The alphabet is the core of the English language. Reading and writing start with knowing each and every letter, how they sound, and the words that they're associated with. This is why it is so important to teach the alphabet to our children at an early age. Any App that helps do that, and keeps my 5 year old twins interested at the same time catches my attention. AlpaTots does just that. With the interactive activities attached to each letter, and the alphabet sing along, this is a great App to help in the learning process.

Keep It Interesting

Keeping a child's attention is one of the hardest things to do. My children (they're 5 years old) have the attention span of a gnat. They don't stay tuned in to any one thing very long. Even TV doesn't put them in a trance like it does some other children. AlphaTots manages to keep their attention for a long period of time; sometimes as long as an hour. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is an accomplishment for my children believe me. The way this App does it is by offering so many different "things to do" within it.  Each letter has an activity attached to it. This means that there are 26 different "things" for my children to do which keeps them entertained. Each activity is associated with the particular word that they chose to represent that letter. For example, U is represented by the word "unlock". For this they show a chest and tell the children to unlock the chest. To do this they have to line up the shapes in three separate wheels (similar to a slot machine). This keeps them doing something fun, and also helps with shape identification and matching! This isn't a new concept within children's learning Apps, but the simplicity and effectiveness is second to none.

The ease of use is found throughout the App. The letters are easy to navigate to from the home screen. Advancing to the next letter after completing the activity is intuitive and simple, and there are words of praise throughout the entire process.

The Alphabet Song

When I was a little kid, no one thing helped me learn my letters more than the alphabet song, as I'm sure it has helped millions of others. Knowing this, AlphaTots included the alphabet song into the App. Tapping on the music notes in the lower right hand corner of the screen brings up a new screen that not only plays the alphabet song, but also displays the letters as it sings it to your child. My children can sing the song word for word, but they still enjoy this feature of the App and play the song at least once every time they are using the App.

The Bottom Line

You can't go wrong with a children's App that not only teaches your child the alphabet, but helps them enjoy the learning process while they're doing it. This App will help your child learn their ABC's very, very quickly.

You can get AlphaTots for the iPad from the iTunes store for $1.99 here:
You can get AlphaTots for the iPhone from the iTunes store for $.99 here:

When I was a kid I distinctly remember having a game that had a row of "Jack in the boxes" each with a different switch that released the hidden shape or animal to pop up through the trap door. Each of the switches was different. One would be a round button that you pushed, one would be a toggle switch that you flipped, one would be a nut that you turned, etc. My twins even had a variation of this when they were 2 or so and they're only 5. Now we have it on the iPad but only better! Kids Place brings you Peekaboo Pets, an interactive learning tool designed to teach kids animal names, sound and picture correlation.

Just like the traditional game, each animal has a different button that requires a different movement. This does two things. First, it keeps things different for the kids so they don't get bored, and second, it helps with fine motor skills. Whether it's a switch or a button, the movement is never too difficult.

Once the animal is released from the trap door, the sound that it makes is played through the speaker or headphones. Touching the picture below the animal plays the sound again, and if you're kids are like mine, it will play it again, and again, and again… Touching the name of the animal below the switch plays the animal's name. This is my only complaint about the App. It sounds like the narrator sounds to be from England which, makes some of the pronunciations a little "different" than what we are used to.

The Bottom Line

This is a simple App. Sometimes however, the simple Apps are the most effective. This is one of those Apps. It's so simple that it is really, really effective in teaching animal names, pictures, and sounds to toddlers. If you have a toddler, it's a definite must have. This is a universal binary meaning that it will work on both the iPhone and iPad. The layout is exactly the same and I wrote this review kind of late so I didn't have any screen shots to show you.

You can get Peekaboo Pets for the iPad and iPhone from the iTunes store for $1.99 here:

Just last month my Twins went to their first day of kindergarten. For the last two years they went to preschool 3 days a week (which they loved) but I don't think they were quite prepared for school "every day". My daughter (who is quite opinionated to say it kindly) announced after her second day that she was tired of going every day and that she was just going to go three days a week like last year. I chuckled and told her that she should probably get used to it because she has about 16 more years of school before she's done.  Since my first day with my iPad I have tried to find Apps that not only keep my children's attention, but also help prepare them for school. Anything that can give them an advantage, or edge in the learning department, I downloaded. Not too long ago I was presented with Measurement HD for the iPad. Like any App to help my kids, I ran through all of the features myself to see if it was a good quality App or something that was going to just confuse them in the long run. I was delighted with what I found. This App not only teaches measurement in the form of length, but also volume, time, months, and scale! And it does it in a way that really keeps their attention. If you have a child in the Kindergarten or 1st grade range, this is a must have App.

