Simple were the times when reality was exactly as we saw it. Now, apps are introducing augmented experiences to what’s right in front of our face. By utilizing the iPhone camera, many apps enable you to see things that aren’t immediately there, be it stores and restaurants in the nearby areas, information about your surroundings, or explosions of cars you see that you don’t particularly like. These “augmented reality” apps show what’s there in conjunction with what’s not, and could very well be the future of how we perceive reality, by enhancing it with information, fabrications, suggestions, others’ feedback, and advertisements. Read the rest of this entry »

The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast is the worst spill to date and is bound to affect at least everyone in the USA, if not everyone worldwide. Since everyone will not always have their computers, TVs, or newspapers around them, many apps have been developed so that people can keep track of this disaster as it spreads and washes ashore. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you love van Gogh’s art, have a passion for post-impressionist paintings, or simply want to see vivid, beautiful pieces of world-class artwork, Van Gogh HD is for you!  Open it up, and there’s a menu that categorizes van Gogh’s work at different points in his life.  Choose from Early Life, Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy, and Auvers-sur-Oise.  Each selection contains over a dozen of van Gogh’s incredible paintings!  Also, when viewing each painting, you can rotate the screen horizontally, taking full advantage of the screen size.  Also, you can touch the photo, and the title, location, and the year of the painting appears, and if you press the “music” button, classical music—perfect for viewing van Gogh paintings, in fact—begins to play.

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This app is incredible!  And free!  See Rio d Janeiro, New York, Rapa Nui, Hawaii, Moscow, Krakow, Mars… the list goes on and on—dozens of locations!  When the app is opened, you can check out “cities,” and “featured.”  And within these two areas, there are three more tabs!  This app is PACKED with hundreds of gorgeous photos from around the globe.  And of course, the photos are 360 degrees, meaning that you can move the camera lens and look at the sky, ground, and 360 degrees around you!  It’s like being there!  Incredible!  Also, while your mind is being blown by the quality of the photos, you can press the “i” logo, which will pop up a window, filled with information about the photo and location.  And you can bookmark the photo for later quick reference.

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URrights DWI is an incredible app.  When you first open it, it quizzes you with three questions… and the answers may surprise you.  For example: “Can you be arrested for DUI if you only have one drink?”  The answer: Yes!

After the first three questions, the main menu appears.  The choices: emergency, test, after arrest info, ask a question, and service locator.  These categories allow you to “activate lawyer notification,” “manage after arrest notes,” find the nearest tow and taxi service, and nearest jail.  Also, the conversation that you have with the police officer can be recorded by the app.  And there’s a mass texting service.

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The New York Times Knowledge Network announced the release of “Learning English With The New York Times”, a new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch designed for intermediate to advanced English learners to improve reading and listening skills, and to learn new vocabulary.

“The New York Times newspaper has always been an integral part of helping individuals learn English,” said Felice Nudelman, executive director, education, The New York Times Company. “The iPhone app is an ideal educational tool for English learners and an innovative way to reach this new audience.”

The application is available for a one-time cost of $5.99 and comes with 12 lesson plans based on famous or historical articles from The New York Times. Each lesson plan includes: Vocabulary Flashcards; Article Reading Task; Audio for Articles and Key Words (for pronunciation development); Comprehension Task; Three Vocabulary Review Tasks; and A World Bank Dictionary (with translation in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish).

Teacher Calculator is a simple tool which is designed for educators by an educator to save time grading papers. It only does one thing, but it does it well.

After specifying the number of questions on your assignment, Teacher Calculator will let you quickly lookup or enter the number of questions a student got right or wrong and show you the student’s percentage score. It is easy to use, fast, and it leaves more time to focus on kids!