Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Shadow Puppet EdU: The latest, greatest free digital storytelling iOS App

Shadow Puppet is a fantastic storytelling app that combines what I consider the best features of digital storytelling tools, and at least for now, it's free!  I can't say enough about this app, except that it's too good to be true, so I suggest downloading it now, as the developers are certain to want to make money soon from this beautifully designed app.  Shadow Puppet is similar to my other favorite storytelling app, 30Hands, but includes a few more bells and whistles. It's easy to use, integrates images with audio recording, and can be easily exported and shared. Shadow Puppet also:
  • Includes a sampling of educational projects
  • Allows audio narration with recordings that can be paused, resumed, and re-done
  • Can include images and video clips
  • Provides mutiple text styles and sizes for annotating images
  • Provides in-app access to educational and safe images sources, including Library of Congress, NASA, and more
  • Provides in-app search of maps and famous landmarks
  • Provides in-app searches that return safe (I tested with a few questionable keywords) copyright-friendly images, including through Wikimedia Commons and Open Clipart
  • Includes a library of background colors and designs
  • Provides access to albums of other apps on your iPad, including Tellagami, PicCollage, Yakit, Skitch, and more.
  • Saves to Camera Roll, generates link for emailing, or shares directly to Twitter, YouTube, and other social media sites.
See what I mean?  This is an excellent app!  Here's my sample created with Shadow Puppet and uploaded to YouTube.  You will notice that I included a YAKit video along with images from my camera roll, Famous Landmark maps, and Library of Congress.

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