Allied Star Police

At first glance, you might not think there would be educational value with Allied Star Police. And you might be right. But as we go back to school and are reminded of the importance of establishing positive relationships with our students, I couldn't help but share this great story.

I'll let you read the full version here, but the short version of the story is that PopCap granted Owain the wish he had through the Make-A-Wish Foundation - to create his own video game. The developers were amazed when this 10 year old came in with the game all but layed out for them. And then we he came back to review it, he was quick to point out that "this is space, those guys need helmets!" 

How cool is that? I think it's great that PopCap allowed this kid in, but awesome that Owain not only came in and told them what was wrong, but they quickly fixed it up to his specifications. When I downloaded it (yep, it's free!) I told my wife I was doing it to be nice. I mean, why not? I'll let it take up space in my iPad just so he can see people are downloading it. Now, I have resisted the temptation to download Angry Birds because I've heard how addicting it is. Guess what? This is just as addicting. In the game you accumulate money that you can then buy space vehicles with, the goal being to defeat the enemy aliens and destroy their base. It records how quickly you complete this task. And that's where addiction comes in. I'm always trying to figure out a new combination to get me there quicker. There are three different difficulty levels to choose from, and it's easy to jump from one to the other. In the PopCap article, they mentioned cheat codes, which I haven't found (anyone? Please leave them in the comments!).

Educational value? I'm sure you can make an argument for reasoning skills and critical thinking. But either way, it could be a great break for some kids who need a little breather or "reward time." Kudos to PopCap for making Owain's Wish come true. And big time Kudos to Owain for designing such an addictive game!

Cross posted on IEAR.

New #iear Post - iWriteWords

Check out my new app review on the IEAR website. We love the iWriteWords app for both iPods and iPads. 
Click here to read it!

IEAR Post: My Pictures Talk app

This was originally posted (my first!) at IEAR, a great place to find iOS (iPad, iPod, etc.) apps.

App Title: My Pictures Talk

Grade Level: Any

Purpose: A - Think "Photo Story 3 meets the iOS." A simple to use slideshow creation tool. 

Program Functionality: B+ - I really like how easy it ease to create a new slideshow. It's simple to pull in pics or video synched to your device or use your devices camera (hopefully iPad2's also?) to add. It's also incredibly easy to add text and audio directly on to slides. The only drawback is, once you finish a slide, you are directed back to the slideshow home page to create a new page. I would love to see a "save and make new slide" button. Files are also shared as a zip file, not as a movie.

Overall Educational Value: A - The app bills itself as a "video modeling tool." Our original purpose for this app was exactly that - using it with special education students to work on video modeling. But the app is so flexible, I could see it being used for a LOT of different purposes in the elementary classroom.

Cost: $9.99 ($4.99 if you buy 20 in Apple's VPP)

Classroom Use/Ideas: Again, the flexibility of this tool is amazing and really only limits you to your imagination. Combining real pictures or video with the text and audio can be huge for the special education student needing extra guidance or any student wanting to share what they know. And all of the creation can be done on the iOS device.

iTunes link: My Pictures Talk

Reviewer: Josh Allen

Blog: The Tech Fridge