The Archives
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10.02.12Collins Big Cat iPad children’s apps are now freeWe've been writing about the Collins Big Cat apps for nearly a year now, and they're very impressive. The idea: storybook apps based on existing print books, which once your child has finished reading them, encourage them to create their own story using the scenes, characters and key vocabulary. So far eight Big Cat apps have been released, but here's today's news: they're now all free to download. Publisher Collins Education hasn't said why, nor has it said whether this is a limited offer or a permanent change. Even so, our advice is get in quick, because the apps are very good. You ...
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06.17.12Make Farmer’s Lunch stories with Collins Big Cat appWe've written about Collins Education's Big Cat apps several times on Apps Playground: they're storybook-apps for iPad that aim to spark children's imagination and get them creating their own stories using the pictures, characters and key vocabulary. The latest has just come out: Collins Big Cat: The Farmer’s Lunch Story Creator. It costs £2.49, is iPad-only, and involves a farmer who's lost his lunch. The storyline covers his search for the missing food. "This story has a predictable structure and patterned language to help early readers," promises its App Store listing, along with voice narration and sound effects. Your kids can also ...
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05.15.12Storytelling fun with Collins Big Cat: Playing Story CreatorWe're fans of the Collins Big Cat series of apps, with five already available before the sixth, Collins Big Cat: Playing Story Creator went live this week on the App Store. The idea behind them all is to tell your child a story using animation, voice narration, sound and interactivity. But when they finish it, they can record their own narration and sound, and then use the Story Creator mode to make their own stories using the illustrations, characters and key vocabulary from the book. It's a really good idea, but of course, children may well get bored with the same basic ...
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03.01.12Two new Collins Big Cat iPad apps get creativeWe loved the idea of the Collins Big Cat apps when we saw the first pair in December 2011: iPad book-apps that once read, let your children create their own stories using the characters and vocabulary. Now two more have gone live on the App Store. They are Collins Big Cat In The Garden Story Creator and Collins Big Cat: My Bike Ride Story Creator. They're both for iPad only, and cost £2.49 each. The first is about exploring a garden, while the second is about, yes, a bike ride. They're aimed at children aged four and upwards. The stories sound good in their ...
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