Five Sections

As you can see, there are five sections to chose from with really good graphics to entice the kids. Crazy Clock, Scale Tale, Fill Me Up, Long and Short, and Action Month. Each has it's own set of graphics, and lesson to learn, and each is just as good as all of the others at teaching that lesson.

Long & Short

I'm going to start with this section because it's right where my twins went to first. I'm not sure what drew them to this section first, but there was no doubt which one they wanted to play.  Long and Short the child is given a choice of two pictures. The pictures are of items that they are familiar with; Fish, trains, pencils, etc.  They are asked to chose which is the longest or shortest. This question comes not only in text form but audibly as well. When the child chooses correctly the pictures is sprinkled with what I would describe as golden sparkles indicating that they chose correctly. A new set of pictures is then placed on the screen and the process starts over again.

Crazy Clock

Crazy Clock, is a pretty fun game, and a really good way for children to learn their time on a "traditional" analog clock. The children are presented with a statement such as the one shown. "I go to playschool at 8 in the morning" They are then asked to move the minute hand until the time is correct. As you can see the "8" is circled to help the children figure out which number they should be on. The clock works just like a real analog clock. As you move the minute hands the hour hand moves. They don't move independently of themselves. This means that the child has to spin the minute hand around past the 12, 2 times to get the correct time. When they do, a loud bell and a congratulations message are heard. This particular game has helped my twins learn their time on an analog clock in about 2 months.

Scale Tale

Scale Tale incorporates a really hungry alien holding two food items in his/her hand. The children are presented with a question as in the other games. In this case, which item is heavier? If the child chooses correctly, the alien eats the food and makes a "yum" sound. It's a great way to help children understand scale with visual support.

Fill Me Up

What I really like about Fill Me Up is that it's a little more interactive than the other games. First the child has to drag the liquid to the containers to "fill them up". In the example above it allowed me to drag three glasses of water to the large jug, and two to the smaller jug. Once that was completed, it then asked me which jug held more water. This game is a really, really good exercise for children to grasp volume. I really think that is has helped my children with the concept.

Action Month

Last but not least is Action Month. This particular game asks the child to drag the letters to their correct place in the name of the month. There is an outline of the month to help the child place the letters correctly. Once all of the letters are placed correctly the name of the month is said, and a little helpful saying about the month is said aloud to help the child remember.

Great Learning Tool

As with all of the Apps that have come from PunFlay, this App is a wonderful learning tool that really helps your toddler/young child's developmental skills. I have seen the effect that it has had on my two 5 year old's in just the short amount of time that they have been using it and it's remarkable.

You can get Measurement HD for the iPad from the iTunes store for $1.99 here: 

I'm starting to sound like a broken record I'm sure, but it bears repeating; my twins are my world. As their father it is my responsibility to give them every opportunity to excel that I can. With that in mind, Apps like Odd1Out grab my attention first. There are tons of Apps out there that have pretty graphics and sounds to keep my young kids occupied or entertained but this App not only has those qualities but it also teaches them decision making skills. 

How it works

The basic idea is the player is presented with a shape, fruit, or a color and asked to pick the same item out of groupings of similar items crossing the screen. For example, on the screen above you see that I was playing the "fruit" section. My fruit was peaches. For every peach I successfully selected I was awarded a star. For every fruit that I selected that wasn't a peach a star was taken away. Simple principal but effective. The version I was playing was the practice game. It's easier and gets the child accustomed to the game and how to play. The challenge game starts off just like the practice version but quickly becomes harder as you advance levels.

Design

As you know, we here at Best App Site are big on the UI (user interface) and Odd1Out doesn't disappoint. The buttons, controls and hierarchy are really well thought out and easy to understand. The graphics are good quality and seem to have a lot of thought put into them. Whether it's a beetle, bee, or ant carrying your selected item the movement is fluid with no stuttering or pixelation.

That's it!

That's it! There isn't anything else to this App. Even though the App is simplistic at heart, it really keeps my 5 year old's attention and teaches them quality skills at the same time! This is a really good App to help your child learn their Shapes, colors, and fruit in a fun and enjoyable way.

You can get Odd1Out from the iTunes store for $.99 here
 

My friends over at Kelby Media Group have released their long awaited KelbyTraining.com App for iOS. KelbyTraining.com is an online training site for all things Photoshop and Digital Photography. The site has some of the best trainers in the world on the topics of all things Adobe. It's a paid site with the "all you can eat" or learn approach. You either pay by the month or annually. Once you're signed up you can watch as many classes by as many instructors as you want 24/7. New classes are added regularly. 

What's in an App?

Although KelbyTraining.com is web based, the videos were all be delivered in Adobe Flash. This of course meant that it was difficult if not impossible to watch the classes on iOS devices. This lead to the development of the KelbyTraining.com App for iOS. This FREE App (yes you still need a subscription to KelbyTraining.com) allows you to log in with your online ID and enjoy all the same classes right on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. The video quality supports full 720p HD as long as your internet connection will handle it and will dynamically adjust video quality for slower connections so that you don't miss a beat. 

