How to use this Page

Title: Superimpose
Cost: .99
Platform: iOS or Android

There are a lot of photo editing apps available. But, sometimes I find that they are confusing to use because they offer a wide assortment of tools for accomplishing a variety of tasks. With Superimpose that's not the case. This app gives users the chance to do one thing - superimpose one image on to another. And, it makes it pretty easy to do that without adding lots of extra bells and whistles.

The basic way that it works is that a user selects a background image. Then selects a foreground image. And then marries the two by creating a mask for the foreground image and using filters to blend things together as much as desired.

The 10 minute screencast below shows you the basics of how Superimpose works. You can then read on to learn about even more features and possibilities.


As briefly shown in the video, along with the "smart brush" that erases unwanted parts of an image, there are other tools that can enhance the photo that you want to superimpose. This includes creating gradients and superimposing text over an image. Filters allow users to change hue and saturation as well as add special photo effects to the superimposed image.

The YALSA "Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action" report highlights the importance of supporting digital and media literacies as a part of 21st century library service. Using Superimpose with and for teens, and giving teens the chance to learn about this app, will help teens to achieve key skills in these areas.

The 99 cent price tag makes it within reach for many libraries. Give it a try.

Have a suggestion for an App of the Week? Let us know. And don't forget to check our App of the Week archive for more great tools.

Title: Paper
Platform: iOS
Cost: Free with in-app purchases available

It's been at least a couple of years since FiftyThree's Paper app originally launched. The latest update brings the app to the iPhone and adds some new features, functionality, and updates. As a result the app is now, even more than it was before, a tool that teens and library staff will want to consider for their arsenal of creative thinking, note-taking, and designing tools.

Watch the 14.5 minute screencast below to see a brief overview of how the app works and read the rest of this post after that screencast to find out a bit more.


As the screencast shows, the Paper app makes it easy to write notes, to create drawings, and to save and caption photos. All of these can also be combined so that drawings can be added to images and notes can be added to drawings. With each iteration of Paper the tool becomes more and more powerful as something for teens and others to use.

How might teens and library staff that work with them use Paper:

• As a tool for visual note taking. For some students using drawings and sketches as a way to take notes is much more effective than traditional text note taking. Paper can help with that visual note taking. If you want to learn more about visual note taking there's a great post on Sketchnoting to check out.
• For creating drawings when learning about visual arts. Learn how the Guggenheim Museum used Paper for this purpose.
• As a way to create to-do lists for projects, homework, research, and more. Because the app makes it so easy to create lists and save what's created into folders, it's easy to create a collection of resources for a specific purpose. For example, a teen might create a Paper space/folder called App Project and in it save sketches of potential app designs, lists of URLS for learning how to code apps, to do lists for building an app or website, and more.
• To use as a visual drawing tool during a brainstorming session. For example, as a part of a service learning project teens might brainstorm various outcomes of their project. In that brainstorming the teens could use Paper to visually diagram their ideas and plans.
• As a tool to expand digital and visual literacies. In the YALSA Future of Library Service for and with Teens: A Call to Action report, the importance of supporting acquisition of media literacy for teens is highlighted as a priority for libraries. Because of the combination of tools that Paper provides, it has great potential for helping teens to develop skills in these areas.

Don't miss the Paper blog - The Open Studio to learn more about the various ways you and teens might use the app. Also, as noted in the screencast, make sure to check-out the tips available within the app. There's lots more possible then is highlighted here.

Title: ReBoard
Platform: iOS
Cost: $1.99 plus in app purchases

Over the past few months I've tried out a lot of keyboards for my iOS devices. There are keyboards that allow me to type by using the touch screen instead of the keyboard and keyboards that allow me to add videos and gifs to documents quickly. There is even a dog image keyboard. Most recently I tried ReBoard and it's the one I think I will probably stick with.

Watch the 13.5 minute screencast below to learn how ReBoard works and you can read more about it  below the video.


