I remember dissecting both a rat (on a 6th grade nature retreat) and a frog (in 9th grade biology). Punflay.com has two dissection apps available for the iPad which I think do a great job of recreating the physical and visual experiences of performing an animal dissection. I was actually happy that they did not include realistic sounds when using the scissors or scalpel (yech!), but now I wonder if the sounds would have contributed to the experience.

From pinning the specimen down to drawing the incision lines with a marker to lifting folds of skin and organs, every aspect of a frog dissection has been thoughtfully and realistically replicated in this app. The dissection is guided with text, audio, and visual prompts. I made the mistake of playing with the app right after eating lunch. If you get squeamish about these things, the realism might actually get to you!

The program has received recognition from PETA (probably for saving some frogs) and from some sustainability and "green" groups. Kudos to the developers for creating a virtual experience that has impact larger than just flashy design.

There are additional features included in the purchase such as 3D demos and guided activities and it looks like they add more with updates every now and then.

Poor rat! The interface in the Rat Dissection app is slightly different than the Frog Dissection app (I happen to prefer the Frog interface to the Rat interface).  The visual and kinesthetic experiences are very powerful and like the Frog app, it helps keep a few more rats a live.

The realism (click the iTunes store link above) is pretty solid.  Some people may complain that you are not allowed to stray from the prescribed instructions, but I think it could be detract from the goal if kids were allowed to mutilate their virtual dissection specimens (which is what usually happens in an actual science class).

This is a quick look at the 8 iPad apps which I was able to download for free from the publishers of Everyday Math, a spiraling mathematics curriculum (1st-6th) which is used in many schools.  The apps are mobile versions of games that had already existed as desktop and/or web-based activities.  Many of these games have versions that use physical manipulatives (paper, dice, playing cards, etc) and therefore can be played without a computing device.  These apps are available for free until April 16th (I think).

Here is a link to the iTunes store page for McGraw Hill.

My main problem with the games so far is that there does not seem to be any indicator for what age/grade the activities are most appropriate.  All the games have audio narration in addition to some written instruction.  Some of the games also have the option for "Guided Play" where the narrator gives prompts along the way.

Several of the games are for two players (pass and play).

Players are dealt two cards each and are asked to add the values of the cards and then compare the sums. The cards only have one digit making the addition rather simple.  This game is definitely for early adders (K, 1, 2).

Like Addition Top It, players are dealt two cards each and are asked to compute the difference in value and then compare them.  The numbers on each card are two digit values, so this game might be better suited for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

Players roll two dice and then try to eliminate the numbers 1-10 on their side in as few turns as possible.  Numbers are eliminate by choosing 1 or more numbers that add up to the dice total.  The "Add 1" chips are kind of like lifelines if you have no other moves. The game does have some good strategic potential, and I think that it could be good for kids in grades 3,4,5, & 6.

Players click on the pitcher to get two numbers.  The product determines the type of hit. An incorrect response results in a strike, three strikes and you are out.  There are also some moments where you randomly get an out (fly out?) after clicking on the pitcher.  The game play is a bit choppy, but younger students (2nd, 3rd grade) who are just learning their multiplication facts should find the game to be engaging, especially if they like baseball.

This game is a pretty direct translation of the playing card version that is part of the EM curriculum. You eliminate cards from the pile by selecting equivalent fractions until no more matches are possible.  This game is well suited for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students.

This game asks users to compute single digit multiplication facts within a given time limit (20 seconds).  I think the time limit is rather generous, and in general the game really doesn't have much to do with beating any computer. It could be good for 3rd or 4th graders who need practice with their multiplication facts, but I could also see the students getting bored very quickly with the interface.  This is my least favorite of the apps.

This game requires the user to arrange numbers and operations to form an expression that is equivalent to the target number.  More points are awarded when more of the cards are used.  This game is definitely for 5th and 6th grade students who are exploring order of operations

A divisor is provided, and users must put together as many 2 digit numbers that are divisible by the current divisor. The balls disappear in a "Bejeweled" type manner when correct combinations are made. Incorrect pairs become metal orbs that build up into a stack. When this stack reaches the top, the game is over. This is good for 4th and 5th graders who are learning about divisibility patterns and rules.

A few highlights for me thus far. There are already many thorough reviews (like this one) of the GarageBand iPad app so I'm not going to spend time picking it apart feature by feature. Instead, I will highlight three aspects that I have found to be the most exciting during my initial explorations.

The smart drums feature uses a classic 2x2 matrix to help design beats.  The X-axis is a continuum of simplicity/complexity while the Y-axis is a continuum of dynamics (quiet/loud).  There's some great algebraic learning potential here when listening the results from placing the different instruments in different quadrants of the matrix and seeing how the coordinate position affects the overall beat.

I love the different layout and performance options contained in the Smart Guitar feature. You can change the fret board display to only show notes that are contained within the scale of the song. Some people might think that it cheapens the experience of making music by making it difficult to play a bad note, but I see great potential for teaching understanding of how and why certain notes in a scale fit together (harmony) and why others don't (dissonance).

While the track editing workspace closely resembles that of its desktop counterpart, the touch interface of the iPad device leverages something that I think has great potential in object-oriented theory.  By moving, trimming, and re-ordering the tracks and their content, I believe users are engaging in a type of physical programming.  Using both existing and new objects towards a greater purpose or solving a larger problem is at the core of a lot of computer programming theory.  The GarageBand environment may allow a user to experience ideas from that theory in a new way.

The touch instruments are my favorite part of the GarageBand app for iPad. I love being able to play a drum beat and quantize it and then have it ready to be used as the backbone for a quick demo recording. The "smart guitar" is also great for producing great guitar sounds and melodies without needing the dexterity to generate the same product on an actual guitar. I also hope they expand the number of loops (or create some DLC)

I recently met with a dance instructor to look for iPad apps that might serve as useful tools in her instruction.  We found some interesting apps based on projects she was doing. The two coolest ones we found were Mannequin Dancers and FREE Sound Effects!

This simple app lets you change the positions of the mannequins' heads, arms, and legs in different keyframes, and the program fills in the motion in between.  You can add extra keyframes for more positions, play background music, and even import a background image (as I did in the screenshot above).  It takes a little time to get used to how to position the two mannequins, but once figured out I think the program has a lot of potential for demonstrating and designing a series of poses and movements.

This app has several negative reviews and I'm sure there are many better alternatives, but we found that the interface was easy to navigate and one of the best features was the ability to quickly make up to 3 custom sound effects.  The dance instructor has a unit where her students design movements based on sound effects so it seemed like this tool was appropriate for her needs.