Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Language Adaptable Apps

There are a lot of apps that I've put into the general category of language. These are apps that can be used to work on areas such as vocabulary, prepositions, descriptives, actions, sequencing and answering questions. Since I have so many, I'll briefly describe the apps and for what language target I would use them. I'll present six apps in this post and six different apps in each subsequent Language Adaptable Apps posts.

Animals Forest Adventure: This attractive app opens to a forest scene with a lot of detail.  Tap on different parts of the scene and animals move and doors and windows open and close. This app can be used to target vocabulary, prepositions, actions, and answering questions.
Ages: 3-6
Ratings: +++
Developer's website: Tabtale.com
Cost: Free

Happy Birthday: This is one of my favorite apps. It is a story of  a birthday celebration without being a book app. It is interactive and offers opportunities to elicit a lot of language: prepositions, actions, vocabulary, sequencing and answering questions. Now that I've sung the praises of this app, I have to admit something. I went to the app store to try to verify the cost. I tried to locate this app by its name Birthday Party, its title Happy Birthday (that appears on the first screen) and by Super DoDo, the developers name. I searched the web and was not able to get information about the developer. I thought about not mentioning it in this post. But then I thought that perhaps I should mention this app anyway. So I did. Maybe someone will have better success tracking it down. Please let me know if you do.
Ages: 3-6
Ratings: ++++
Developer: Super DoDo
Cost: Free

Felix and Lucy Go to Bed: This is another app I like a lot.  This app presents activities in sequential order starting with cleaning up toys to bedtime. The pictures are simple and clear with a bit of interactivity. This app offers many opportunities to elicit prepositions, vocabulary, story sequences and answering questions.
Ages: 3-6
Ratings: ++++
Developer's website: Grasshopperapps.com
Cost: Free

Bubble and Pebble Story: This is another app presented in storybook fashion. The pictures and animation are amateurish. The app emphasizes colors, but offers opportunities to target simple actions and vocabulary.
Ages: 3-6
Ratings: ++
Developer's website: could not locate it
Cost: Free

My Scene: This app is really a sticker app similar to those I wrote about on the January 11 blog. One selects a background scene and then places objects and characters on the scene. I would use this app primarily for vocabulary and prepositions.
Ages: 3-5
Ratings: ++
Developer's website: myfirstapp.com
Cost: Free for 2 scenes, $.99 for all 9 scenes.

My Ocean Friends: This is another app presented in storybook fashion. The main character is an animated whale who narrates the story. He talks about his underwater friends and uses character appropriate adjectives as well as directions right and left. I would use this app to target vocabulary and prepositions. One has the option to use the app as an animated story or a story in book form (non animated). The animated version has picture of a puzzle in the lower right hand corner on page 2. Tap on it the child can put together an ocean scene.
Ages: 3-6
Ratings: +++
Developer: Compass Media
Cost: $2.99