Fun Halloween Apps for Kids! Free!!

 

Listed below are some fun Halloween apps for kids. Enjoy!

Android:
Halloween Pumpkin Carver: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.santosapps.pumpkincarver&hl=en

Bubble Blast Halloween: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magmamobile.game.BubbleBlastHalloween

Dress up Halloween: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kidgames.halloween.dress

Halloween games: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kidgames.halloween.pack

iOS:
Carve a Pumpkin: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carve-pumpkin-from-parents/id394900607?mt=8

Pumpkin creating halloween dress game: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pumpkin-creation-halloween/id472709016?mt=8

Crazy Pumpkin: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crazy-pumpkin/id292692071

Pumpkin Maker: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pumpkin-maker-free/id392564579?mt=8

Halloween City: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/halloween-city/id471688943?mt=8


Webbased:
Nick Halloween: http://www.nick.com/games/halloween-games/

Halloween Mahjong: www.halloweenmahjong.com

Halloween Games: http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/halloween/games.php

Ghost Train Ride: http://www.halloweengames.biz/34277-Ghost-Train-Ride.html

Google Keep, the new Scratchpad for Google

I recently came across this program while working with a 6th grade group of students who each have access to a Google Chromebook. When half of them had trouble using/activating the Scratchpad software I knew we had an issue on our hands. After doing some research I found the answer, Google is moving away from Scratchpad and is now using Google Keep. Its extremely similar to Scratchpad. When you down the application it  opens right up in your browser. You have a Title and Body section of the note. By clicking on the list button you can instantly turn the note into a check list. Google Keeps gives you options to color code your notes/lists in a variety of different colors. You can apply a reminder date and time to the item or set the reminder to a specific location which will alert you when your device is in that location.  You can also add photos, archive your notes or delete them just by clicking on the different icons in the note. All notes are saved automatically which of course is a great feature of Google! If your not using an Android device, Chromebook or Chrome Web-browser you can go to drive.google.com/keep and all of your notes will appear there.

App of the Week (apple devices)

Did you know that each week Apple features an App of the Week? They select their favorite app and offer it free to you for one week. To find the app of the week simply go to the App Store, click on featured, and half way down the page you'll see an app with a blue banner on it stating "App of the Week." This weeks app is called Figure, a music mixing app. If you are a Twitter user you can follow @appstore to see the app of the week.

Whats new with iOS7

Its finally here! I downloaded a beta version over the weekend and absolutely loved it. I then downloaded the official update last night and couldn't be happier. It is a bright and refreshing new display. Icons now look bold and exciting! Multitasking has become much easier now with quick access to a command center and easy access to search on every page! Below you will find some of the great new features I have discovered in the new OS. Enjoy!

By swiping up from the bottom of your screen you will now get a control center where you can turn on and off each or such as airplane mode wireless Bluetooth do not disturb and lock your screen you can also change the brightness airplane and the volume of your music playing The control center also has buttons for a flashlight , the clock and timer, calculator, and camera for quick and easy access.

By double-clicking the home button you can get a detailed preview of all the apps that are running, to close running apps simply select the app and swipe up.

The spotlight feature which used to be found by swiping your screen to the right is now on the top of any page that you have just by pulling the screen down. This will allow you to search for anything from within your phone including contacts messages and Internet sites.

Apple has added a new music feature called iTunes radio, Access it by going to the music app,  in the bottom left you will see a section called radio. This program is similar to a Pandora application where it streams music based on your favorite artist song title or genre, it can then be customized even further to include more artists in that station. You can pause skip or favorite the current song playing. While in play mode it will show you a picture of the album and the name and artist of the song. By clicking on the information button at the top middle of the screen you will see information based on the song and you can purchase it from iTunes from there. You can make a new station from this artist or a new station based on the song and you can chose if the station shows hits, variety, or discovery as well as turning on or off explicit tracks. You can even share your station out. You can even look back to see the previous songs that were played and you can clear the list out.  The music will continue playing in the background as you navigate through your device.

Just like in the past you can have folders to group all of your applications but you can now have as many applications that you'd like in one folder; simply click the app and drag it on top of another, a folder will create,  you can then add as many apps you want in the folder.  Each folder will show little circle icons on the bottom of the folder letting you know how many different pages of apps are in that folder.

Apps will now show a blue dot next to the ones that have been recently updated.

Siri feature has improved! The quality is much better , the voices sound more like humans and  you have a choice of a man or a woman voice. It shows a sound bar on the screen letting you know its listening and then it  displays the text on the screen that you've spoken, it even lets you edit the text.

Inside messages there is a button to the right of your contact name  that says contact. This will give you all of their information so you can call or FaceTime them right from there instead of having to scroll to the top of the text messages like in the past.

