Kid in Story Book Maker: Creative Personalized Stories with Locolens Photo Editing app

This app is a really fun way of getting students engaged in creating stories.  The app comes with 12 ready-made story templates.  Users can create custom stories with your own images, text, and narration.  The stories can be shared via email or Dropbox. Insert images of students with different images and pictures to allow them to really be engaged in the story!  This app costs $6.99

10 Fingers + App

The 10 Fingers + app is a fun and interactive way to teach you children how to count with their fingers.  It uses a multi touch feature on the iPad screen that allows users to put multiple fingers on the screen and receive a response.  For example, if the user touched the screen with 3 fingers the iPad will say "Three".  There are 3 different activities within the app.  Also, this app is free for today!

 

My Planner Guide

My Planner Guide is an online service that works along with an app for the iPad and iPhone.  This is a great resource for many students and can be especially beneficial to those on the autism spectrum.  The Planner Guide is essentially a "guide to life".  It has 135 reference guides that provide information of what to expect or how to do a task in the following areas: Personal, Problem-Solving, Communication, Relationships, Community, Work, Home, Technology, School, Stress Management, Self-Advocacy, Personal Safety and Interdependence. These reference guides can be customized from your computer and then be made available on mobile devices.  The mobile app also gives users access to schedules and checklists, and a visual interactive calendar with text and age appropriate graphics that are gender and race neutral.  The Planner guide service is $30 a year (app is free but need login information).  You can explore the website and reference guides with a free 7-day trial before you purchase.

MagicalPad iPad App

MagicalPad is a note-takers dream.  This app allows the user to not just take notes digitally but to mind map, outline, use visual notes and a visual task manager.  This app allows you to insert links and images along with its colorful displays.  The app offers the user templates or you can create your own.  Another great thing about it is that it can be automatically synced to your iPad, iPhone, Mac, or iPod.

Quote to Remember!

aacorn App

The aacorn App is a very different type of communication system.  This app has a very engaging and fun interface for children.  It also uses human recorded voices!  This is great and unlike other apps that use text-to-speech voices.  However, this does mean when inputting new vocabulary the user will have to record a voice.  One thing about this app that makes it different from the rest is its "word tree."  The word tree uses word prediction to predict the next word your child will use.  It also learns from what the user states most frequently.  This app is usually $189 but it is currently having an assistive technology conference sale and is available for $79.99.

Autism Village App (not yet released)

In honor of Autism Awareness Day, I wanted to share a great idea of a father whose child is on the autism spectrum.  This kickstarter campaign has already surpassed its fundraising goal!  The campaigns goal is to create an app that allows families/caregivers to search for autism friendly places in the area.  It can be very difficult for families to find a place where they can feel comfortable, where people understand, and where the families can be themselves without having to worry.  The name of the app is Autism Village.  Hopefully it will be released in the near future!  Also, this will be a FREE app!

Snap&Read Google Chrome Extension

Snap&Read is a Google Chrome extension by Don Johnston.  This is a powerful extension gives the user access to text-to-speech on all visible text.  The text can even be changed into different levels to help readers who are really struggling.