Once you're logged in it's really easy to find the classes you want to watch. You can either search by instructor, subject or just view the new courses. Pick the class you want to watch and just start watching it.

Great Start

The App is a Great Start, and I definitely look forward to using it on the iPad while on the elliptical machine. The one place I'd use it even more is on the plane for my long haul flights. This is where my feature request comes in. Like many of these Apps that allow live streaming, the KelbyTraining.com App doesn't currently allow for offline viewing. It would be great to be able to download a few classes before going offline and still being able to watch them on the go. This would also help even during those times where WiFi isn't available and 3G is too slow. Otherwise, the App has all that I require and I look forward to using it more.

You can learn more about KelbyTraining.com here.

You can get the KelbyTraining.com App for Free here from the 

I'll just throw this out there now. Dollar for dollar, this is the best reading and writing learning App that I've ever tried. I'm constantly looking for Apps to improve my 5 year old twin's reading and writing comprehension so I try out a lot of Apps. Word Wall has the best interface and the widest array of learning tools of any App that I've seen yet. All of that for a great low price.

What You Would Expect

There are certain things that you would expect out of an App designed to teach children to read and write. First you would expect that the App would combine a visual representation of the letter or word, with an audible pronunciation. Second you would expect that the App would give an example of where the kids would see the particular letter. A for example would be seen in apple.  These are the things that you would expect, and Word Wall doesn't disappoint.  It has all of the basics that you would look for in an App of this kind.

The Games

I have found (at least with my kids) if there aren't any good "games", they won't pay attention.  There has to be something that entertains them and keeps them interested. Word Wall does games right. There are 4 different games to play. From jigsaw puzzles, to memory games, they have a great selection. Each game keeps a running tally at the top of the screen telling you how many you have left to complete before you "win". They are all very interactive, an very well designed.

What I Didn't Expect

Something that I didn't expect that I found in this App lies within the word spelling section. The child selects the word combination "AM" for example. Word Wall spells it, and shows it, but then it uses it in a sentence and shows an image that depicts that sentence. For AM word wall gives you the sentence "I am happy." and shows a smiley face laughing. My twins found this section particularly exciting and it really kept their attention. I was both surprised and impressed with this.

Conclusion

Word Wall is a really great interactive App to teach children to read and write. at $.99 it's really a no brainer. If you have children learning to read and write, you should definitely get this App.

You can get Word Wall for iPad from the iTunes store for $.99 here:

So you think you're smart? Let's find out how smart you really are. Don't worry, there is no need to feel embarrassed or smug about your IQ. However, I did find that taking this test was very humbling. Dr. Reichel's IQ Test HD for iPad (there is an iPhone/iPod touch version too) is very well done. You should plan for about 45 minutes to get through the whole test and let's just say I was quickly reminded of what it was like taking tests in grade school. The clock is ticking and you have a series of all kinds of tests to get through.

You will be tested on 

• Comprehension
• Linguistic Ability
• Analytical Thinking
• Logic and Reasoning
• Abstract Thinking
• Working Memory <-I suck at this
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Spatial Judgement
• Processing Speed and Accuracy 

I found the test to be challenging, but fair and at the end I was slightly disappointed in my score, but I did OK. You have the option of having nice background music playing or not. The music is designed to relax you and help you think, but if that's not your thing you can turn it off. You do get to review the ones that you got wrong at the end. I suggest taking the test whenever you are fresh as opposed to the end of the day like I did. As I reviewed what I got wrong the next day, some of them were obvious to me and I thought to myself, "duh! You knew that one." My weakest area was the Working Memory section. I think I got them all wrong in that test and I don't think I would have done any better the next day

This App is well executed and while it was grueling taking it I actually want to try it again. Also if you've got one of those "know-it-alls" in your midst, this will at least keep them busy and quiet for 45 minutes. I'd also be willing to bet money that they don't do as well as they think they would.

The App worked perfectly and I can't find anything wrong with it besides the hard questions. LOL

You can get Dr. Reichel's IQ Test HD for iPad for $3.99 here from the 

You can get Dr. Reichel's IQ Test for iPhone/iPod touch for $2.99 here from the 

The iPad is an awesome multimedia consumption device. With a beautiful screen,the iPad is perfect for e learning. Being a photography and Photoshop person, any time I see an App like Photoshop CS5 Crash Course, I take notice. This App, is designed by Kelby Media, and hosted by Matt Kloskowski of the Photoshop Guys(http://kelbytv.com/photoshopusertv/) . This App is designed to get anyone brand new to Photoshop up and using the program quickly. It starts with the very basics, and teaches you everything you would need to know to get started and perform basic edits on your photos.
 