You can now view exact time stamp that each message was sent by pulling the messages to the left of your screen.

The camera app has been totally updated. When using an iPhone you can slide for options at the bottom to choose video, Photo, Panorama  or Square (allowing you to take a more Instagram like photo).  You can also click on the three circles icon on the bottom right which will give you filter options so you can change the look of your photo, including black and white. When using an iPad or iPhone once you take a photo of you can then apply those different filters to that photo as well. Also new feature: by holding down the camera button inside the app you can take burst photography.  Photos are also now automatically organized based on "moments" which includes date, time, and location.


Inside the reminders app all of your reminders now show with little dots next  to them, selecting that will signify that you have completed that reminder or task. A new additions is Lists, if you pull down the reminders list you get the option to add a new list,  in here you can create list such as food shopping. You can color code that list and then insert your items underneath it.

The calendar app looks great! The month the week or the year view really help keep you organized and prepared.

An awesome new feature of iOS 7 is that you can choose to have your apps automatically update in the background to turn on this feature go to settings iTunes and App Store and swipe the slider to the right where you see updates.

A cool change has been made where you can now choose the font size of the text of your device. 

The built-in compass app has a level tool added and the built-in voice memos app has a new feature where you can edit your voice memos.

A FaceTime app has been added to iPhones. FaceTime now allows for just audio calls.
You can now block calls or texts from senders by going to settings, phone, blocked and add the numbers.

The maps app has improved, including turn by turn walking directions and an automatic night mode. You can also change the navigation volume by going to settings, maps. 

TodaysMeet

Have you ever wanted to grab feedback from your audience while a video was running or you were giving a presentation? How about questions that students have while reading a book or doing a lesson?

Check out www.TodaysMeet.com.  TodaysMeet is a back channel tool. Back channel means: everything that's going on in a room that that isn't coming from the main presentation. By using this back channel tool, students can go to a link provided and enter responses or questions in the form of a 140 character text.

You, as the leader of the room, create a room and give it a name. You then decide how long the room will be active. (You have the choice of 2 hours, 8, hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year).  Next you want to copy your room link and share it with your users. (You may want to bookmark your url for future use.) Users will then follow the link, enter their name and start typing messages.

Try my room here to see an example: http://todaysmeet.com/AmandaBurns I've left my room open for 1 year so anytime users visit this link they will see all the responses from the past year.

This site is very simple, so you don't have to worry about configuring much more then listed above, although one cool thing you can do is when you are in the room you can turn on speaker colors to show each user in a different color. You can also download a transcript of the rooms messages.

Things to remember: 

• Anyone with the link can access the site
• User name can be anything, so look out for fake user names
• You cannot remove a message once its been entered
• You are only limited to 140 characters
• Try using the @ symbol to reach out to specific members
• Once your room is expired, you can no longer access it. 

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Apple: 5 Years of the App Store

Congratulations Apple!!

In 2008, the launch of the Apple App store, we had just 500 apps. Today, we are over 900,000(375,000 native to iPad) . That is amazing, right? To celebrate their success Apple is giving everyone 5 games and 5 apps that have shown great success over the past 5 years. 

The apps you will be able to download are:

Barefoot World Atlas:an interactive guide to the world

Day One: a personal journalism app

How to Cook Everything: a guide to cooking over 2000 recipes

Over: add awesome text and doodles to your photos

Traktor Dj for iPhone: Famous DJ mixing apps

The games you will be able to download are:

Badland and Infinity Blade II : both action packed games with stunning graphics

Superbrothers:Sword & Sworcery EP- Story based puzzle game

Tiny Wings and Where's my Water: puzzle game based with creative characters

How to get your free apps:

Go to the app store

Click on Featured at the bottom of the page

You should see an Add that looks like this: 

*** remember, these may only be free for a limited time so be sure to check it out before its over!

Also, While there, check out the Milestone section to really see how far the App store has come, some fun facts include what countries got access to the app store and most popular apps to hit the store! 

Zite:Your Personal News

www.zite.com

Available on Android, iOS6 and Windows Phone7

$FREE

LOVE LOVE LOVE this app. I've been using this app for several years now and it just keeps getting better!  Zite is a personalized magazine like app that allows you to customize what you read and what is given to you. You choose your topics, interests, and even key words and your news will be delivered based on that. As you "like" or "dislike" an article, Zite learns more about you and customizes the app even more to your liking's or stops providing content based on your dis-liking's. 

Zite offers in app sharing to text, email, Facebook, Twitter and even more!! You can change your text size and block sources from those you no longer wish to see. There's a great search feature that will let you type in any search terms and will find the most recent articles on that topic. 

