventure [text]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	The app Simply Missy:Shopping Adventure is a very cute app. The graphics are nice, as well as the accompanying sounds for the game. I like that there is a wide assortment of activities such as mazes, balloon popping and dressing Simply Missy. I like that the game involves money for both counting and using it to shop. I like that a child is able to match pictures to picture/outline of shape for the shopping list and then I like its old fashioned game appeal where she collects gems in a variety of small games in order to shop for the things she needs.
Improvements	What I would like to see in a future update: - Verbal directions for children who will not understand the visual cues. - Additional customization besides the clothing. Young girls like to explore changing hair types and colors, eye colors, and a variety of other more subtle features in real life situations. - I think the physics part tends to get lost in the game, even though you have a child jumping and moving and following many directions, I do not believe the intent for direct understanding is there. - Adding a male character such as a brother, would make it more appealing to young boys.
General review	Overall, I think this app would be appropriate for young children. I think it is a good game to promote fine and gross motor skills. The variety of games and skills you need such as touch, movement, hand/eye coordination is very important for young children. There are a lot of things to use for children to learn with visual cues but I think that it can use something a little more engaging within the game to keep children's attention better.

Word Crush Mania v1.1 [text] [video]

Link to the App Store

Rating
What I liked	What I liked about the app is that it can help improve spelling skills and it was very fun to play. The graphics and the music was pleasing. I liked that you can earn coins for every letter that you spelled. I liked that you were able to add letters and then on each level you would get another prize and feature as part of the game. I think that it can be a great educational game or fun game for children of all ages. It was an enjoyable game and great that the price was free.
Improvements	My Wishlist: First, I am not sure who your target audience is but I enjoyed it up until the parts where the locks made it nearly impossible to play. I understand to make a game a little difficult but as an avid gamer myself and another played it and once getting to the point where there were double locks, just put it down and deleted it. Not the effect I think you want. I would not remove the single locks (the double likes I don't prefer) but maybe there is a way that they are more spread out. I was getting 4-5 locks in a row. - I would also like a way to switch the letter for a vowel.
General review	Overall, I had a lot of fun with the app. Definitely think that others would like it as well but it was not a home run for me. I have played a lot of other word games that gives a lot more and that were also free.The idea for it is great with great game play. I just think with the locks and the money it costs to buy items it would turn into one of those games that you are making ridiculous in app purchases in order to keep playing. IAP= No for me
First 5 minutes video review
Video review once the app was mastered

User profile

Frances A.

Apps created by this developer

Her/His app reviews

Shape Pals [text]

Screen Time - Media Time Manager [text]

Budget Balance, version : 1.2 [text]

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Fire Rescue! [text]

Heidi story collection - 3 in 1, Version 1.0 [text]

Little House Decorator v1.0 [text]

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MyCQs v1.0 [text]

Wubbzy's Space Adventure [text]

Animal Jigsaw Puzzle! v1.2 [text]

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Ride a Pony with Kate and Harry v1.0 [text]

Chabadabada [text]

Professor Chomp v1.0 [text]

Meet the Insects: Forest Edition [text]

iHeroscope 1 [text]

SirMania - Play & Learn v1.1 [text] [video]

Lulu in the Amazon [text]

Word Scout Sight Word Finder v1.0 [video]

The Whole Truth about Santa Claus [text]

Baby DJ 2.0 [text] [video]

Bo's Matching Game V1.0 [text]

Kirin Wars [text]

iVocAudio, your memory chum (v 2.1) [text]

Paddle Duck in Where's Carrie Cat? An Interactive Story V1.2 [text]

Christmas Karaoke: Christmas Carols & Christmas Songs vers 1.0 [text]

The Meeting App 1.1.2 [text]

The Friendly Ogre [text]

Tomo Garage 1.0 [text]

Visual Routine v2.0.2 [text]

Hamster Chase [text] [video]

AdjustGrid / version1.0 [text] [video]

What's Faster LITE Cars- Ultimate Trivia & Puzzle Game [text]

Baby Phone [text]

Jungle Picnic 10.2. [text] [video]

Meet the Insects: Village Edition (1.0.0) [text]

PUZZINGO Puzzles (Pro Edition) – Animated Kid’s Puzzles [text]

5 Dice: Order of Operations Game v1 [text]

Wubbzy's Fire Engine Adventure [text]

Weather and Clock for Kids [text]

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1.0 [text]

The Lonely Beast ABC [text]

flippi memo v1.0 [text]

Math Mathews 1.0 [text]

Matryoshka! deluxe [text]

He is Risen, An Easter Story [text]

Cutie Monsters-Jigsaw Puzzles [text]

4 Dice: Fraction Games v1 [text]

Fractions+ [text]

Simply Missy:Shopping Adventure [text]

Word Crush Mania v1.1 [text] [video]

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