The heart of ReBoard is that it brings multi-tasking to the iOS keyboard. Once you have ReBoard setup on your device you can use it for any of the writing that you do whether it's a document, a note, a text message, a Tweet, a Facebook post, or an email. No longer do you have to leave the email, or document, or Tweet you are writing in order to look something up on the web or find a file in your Dropbox.

Teens, teachers, and library staff using ReBoard may think of it as another tool for research note-taking as it's really useful to easily be able to search the web for information on a topic and then quote that information or refer to that information in what you are writing. I like it as a way to find, annotate, and curate links and content on my device when using Google Docs on my iPad. It's also very nice to be able to look up a word or do some quick math right inside what I'm working on.

ReBoard does have a small ($1.99) price tag in order to use the basic features - Wikipedia, YouTube, image search, dictionary, etc. And another small ($.99) price tag to add some extras - Dropbox for example. However, if you think the timesaving that can come with using ReBoard will be useful to you and the teens you work with and for, then I think you'll decide that the minimal costs are well worth it.

Title: Padlet
Platform: iOS (Android coming soon)
Cost: Free with paid versions with extra features for schools, businesses, and personal use

Padlet is a web-based tool that's been available for a few years. Recently an iPad app launched which makes it easy for libraries working with and for teens to use the tool in a variety of ways.

As with the web-based tool, the Padlet app is a good way to create walls of content. The content might be a curated list of resources - including audio, video, websites, Google Docs, images, and more - that a teen is going to use in a presentation. It, might be a wall where teens brainstorm together and collaborate on ideas for a new project. Or, it could be a place where library staff working with and for teens collect resources of interest to help them provide high-quality service to the age group.

The slideshow below takes you through the basics of using Padlet, adding content, applying settings, and inviting collaborators.

Padlet iPad App - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

New Padlets can be created in the app by selecting the "New Padlet" link. Then to add content all a user needs to do is to either double-tap on the screen or tap on the + at the bottom of the screen. When adding new content it's possible to add a title, a description, and then a link to the content (if web-based resources are being used.) I found that the touch-screen features were not as easy to use as I would have liked. Sometimes a double-tap didn't open up the content window and sometimes using my fingers to drag an item on the wall to a different location - as one is supposed to be able to do - didn't work as easily as it should.

All of the basic features of the web-based version of Padlet are available including changing the wall background and layout, adding notifications when someone adds to a wall (if collaborators are taking part in a Padlet project), adding collaborators, and sharing a Padlet for website or social media integration.

Using Padlet with teens who have access to tablets is a great way to give them opportunities to collaborate on content development and brainstorming. It's also a great way for teens to curate content for projects of academic or personal interest. The fact that it's now available as an app means that teens, who have access to tablets, will have more opportunities to use the tool.

If you or the teens you work for and with are already Padlet web users using the iPad app will be something that you can add to your arsenal of resources. If you haven't yet used Padlet for or with the teens you work with, give it a try.

Title: Status Board
Platform: iOS 8.4 or later
Cost: Free with in-app purchases available

Status Board is an app that's been around for a few years but I just learned about it recently. I think it has some interesting possible uses for teens putting together infographic like presentations and for library staff and educators who work with adolescents.

The idea behind Status Board is to create Boards that aggregate information with a particular focus. It's possible to create Boards that show personal information such as email, weather, calendar, RSS feeds, etc. However, that's not really so unique as it's possible to create similar kinds of screens of aggregated information with other tools.

What does make Status Board potentially useful for those working for and with teens, is the ability to create Boards that show data on a particular topic. The data can be integrated with text and web-based content to provide opportunities to display from where information was gathered, as well as the data/information itself. The images below show the two-types of boards that I created as examples.





The app interface isn't as intuitive or as responsive as I would have liked, however once you've figured out the basics it is pretty easy to use. To start a new Status Board you tap on the top left settings icon and then tap on edit boards. On the right of the next screen is a + sign that is what you next tap on to create a new Board.

Once you've started a Board you can add widgets by dragging from the bottom into the Board area. The widgets can be moved around and sized to fit the Board as you would like. The basic widgets (for things like RSS feeds, Twitter, email, weather, and so on) are free and widgets that allow users to add their own data and content cost $9.99 (as an in-app purchase package).