TED Talks

http://www.ted.com
Available on the Android and iTunes Market: $Free

If you are looking for an educational, informational, inspiring speech then this is the place for you! TED Talk is full of fantastic speakings from some of the worlds most famous people. Some of the talks you may find range from Bill Gates talking about "Teachers need real feedback" to Bono "8 talks that give me hope" and even a special performance of John Legend performing "True Colors" as part of one of his TED talks.

TED.com offers not just talks but playlists built around select topics, Converstations, allowing you comment back and fourth based on the title, and even a TED Blog to ask questions and see others communications. There is even a special Ed-Tech section http://ed.ted.com/ to help teachers create lessons based on the content posted.

Check it out today!

TourWrist

www.TourWrist.com
Free Iphone/Ipad App

Have you ever wanted to Chicago or San Francisco? Well with this program you get that chance!  This site/app is full of really great "Panos" showing 360 or panoramic views of locations all around the world created by TourWrist members just like you.

You  can search through the  categories for the type of destination you'd like to view or by whats featured at that time. Simply click on the "Pano" you'd like to view and you can then use your mouse or finger to navigate the display. If using a device, you can actually walk around the room and view the "Pano" as if you were in that destination while it was being taken. Inside each "Pano" is a few options like Info, telling you latitude and longitude of the destination, links, giving you options to get directions or visit the website(when provided) and a share button so you can share your experience with others. Users can easily upload their own "Panos" onto TourWrist as long as you have a panoramic camera or 360 app.

FREE POSTERS!!!

www.poster-street.com

This is a really great site if your looking for posters for your classroom, office or home. They offer a variety of posters in all different categories ranging from Teens, Teachers and Events. Each category has different posters available for instant download as a PDF or for embedding on your site. Below is just one great example of what they have:

Technology Pins and Posts

While embarking on this new technology digital adventure I have decided to setup a Twitter and Pinterest page to try and reach out to all different audiences. If you have twitter or pinterest and would like to follow me, click on the following links:

http://pinterest.com/techknowledgea/

 https://twitter.com/TechKnowledgeA

Safe Childrens Search Engine

http://www.kidrex.org/

This is a great search engine powered by Google Custom Search where kids can safely search the web. The  site is designed by kids so you really feel like you are in your environment. Safe search filters are automatically applied to searches as well as a comparison to a inappropriate website database that is constantly updated.  Should you find anything not kid related you can fill out a website removal request so that site no longer shows up Each search provides you with a list of matches including a thumbnail view of the site. The best part is there are no ads on the site or sponsored links like you would normally find in a Google search!

Upon entering a site, there is a search bar to perform searches, and a Kids and Parents section. The Kids section takes you to photos draw by kids and the Parents section takes you to various links offering KidRex helpful in and safe web searching tips.

Overall, this a great site for helping kids safely search the web!

Tiny Scan App

TinyScan turns your iPad or iPhone into a scanner for documents, photos, receipts and other texts. With TinyScan, you can scan your documents(1 page or multiples) and then save them as PDF's to use for email or file storage.


What I like about this scanner is it auto detects the size of  the item scanned and captures it into a more flat like surface. It makes it black and white, so it really looks like i scanned them on a xerox.




After scanning a document, your pdf's are stored on your device showing the name and date of the document for later use. There's even a search and sort function so you can find your PDF's out of your gallery.


There is a free version and a pro version with full features. For me, the free is just fine and does the job! 

Nuance, Dragon Apps

Multiple apps, created for IOS, Android and Blackberry

Dragon Dictation is a great app available for IOS devices. It is a free app that allows you to dictate your text and then send it as email or copy and paste it into any other application. It has a built in keyboard so after you dictate you can make changes to whats been added. If you are connected to an air printer you can print your document right from your device.

Dragon Go is a free app available for IOS and Android devices. It is similar to the SIRI feature. You dictate what you'd like to do with the web. Key features include searching for restaurants, posting to social media sites and checking the weather.

Dragon for Email is strictly for Blackberry. It allows users to dictate entire emails including to, subject line and body. 

Are you a Pinner?

$Free Available on all Platforms and Web based
Pinterest is a fabulous social networking site that allows user to search and pin Favorited items onto user created boards. Think of it like this, you have a cork board at your desk and every time you find a recipe or fortune cookie quote, you pin it to your board. The benefits of Pinterest are that its digital and you can create as many boards as you'd like. You also have the option to have private boards so only you can see what you've posted. Once you discover pins that you like, you can choose to follow the person who pinned those items so you see more items like that.

Listed below are some great sites I've come across with ways to use Pinterest in the Classroom.

http://www.teachthought.com/social-media/37-ways-teachers-can-use-pinterest-in-the-classroom/
http://teachbytes.com/2012/03/10/10-ways-to-use-pinterest-in-the-classroom/
http://edudemic.com/2012/06/3-ways-to-use-pinterest-for-education/

WeWantApps!