What You’ll Learn

CS5 Crash Course is broken down into 19 different lessons:

• Introduction
• The interface and getting around
• Layers part 1
• Layers part 2
• Saving images and file formats
• Resolution and image size
• Adjusting brightness
• Making selections
• Retouching tools
• Cropping and straitening
• Fixing and enhancing color
• Sharpening
• Adding text
• Camera Raw
• Automating
• Bridge
• Printing
• Customizing Photoshop and preferences
• Matt Sums it up

Each of the lesson titles is strait forward and describes exactly what you will learn inside. The lessons range in length from 3 ½ minutes, to a little over 10 minutes, making it easy to watch a lesson or two at a time fairly quickly. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by inside of the App, was an “auto play” feature built in to the lessons. Once you come to the end of one lesson, a count down clock starts, taking you into the next video.

The entire course is designed to be watched from start to finish, however if you’re familiar with Photoshop you can easily pick and choose the lessons that you watch. I chose to watch the course from start to finish even though I’m quite familiar and proficient in Photoshop. There are always things to be learned or different ways to complete the same task inside of the program so even if you are a veteran Photoshop user, don’t discount this App because it’s designed for beginners, it’s for you too.
 

Follow Along

One of the great things about any training coming from Kelby Media is the ability to follow along with the same images that they are using in the tutorial. No matter if it’s a book or video they always provide a link to download the images. This App is no different. Under the “Course Downloads” tab you are able to email yourself the link to download the zip file on your computer. This is extremely helpful. With anything Photoshop, doing it helps you learn it, and the great folks over at Kelby Media know make this possible for you.
 

Just the beginning

This App is just the beginning of what is coming from Kelby Media. If you’re not familiar with them visit Kelbymediagroup.com(http://kelbymediagroup.com/) where you’ll find hundreds of videos on photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, and more! Coming soon from Kelby Media is an App that will allow access to ALL of the training courses from Kelby Media to members.
 

Conclusion

If you are interested in Photoshop, or photography at all you need this App. The instructors at Kelby Media are some of the best in the world to teach this content so you can’t go wrong!

You can get Photoshop CS5 Crash Course for your iPad for $19.99 here from the 

I love to hear/see a great speaker in action! I love it even more when the speaker is inspirational and thought provoking. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) has been around since 1984 with the goal of spreading "Ideas worth spreading." I've heard various TED talks over the years without really paying much attention to the organization or the collective body of work. Recently a friend shared this talk by Simon Sinek on "How Great Leaders Inspire Action":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

I liked it so much that I realized I'm probably missing out on more talks like this one that I would like. While you can find more of these kinds of talks on YouTube or subscribe to their podcast, I felt that it would probably be easier If I could get to them in one spot on my iOS devices.

TED for iPad/iPhone

I downloaded the TED App for iPad and I love it. It has a simple clean UI. You can search and stream talks right to your device as well as even download them into the App for offline viewing using the "Save Talk" button. This App is well organized and I really can't find anything much to improve about it. you can quickly get to related themes and watch the next video. Best of all this is all FREE!

You can get the TED App for iPad for FREE here from the 

You can get the TED App for your iPhone/iPod touch for FREE here from the 

Admittedly it has been many years since I've had to entertain a baby. However, the one thing that i remember was no matter how cool the toy was that you bought for them, they wanted to play with what you were holding instead. If you bought them a toy phone, that wasn't good enough. They wanted to play with your "real" phone. Fast forward to today when now you're holding an iPad. Chances are your baby is going to want some of that iPad action too. However, they're going to be less inclined to check their email or Facebook friend's status at such a young age. 

Enter Baby Explorer

Baby Explorer lets you turn your iPad into a portable electronic entertainment center complete with activities for your child to play. Since the iPad has a touch screen, there are no moving parts to worry about and you get the ability to have multiple activities in one App/device. Baby Explorer is complete with sounds, things your child can push and move as well as different modes that they can interact with. While the App does all that it claims to, I was expecting a little more for $2.99. I guess I wanted a few more activities since it is in fact electronic. I can't remember how quickly babies can get bored, but I can see them not wanting to do this for hours on end and perhaps that's a good thing. After all, you're not going to want to surrender your iPad for an extended period of time anyway. So I guess the feature set is probably good enough for the intended use. It provides a quick distraction when you need one and of course there is some motor skill building opportunity too. I hope the developer continues to follow up with updates even if they're minor one to change things up a bit as time goes on. Lastly I could definitely see having this App on my iPad when traveling if you didn't have a lot of room to bring physical toys. Also who knows, on a long flight you may be the hero for quieting the screaming kid sitting next to you.

You can get Baby Explorer here from the App Store