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Fotobabble

Mindprint Rating

Tags

^Music, Art and Makerspaces All Ages iOS App

Skills

Flexible Thinking Expressive Language Social Awareness

Mindprint Expert Review

Pros

  • Clean interface and easy to use.
  • Variety of engaging effects encourage students to use photos creatively for communicating ideas through voice and text.

Considerations

  • Technology is glitchy as functionality does not work or the app crashes.
  • Students could use it simply for fun or with inappropriate pictures or language.
  • Students with weaker motor skills could have difficulty manipulating some of the small images.

Mindprint Expert Review

Fotobabble is a fun and easy (when it works properly) way to encourage students to create memes, think creatively and articulate ideas, but the educational value is entirely dependent on how the student chooses to use the app. The app is free to download but users must register to create an account and share their fotobabbles. Users take or upload photos and edit them with a variety of effects including frames, lighting, stickers, backgrounds, and text. The effects are easy to add and rotate on the photos, though students with weaker fine motor skills might have some difficulty sizing images appropriately. There are a limited amount of free effects and plenty of opportunity to purchase additional ones. Users can record a message for the photo which can be up to 5 minutes long, and can share it using email or social media. Students can use the app to share thoughts or stories about the photo. Unfortunately, the app frequently crashes, fails to load for sharing or does not operate properly. The app has potential to be a fun and useful way to encourage students to communicate ideas through voice, pictures and text in a creative way, though many students are likely to want to use it just to create silly pictures or get frustrated if it crashes.

Academic Benefits

Improves academic skills

  • Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
  • Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
  • Presents educational concepts accurately
  • Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
  • Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
  • Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
  • Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

Fun

Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
  • Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
  • Visually appealing to children in the target age range
  • Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
  • Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
  • Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
  • Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

Easy to Use

Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range

  • Has a free or trial version
  • Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
  • Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
  • Student should be able to use independently after first use
  • Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
  • Multiple users can save a profile
  • Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
  • Can play without sound and not distract others
  • Students can save work between sessions
  • Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
  • Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
  • Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
  • Overall - Easy to use

Cognitive Concerns

May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs

  • Fine Motor Skills
    • Requires challenging finger movements, motor precision or physical manipulation
  • Self-regulation
    • Promotes purchases or upgrades to students