It's probably worth purchasing the 6 add-on widgets, especially if you think this app is something you might use either to create data-based presentations for your own work, or for teens to use as a part of their own informal and formal learning data gathering and presentations. There's a lot you can do with the data widgets - for example tables and graphs - and these could be an opportunity for teens to develop 21st century visual and media literacy skills as well as presentation and critical thinking skills.

To change a widget's content from its default all you or the teens you work with need to do is to tap on it and enter in the requested information. If adding your own data, you can either link to a CSV file that is available in Dropbox or link to raw data available on the web.




Status Board is definitely something to look into as tool for collecting, analyzing and presenting data and information of a variety of types.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know.  And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Title: Fyuse
Cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android

There are so many different photo and video apps available for mobile devices that it can to tough to keep up with them, but Fyuse is one that caught my interest pretty quickly. Fyuse is one of the recent apps to take advantage of the built-in cameras on iOS and Android devices to allow users to create media that is a cross between a 3D image and a video. The end result is a unique sort of image that is fun to create and a great way to record an event or location.

Once you have downloaded the app, you have the option to create an account or login via Facebook or Twitter. After you are logged into the app, you can check out content created by other users, either through the homepage, which offers featured images, or by searching through images created with the app using hashtags or usernames. Both of these are nice resources for seeing what you can do with the app and offer inspiration for new users. You can also connect with users through the app or by finding friends from your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

All of these features are just the background for the true purpose of the app, which is capturing the details of the world around you. Creating an image requires you to press and hold the recording button to reveal four arrows, up, down, left, and right. You must carefully select which direction you will move your device because you can only move in a single direction while creating an image. While still holding the button, you then move slowly around the object or view that you want to record. This step requires a bit of a delicate and steady hand to ensure that you get a smooth image, but it isn’t much more difficult than recording a clear video with your device. When you are done, you simply release the button and tap the image in the lower right hand corner of your screen to preview your Fyuse image.

This is a fun new option for creating dynamic images and I think it is one that will be enjoyable for all ages. It is definitely worth checking out. You can see it in action in the video below.

Title:  Kong
Cost:  Free
Platform:  iOS and Android

When stories about Kong, a social media app devoted to selfie GIFs, started popping up in my news feed, I had some questions. Mostly of the "why?" and "really?" variety. I couldn't see how a network of moving selfies could possibly be interesting or worthwhile. But I'm here to tell you I was wrong. This thing is super fun.

Set up an account and you're introduced to the app through your home page, which starts as a grid of brightly colored boxes that are empty except for the top left square -- a live feed from your front-facing camera (the only camera Kong allows you to use at this time.) The other boxes will eventually fill up with the feeds of friends you add through your phone's contact lists or by following other users.

When you click the search box at the top of the screen, you're taken to the channels page, where you can search by hashtag for channels of interest or click on the featured channels listed below, such as #coffee, #highfive, #doubletake, or whichever channel is feeling the love at the moment.

Once you find a channel that you like, swipe left or right on your live feed (still at the top left of the screen) to access filters and special effects, or double tap your feed to add words, then shoot a short video of yourself by pressing and holding the shutter button at the bottom of the screen.  Tapping the arrow button adds your GIF to the channel and opens a box of saving and sharing options, of which there are plenty. The result is a collection of GIFs on a single topic, with a fun, Brady-Bunch-Opening-Credits sort of feel.

Kong's appeal is due in large part to some smart choices made by the developers, including the decision to allow only one GIF per person, per channel -- if you post another GIF to the same channel, your original post disappears. This keeps the channels fresh and free of spammers. They also made it easy to create your own channels, both public and private, by simply creating a hashtag no one else is using.

It may seem like a selfie social media app wouldn't necessarily lend itself to Library programs or services, but 15 minutes after introducing it to my Teen Advisory Board they were already devising ways to incorporate it into our After-Hours Party scavenger hunt and brainstorming ways we could use it with our book club. Thus definitively answering my initial, knee-jerk questions of "why?" (Because it's quick, original, fun, and surprisingly useful) and "really?" (YES!)

