"In surprising news today, Launchpad Toys announced that they had been acquired by Google. Ordinarily, this may not be of much interest to educators, but as of today, Toontastic and TeleStory are completely free for iOS devices and that includes all the in-app purchases that were previously a paid upgrade! Both apps are great storytelling apps for any classroom that uses iPads. Both apps are current favorites with educators, but their newly free features are about to earn them a whole lot of additional fans.
GOOGLE buys launchpad toys
Toontastic, if you have not previously tried it, is an amazing digital storytelling app for the iPad. Teachers everywhere love this app because it is simple to use and has a built-in story arc that actively encourage students to build a well-structured story. I have seen Toontastic used in Kindergarten all the way up to high school. Such is the versatility of this app. It is also great for one iPad classrooms because several students can collaborate on the same story on just a single iPad by taking turns to out different characters in the story. Completed cartoons can be shared online or saved to the Camera Roll for use in other projects. Take a look at the new trailer for Toontastic in the video below:
Telestory is available for both the iPhone and the iPad. It’s an augmented reality video camera that lets students run wild with their imagination. It lets kids write and record a story in a number of fun themes like a news report, a space adventure or a spy movie. Using augmented reality, students become a part of the story themselves with a variety of fun video effects, and can even switch between cameras to vary the action. Great fun, and an incredibly motivating way to tell a story on the iPad. The new trailer for Telestory is below:
Looking for more ideas on how to use these apps? Check out LaunchpadEDU. It has stories, ideas and tips from other educators that are already using Toontastic and Telestory with their students. You may even end up on this page yourself if you share the way your class uses either of these apps!
Google is now making a habit of purchasing popular paid apps and making them free for everyone to use. Snapseed and Word Lens are two recent examples of this so who knows what might be next on their shortlist. In the meantime, if you are an educator who uses iPads in the classroom, go check out the newly free editions of Toontastic and Telestory. Both are well worth your time.
About these ads
Share this:
Email
Print
1
Related
Digital Storytelling Apps for the iPad
The second of my two presentations at ITEC 2012 this year was Digital Storytelling Apps for the iPad. I love the potential that the iPad has as a multimedia device for creating and sharing digital stories, so I wanted to try and encapsulate some of the best ways to do…
In "iPad"
Our Story for iPad: The Best Digital Storytelling App for Young Writers
Our Story for iPad: The Best Digital Storytelling App for Young Writers
In "iPad"
The New Adobe Voice: Digital Storytelling With Style!
The New Adobe Voice: Digital Storytelling With Style!
In "iPad"
This entry was posted in Apple, iPad and tagged google, ipad, Toontastic on February 4, 2015.
Post navigation
← How To Do Green Screen Photography on an iPad at School
4 thoughts on “Google Makes TeleStory & Toontastic Free for Everyone”
Jennifer Carey February 5, 2015 at 7:46 AM
Reblogged this on Indiana Jen and commented:
Great news about these creative tools!
Reply ↓
markschwanz February 5, 2015 at 8:26 AM
Reblogged this on J. Mark Schwanz and commented:
Haven’t tried Telestory or Toontastic? Now they’re Google-ific.
Reply ↓
Pingback: Google Makes TeleStory & Toontastic Free for Everyone | J. Mark Schwanz
pjimison February 5, 2015 at 10:04 AM
Reblogged this on WJU EdTech and commented:
This is great news for educators!
Reply ↓
Leave a Reply
Follow Blog via Email
Click below to enter your email address. Then click Follow to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
rss feeds
RSS - Posts
RSS - Comments
How to… iPad!
How to Record Your iPad Screen
How to Do Stop Motion Video
How to Use Green Screen on iPads
How to Take iPad Screenshots
How to Print From an iPad?
How to Find Educational iPad Apps
How to Turn Off Push Notifications
Free Digital Storytelling Apps
Using an iPad as a Document Camera
See more of my work at http://jonathanwylie.hubpages.com/
How to… Chromebooks!
Chromebooks: Pros & Cons
How to Screencast on a Chromebook
How to Use a Chromebook Offline
Taking Screenshots on Chrome OS
How to Edit Video Online with YouTube
Follow Me On Twitter
What Innovation Looks Like in an Elementary School bus @ajjuliani #edtech #iaedchat #iaedfuture pocket.co/soQcM6 tweeted 8 minutes ago
RT @kindergeek: Jonathan Wylie: Instructional Technology Consultant VERY helpful tech blog. #kinderchat jonathanwylie.com tweeted 13 hours ago
Microsoft Unveils Image Composite Editor v2.0: Auto Completion and Video to Panorama #edtech #msftedu zite.to/1zDrnBv tweeted 16 hours ago
RT @jsm2272: Google Makes TeleStory & Toontastic Free for Everyone | Jonathan Wylie Blog bit.ly/1v20Byx #tdsbict #msicipads tweeted 19 hours ago
Here's a first look at Apple's redesigned 'Photos' app for Macs engt.co/1zUaJRe #edtech tweeted 20 hours ago
Chemio - A Student's Chemical Reference iPad app is free today #ipaded #edtech #scichat appsto.re/us/RldXP.i http://t.co/20BlUAGm4q tweeted 20 hours ago
Twitter CEO: 'We suck at dealing with abuse' theverge.com/e/7746140 via @verge #edtech #socialmedia tweeted 22 hours ago
Top 10 Posts & Pages
Google Makes TeleStory & Toontastic Free for Everyone
How to Use Gmail as Your Default iPad/iPhone Mail App
The Top 10 iPad Features That Schools Forget
How to Collect Data with an Excel Form & Office 365 for Education
Setting Default Apps on the iPad with Google
ABCya! Animation for Kids: Creative Stop Motion Movies for the Classroom
How To Do Green Screen Photography on an iPad at School
Google Slides for iPad: A Good Start, But It Still Needs Some Work
The Best Free Interactive Presentation Tools
How to Add Clip Art to Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms & Drawings
archives
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
categories
Android
Apple
Chrome
Chromebooks
Coding
Digital Learning
Google
iPad
Mac
office365
Op-Ed
PLN
Presentation
Uncategorized
Video
web 2.0
Welcome
Windows
Search for: "
"Thanks to a moment in time--February, 2012--chief technology officers from several districts presented at two concurrent events, TCEA 2012 System Administrator Academy and Texas Chief Technology Officers (CTO) 2012 Winter Meeting. With the help of a colleague, the audio recordings from those presentations are available as a podcast series!"
"I am conducting a series of workshops in Florida and was asked to share a rubric to help teachers evaluate educational apps as part of the workshop. In 2010 Harry Walker developed a rubric, and I used his rubric (with some modifications by Kathy Schrock) as the basis for mine."
"An iPad app released Wednesday makes it easy to combine a drawing on the tablet with an audio memory — such as your child’s description of his or her artwork. "
"As a school we are trialling a year 7 class of 30 students with iPad2 and an optional sign up for staff. The staff trial will last 6 weeks, before the students are given a device for the summer term. The hope is that this will allow us to identify key issues with pedagogy and staff development alongside concerns with our wireless network."
"The app is packed with information, images and even video clips of some of the most popular musicians of our time. Think of it as a fancy interactive coffee table book that fits on your iPad."
NOTE: The app is currently FREE!!