Rainbow of Emotions {App Review & Giveaway}

I don't know about you, but this has been a busy summer! For those of you who don't know, I'm getting married in a few days/weeks (July 13th and the 26th)....boy does this wedding stuff take up a lot of your time. Even though this is a hectic time for me, I wanted to share with you an app that caught my attention.

Rainbow of Emotions ($4.99) is meant to be used with a range of ages (children to adults), who have difficulties expressing and managing their emotions. After setup, users identify their current emotion along with the degree to which they are experiencing it. A means of coping with the emotion via the tool-belt is selected (see CHARGE tool-belt below). After selecting the tool, users  can indicate whether or not the emotion has been resolved (select the "happy" emotion for resolved feelings).

Things I liked:

• This app allows for a variety of customized features. Users can alter the image of an emotion, record their own voice, add music associated with the emotion or change the images color. Users can also set an alarm clock to go off at a designated time

Customize an emotion with your own image, record your voice, change its color, or add music

Set an alarm to go off as a reminder of a routine

• Users are able to view a history of  how the app has been used (i.e. How emotions have been identified and addressed/resolved)
• The images used are very appealing to the eye
• All proceeds from the purchase of Rainbow of Emotions go to a not-for-profit organization

Things I would like to see:

• A video tutorial demonstrating the setup process for Rainbow of Emotions, as the pdf manual (page 9 and onward) can be confusing and overwhelming for some
• The first screen you're presented with (after setup) are 2 rainbows that users can select. The difference between the "Rainbow of cool and physical emotions" vs. the "Rainbow of cool and uncool emotions" (see below image) was unclear, even after reading the pdf manual

Choose between the Rainbow of cool and physical emotions or the Rainbow of cool and uncool emotions

• The setup process could be a bit more seamless (I found that I frequently had to go "back" in order to setup the app)
• A more straightforward main menu (see below), this way users know that they have to setup the entire app (i.e. fill the tool-belt for all 3 skill levels) prior to utilizing it

Users must setup the app prior to use

Select level of use

CHARGE Belt: Tool-belt used to cope/deal with emotions

• I really would have liked to have Rainbow of Emotions guide me through the setup process, instead of having to rely on a separate manual to assist. 

Want to try it out for yourself? For a chance to win this app please enter below. There are 7 (yes SEVEN) promo codes to giveaway. The giveaway ends Friday, July 12th at 12 AM. Good luck!  

Please note that comments will ONLY appear once I've reviewed and approved them (prevents postings from spam-bots). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, wait a few hours. 

App Compatibility:

Rainbow of Emotions is compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure Statement: I was provided a copy of this app by the developer. No other compensation was provided. This review includes solely my opinions.

Targeting Vocabulary with Bluster! {Review}

I think you all know by now that I love free anything, especially free apps! Bluster! is a fun way to target vocabulary in the form of prefixes, suffixes, adjectives, rhyming words, and more. Students can choose to play as a single player, against an opponent, or as a team. Users can also select level of difficulty, ranging in grades 2, 3, and 4. Yes, I know these are not middle school grades, but unfortunately my students do not possess many of the skills that their younger counterparts have. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat.

Users can select player type and level of difficulty.  

A brief description on how to play.

When in single player mode, users are timed as they sort words into three boxes based on the selected mode (prefixes, adjectives, etc). Words disappear from the wordlist as the correct answers are selected. To keep track of time the sun moves from the left hand of the screen to the right. The player is alerted at the halfway mark when the sun reaches midpoint.

Students have roughly 2 minutes to sort words when in single player mode.
The sun moves across the screen to keep time. 

In the versus mode, two students can play against each other. Each player is required to find the appropriate words from a word-list provided. They are required to drag the words into one of three boxes. Students can only move onto sorting the next set of words if they are correct in their response. Players are able to slow down their opponent in the form of a disruptor (i.e. tornado, blizzard, etc). For a few seconds the player who falls victim to the disruptor is unable to move forward in the game.

Versus mode allows two players to play against each other.

When playing in team mode, students can collaborate to sort the vocabulary without competition or the threat of being hit with a natural disaster.

Players are untimed when playing in team mode.

Bluster! offers positive reinforcement for correct answers in the form of a phrase that is presented onto the screen.

Players are provided with praise for correct responses.

As with most apps (if not all), I would use Bluster! as a review for my students. I’m sure they would find the sound effects and animation engaging. Bluster! is pretty straightforward and simple to get the hang of. Skills related to morphology (roots, prefixes, etc.), phonological awareness (rhyming), semantic skills (synonyms, antonyms, etc.) and pragmatics (i.e. collaboration) are all able to be targeted with this application that contains over 800 vocabulary words. This will definitely be a frequently used reinforcement tool in my arsenal of apps!

App Compatibility
This app appears to only be available on the iPad.