Thursday, March 21, 2013

Two More Apps (w/ limited sharing capabilities)

I heard about two new apps within the last week.  The first one I heard about today because it showed up on my AppsGoneFree app because it is free, at least for today.  It is called Speech Journal, by the Mobile Education Store.  

If different students use the app, they will need to click on the Not You? button and sign in with their first and last name, no email address needed.

The first screen of Speech Journal prompts you to choose an image.  You can take a photo with the ipad camera or choose an image from your Photo Library. There is the option to move and scale the photo. 

After you upload the photo, a Record button appears.  After you record, you have the options as shown on the image to the right.  If you play your recording and do not like it, simply click on "Erase and Re-Record".  If you only want to narrate one photo, then select Save Recording and you are finished.  Your file will be stored in the Archives.

To make a narrated slide show of several photos, after you are satisfied with the first recording, click on "Choose Image" to add more images and more recordings.

The downfall to this app is the only way to share the recording is through email.  If your students make the recording on a classroom iPad, you can always listen to the recordings directly from the iPad or have them email it to you.  However, the email separates the images from the sound.  Hopefully in the future they will provide more user-friendly options for sharing.

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@kristindunc tweeted about the second app, Story Creator.  It is a digital storytelling app that permits you to upload photos and record a narration of the pictures.  It evens permits you to put a short video on the "page" instead of a photo. 

A nice feature is that you can synchronize the recording with highlighting the words, but if you are not comfortable with editing, it may be a disadvantage instead of an advantage.
 
I had problems with the app earlier today when I deleted photos, and then it would kick me completely out of the program.  To share your finished product you can email it, but your friends will need to download the Story Creator app to view your story, or you can send a download link via email. 

Both these apps have obvious limitations; making them useful for only specific projects.

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