Title: Schoology
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Cost: Free

This week’s app comes to you from Kayla,  a teen who works as a page at my library. The other day she came to tell me about the easy way she was doing biology homework on her phone. Since she was using the app, and if I downloaded it I would not have a class to practice with, I asked Kayla to tell us about how it works:

“Your teacher can upload multiple choice questions for you to answer for homework. They can limit how many times you can answer them, so it can give you a challenge by only having you do it once, or you can re-do it a few times and fix your mistakes. It’s a good learning site, because it’s hands on.  It’s a good way to review for big tests because the multiple choice questions reflect what you’ve done in class.  Teachers and students can post notes on it, and can comments on each other’s notes.  You can look at the schedule for future assignments.  You can put photos, vidoes, and files from drop box to share with the class. Students might upload their notes.”

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Title: Shakespeare in Bits: Macbeth

Cost:  $14.99; free lite version available which includes two scenes; district pricing available

Platforms:  iOS, Browser-based

When I learned about Shakespeare in Bits at the fall 2012 YALSA Lit Symposium in St. Louis, it seemed like a great fit for our  English Language Learners (ELLs), who are assigned Macbeth in 10th grade. Animation, audio and text combine to offer the reader a multimodal approach to reading and understanding Macbeth. After playing with the lite version, I wanted to see more.
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Title: Cinemagram
Cost: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android (this review refers to the iOS version)

For those who love to make short videos or gifs on their phone, Cinemagram is a great option. In many ways, it is similar to Vine, an app that exploded onto the scene a few months ago. As in Vine, users of Cinemagram create short (in this case 4 second) looping videos. And, as in Vine, Cinemagram is focused on sharing these videos online, with options to share finished videos via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or email. To add to the social aspect of the app, you can also connect with friends from Facebook, Twitter or from your phone’s contact list or search through videos or users to find other people to follow.
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Title: UYH
Platform: iOS 4.3 or later
Cost:Free ($6.99 Gold package available)

UYH (Use Your Handwriting) is an app that allows users to write with their finger, instead of a keyboard, to take notes and create lists on an iPad or iPhone. It’s a quick and easy way to write down what you, or the teens you work with, want to remember. The video below gives you an idea of how it works.

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Title: Finish
Platform: iOS 5 or later
Cost:.99

The Finish app was developed by teens who were looking for a way to help themselves and their friends manage their time. It’s an easy to use and useful to do list app. One of the best features is the ability to set timeframes for short term, mid term, and long term tasks. That way users can easily see what’s due in the very near future and when it might be OK to let a little procrastination set in. Check out the screencast to get an overview of how the app works.

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Title: NightSky
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: 4.99

This game is really pretty. It’s also really hard. NightSky begins with the premise of a mysterious glowing orb found on a beach. The nameless narrator’s text tells us that upon bringing it home he or she began to have strange dreams. This, combined with a soundtrack that is quirky bordering on eerie, sets the tone for a strange dream of a game.

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Title: Solve the Outbreak
Platform: iPad with iOS 5.1 or above
Cost: Free

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new iPad app that lets you take a stab at solving the types of outbreaks that the CDC’s “disease detectives” must respond to at a moment’s notice. Right now, there are three outbreaks to choose from with more planned for the future. In each, you are presented with the same sort of data and information that would be collected in a realworld outbreak. Using these clues, you must decide what actions to take to limit the spread of the disease and to determine what caused the outbreak in the first place. Each correct choice that you make earns you points and allows you to advance from a Trainee to a Disease Detective along the way. (more…)

Title: Quipio
Platform: iOS – version 5 or later
Cost: Free

Quipio makes it easy to add text to images for memes or just fun. Watch the video to learn how it works.

The app is a great way for teens to join in in a meme community, or to have fun sending visual messages to friends and family. Teachers might use Quipio as a way to have teens illustrate understanding of an image through the text and style that they add to a picture. Library staff working with teens could certainly sponsor virtual and face-to-face programs that include a Quipio component. What if teens took images at library events and “quipped” them? There are a lot of possibilities.

If you have ideas, add them to the comments.

For more app recommendations, check out the YALSA App of the Week Archive. If you have an app you think we should review, let us know!

Title: Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: Free

Happy Teen Tech Week! This week’s app is a great example of technology and books coming together.

Cassandra Clare writes books about a race of  demon hunters called Shadowhunters. She currently has two series with equally compelling ensemble casts: The Mortal Instruments which takes place in a contemporary urban fantasy setting, and The Infernal Devices which is set in a slightly steampunky nineteenth century. I’m getting pretty excited about her upcoming releases. Clockwork Princess, the third and final installment of The Infernal Devices trilogy  is coming to a library or bookstore near you this Tuesday, March 19. The City of Bones movie opens in theaters this summer, on August 23. And City of Heavenly Fire,  the sixth and final book in The Mortal Instruments is due to be released next year. Clare will continue to write about Shadowhunters in forthcoming series The Dark Artifices.
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Title: MoPho: Prints and Photo Gifts

Cost: Free (with exclusion to in-app purchases.)

Platform: Requires iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Compatible with iOS 4.3 or later.

In this day and age no one carries around an actual camera anymore, especially when the quality of our phone’s camera is just as good. Today we are all about simplifying things at our fingertips. We like that our smart phones are just that… smart and can handle more than just one function.

Everyone has tons of photos on their phones and especially teens, who constantly take “selfies” and pics of their “bffls.” There are, however, some circumstances where you would like to have an actual print copy of a photo that you love rather than risking it being deleted or lost in the god-forbid, sudden death of your phone. Enter, MoPho. MoPho is so simple and the user experience cannot be clearer. MoPho is an app that lets you print and develop your cell phone’s photo stream right from your phone! This app allows you to choose the photos you wish to print by drawing from your phone’s camera roll, Instagram, and Facebook pictures. (more…)