Click here to learn more

$Free

Available for IOS users

How cute is this? This is a great app I recently discovered that allows users to search for apps based on the age of your child ranging from 1-14. They will also allow you to search by category such as: books, education games and other. They give you the option to select either iPhone  iPad  or universal, and free or paid apps.

Once you select an app it gives you a full description of the app as well as photos showing what the app looks like, much similar to the formatting in the iTunes app store. By selecting the app, it will take you right to the iTunes app store where you can download it. 

This app also has some key features like App of the day(which includes a list of previous day's app), Most liked apps, and best apps for parents. There is a like, bookmark and share button inside each app that allows you to personalize your experience. Whats also great is that you can sign up with your Facebook account or email address and invite friends so they can view the apps that you've Favorited. 

Morfo: Creating animated characters from your own photos

Available for Apple devices and Windows Phone 7

$ Free

This app is truly amazing. By uploading one of my photos I was able to have them become animated within minutes. First I had to  "map" out the sections of my face including eyes nose and mouth. I then had the option to adjust the size of facial features and the ability change the lighting and the color of the photo. Once finished, its now time to customize.This app will allow you to add recorded sound and include several makeup, morphing and dance moves options. Of course, if you pay for the upgrade you will get a full variety of extra options for only 1.99 more for the entire pack!

Just a fun extra, this works with pets as well, see my video below!!

Free is for me :-D

Do you like getting apps for free or reduced prices? Who doesn't, right?

There is an app called: Appsfire. This is a free app for android and apple devices. You customize the categories your interested in and any time an app goes on sale or is available for free they will give you an alert.

A lot of times apps will reduce their price to get customers interested in their product. This is a great way to test our apps that you otherwise wouldn't buy.

**Remember, as soon as you "purchase" an app it stays in your store forever, which means if you don't need the app right away just download it and the delete it, you can always re-download it again when you want it.

"Snapguide" how do i do that??

Snapguide is a great app available for iPad/iPhone and web based access which allows users to create and share interactive guides.
Examples include tutorials on how to French braid hair, cook Puerto Rican rice and make your own chalkboard coasters-just to name a few.
Guides may include pictures, videos, links or just text. Users of SnapGuide may interact with other users' guides by asking questions and leaving comments.

Never Choose Update All

Helpful tip- When updating your apple device from the iTunes Store, never choose to Update All. Unless you have 5-10 apps only, your device will slow down significantly and your apps will not update. I've seen devices freeze and stop working as well as apps crash.

Instead, try updating 2-3 at a time until you've updated all

SMART Notebook for Web

For those of you teachers using SMART Notebook, this may be helpful!

With the emerging of new technologies, we need to find a way to still access software we've been using to build our curriculum. As you know, SmartNotebook is available for download for pc and mac users only (there is an iPad app available in the iTunes store for $6.99 but its not very good!). For those of you using a tablet or a chrombook and want to still access SmartNotebook, they have come out with a new web version (in its beta state). by going to this link: http://smartnotebook.com/  you can try out the version. Its completly web based so you wont need to download any software. Unfortunately there is no saving option right now while creating with the web based software but you can open previously created notebook documents within it.

You are given a few basic options: Pen and Highlighter with color change and thickness options, Eraser, Shapes, Arrows and of course your "pointer" selection. Add or Delete a page buttons are present and you can undo or redo whats been done.

Seems pretty beginner for now.

The good thing about this is if you create lessons already, parents or users without software can access this at home just but opening your created lesson into their browser.

Bloglovin.com

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Check out this site if you like to follow Blogs. If you've never followed a blog before, no time like today to start. Its a really great site that collects all the blogs your following and alerts you when there are new posts. You can search for blog topics you're interested in such as cooking, travel and technology. To make it easy, you can sign up with your facebook account so you can skip all the other sign in info.

I want to read this later!

So day to day I must come across 20-50 articles that seem amazing to read, I just don't have the time to do so. I came across this app called "Pocket", formerly "Read It Later". It is a multi-platform app so it will work on apple products, android devices, kindles and your computer. How it works is you sign up for a free account and then have multiple ways in which you can save articles, new letters, and videos to your Pocket. It organizes them by date last added and shows a great picture and preview of the article. I especially like that you can read the article without an internet connection!! Pocket is integrated into a lot of programs that you already use, and if the program doesn't integrate it, you can create a free email-like account and send all your articles to that email address and it will add them to your pocket for you.

Now I know you may be thinking, couldn't I just use safari reading list or sync my chrome browser? Yes, but do you use those programs on all of your devices? maybe not!

Point in blank, its a great free app that lets you access exactly what you want, when you want!