Do you like to take your laptop with you when you travel?  Now, if you have a smart phone, be it an iPhone or an Android phone, or if you have a tablet, such as an iPAD, you don’t have to take your laptop with you anymore.  Use LogMeIn, you can remotely access your home and work computers and work on the computer like you are sitting right in front of it.   It is FREE. The introduction from App Store… Read more

It is amazing to realize that there are so many different things you can do with your mobile devices.  You can not only play games on the two-dimensional screen, you can actually use your mobile devices play games outside of the device screen.  One thing I discovered is the Toy Helicopter Remotely Controlled by an iPhone.  As you guessed you have to download an app to make it work.  With the app, you can use your iPhone to control the helicopter going up… Read more

Peterson Birds of North America is FREE for two days only. It is based on Peterson’s comprehensive bird guide for North America, including 810 birds. Usual price is $15. I don’t know when it started being free, so I don’t know when the price will be up. If you are into birds, or you know someone who likes birds, this is a must have app. It is also a good holiday gift. If you don’t want the person see the… Read more

For so long, I forgot I had Kindle app on my iPhone and iPAD. With the app, I could download a Kindle book from Amazon on my iPhone and iPAD. In fact, Amazon has Kindle apps for all different devices: iPhone, iPod, iPAD, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Mac, Windows 7, XP, Vista, and Windows8. Here is the website if you need more information on Kindle apps. They are all free. Once you installed the Kindle app on your device, you… Read more

Weird But True is a cool app to have around handy. It is FREE on App Store. Based on the National Geographic Kids magazine and best-selling book franchise, the app has more than 300 Weird But True kid-friendly facts! There are wachy sound effects with each fact. You can also search facts based on your interest: alligator, Mars, waterfalls… Introduction on the App Store: ★Winner of Spring 2012 Parents’ Choice Award ★ New York Times App to Keep Kids Happy… Read more

Toontastic is an app teaching kids storytelling by letting them make their own animated movies. Different from StoryKit and Educreation, the little figures in the app have moving parts – you will not only see the boy move around, you will see his legs move while he is walking. Another big difference between Toontastic and StoryKit or Educreation is that Toontastic provides guideline of story telling, and does it in a very fun way. When a child is ready to create a… Read more

The other day I took my son and his friend to their soccer practice.  During the ride, I overheard the two 4th graders talking about who they will vote for if they can vote.  Their discussion triggered my search of good educational materials about election.  Of course, I started with apps.  I found that quite few news companies have election apps.  They are designed for people to keep track of the poll results and election related news.   I only found… Read more

If you kids are into soccer, they will love FIFA Soccer 13.  It is a soccer simulation game using real league names and following real game rules. It features 30 soccer leagues, 500 licensed teams, and more than 15,000 players. In the Quick Match mode, kids play the game as soccer players.  Using a virtual joystick and couple other buttons, players can run, sprint, pass the ball, take shots, and slide tackle opposing team member.  This is a great way… Read more

Solar Walk is an information-packed interactive model of the Solar system and the Milky Way galaxy.  It is developed by VITO Technology, who created Star Walk and Geo Walk.  It is now FREE, for limited time, on App Store.  Featured by Apple as Best Apps for both 2010 and 2011, Solar Walk is a great tool to learn astronomy. To learn more about this app, please visit iGameMom’s earlier post. If you would like to check it out or purchase… Read more

Paris 3D Saga is an educational and entertaining app.  It is FREE for limited time as part of the release of Paris 3D Saga project!  Through interactive 3D models, it takes the users through the history of Paris beginning 20 centuries ago.  If you like history or virtual reality, this is a must have app on your iPAD. Introduction from the App Store: A time-travel through more than 2000 years of history: discover Paris’ most famous monuments, with new 3D… Read more

Scribblenauts Remix is a fun game that the whole family can enjoy.   I like it especially for the open-ended play.  There is no right-wrong answer.  You solve a puzzle in your own unique style. The app has a variety of brain-teasing puzzles.  The solutions to the puzzles are endless, so you can re-play the same puzzle again and again.  For example, the first puzzle is to grab the star on a tree.  The child can choose to cut the tree… Read more

If your kids study any type of music instrument, you probably have used metronome.  We had one, but it was broken.  Where shopping for a new one, I explored the App Store.  Metronome+ is the third metronome app we used at home, and this is a keeper. The reasons we like this one: The interface is very user friendly.  It is very easy to set the speed. The tempo is very stable. The sound is loud enough for the user to… Read more

Educreations is originally designed for teachers. It turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Users can create an animated story, or a tutorial video, with pictures, adding notations on the pictures, recording voices, and, of course, writing on the board. You can use it teaching almost anything. Once you finish recording, you can share it with people of your choice through email, Facebook or Twitter. As a FREE app, it is a great teaching tool for teachers and home-school families… Read more

Even if you don’t like games or never played Angry Birds, you probably have seen those red birds somewhere – toy store, candy store, …  I have heard two completely different opinions about Angry Birds from parents.  Some think it is a great educational game.  Some believe kids are wasting time playing Angry Birds.  As you can guess, I am in the first camp.  I think Angry Birds is a great physics game.  If you are interested, here is an… Read more