Name: Green Screen by Do Ink
Platform: iOS, compatible with iPad
Cost: $2.99

While digital media labs complete with green screens, cameras, computers and software may be out of reach for many libraries, creating composite photos and videos with your teens doesn't have to be. I set out a few weeks ago to find a free or low-cost green screen option and have been fortunate. After testing several chroma key apps, Green Screen by Do Ink is the one I keep coming back to for flexibility and user friendliness. I had begun by looking for free apps, and quickly discovered that I could either pay up front for green screen capabilities, or download free apps that include "in-app purchases." In-app purchases meant paying to unlock the chroma key tool or to get rid of an obtrusive watermark that rendered the free version essentially useless. I also discovered in one case that the developers' definition of green screen did not match my own (it was basically a $4.99 masking tool, something that comes included in many photo editing apps). With no advertisements or watermarks, Green Screen's $2.99 cost is worthwhile.

Originally debuting in October 2013, Green Screen has undergone several updates including bug fixes and recently added features that let you crop, scale and rotate source images. Video projects can also now be saved to Dropbox and Google Drive for easy archival.

Designed and tested to be kid and classroom friendly, Green Screen comes pre-loaded with a tutorial video starring a very enthusiastic grade-school-aged girl. Teens might laugh at this video, but it provides a good introduction to the tools and controls. It's also completely editable. Depending on the skill-levels of your teens, you may want to skip watching the video, and jump right into playing around with it. A potential first project might be to challenge them to create their own introduction tutorial using a mix of prerecorded and live footage.

Despite the simplicity of its design, Green Screen offers a full range of features. You can record live images and video using the iPad's camera, and also import prerecorded videos, photos, and artwork. The scrollable timeline allows you to add an unlimited number of sources, move them around, and trim as needed. Images can also be rotated, scaled and cropped. Finished projected are easily rendered into MOV or MP4 files for sharing on youtube and other places. Green Screen also does a couple of things that I didn't see in the other apps I tested. One: It allows you to combine up to three image layers at a time. The other apps I tried only allow two. Two: The chroma filter (which can be turned on and off for each layer) uses a full-spectrum color picker, so that you can effectively key out any background color that you have available. I tested it using a reddish octopus graphic in front of the blue-green wall in my poorly lit office, and found that I could easily key out the wall (minus a couple of pesky shadows, which I later cropped out).

This app definitely rewards a little pre-planning and practice when it comes to recording and putting together a video project. I found the timeline controls to be a little clunky; a combination of tapping, holding and swiping is needed to move the clips around. It also took some trial and error to figure out how to set the automatic stop timer on video and image recording. I discovered that the timer is necessary to keep the still images you add to the timeline from stretching on into what seems to be infinity.

Even with these quirks, I found the learning curve to be fairly gentle. Teens could get the hang of it and create an original project of their own over the course of a 1.5 to 2 hour program. Setting them loose in the library with an iPad and a prop or two would give them the opportunity to experiment with different background colors and lighting situations, and set up a discussion afterwards about what background colors work best and why green might be the standard color choice. However you decide to use it, Green Screen has plenty of potential for teen-led programs (YALSA Teen Programming Guideline 3) that support connected learning (YALSA Teen Programming Guideline 4).

Green Screen can also be purchased as part of a creativity bundle along with Animation & Drawing by Do Ink for $5.99. It is only available for iPad at this time.

For more app recommendations, check out the' YALSA App of the Week Archive. If you have an app you think we should review,' let us know!

Name: StoryCorps.me
Platform: iOS and Android
Cost: Free

Several years ago, YALSA Blog covered the original StoryCorps app, but recently StoryCorps released a new app that offers some great new features. The app allows you to create an account, but you can also proceed without an account if you would prefer. Once you make that decision, you can get started with your first oral history right away.

When you get started with your first interview, you can opt to either start recording right away or prepare your interview questions in advance. If you pick the option to prepare your interview first, you are offered several tips on best practices for conducting this time of interview. These are very approachable for those who are new to interviewing and cover the basic protocols that should be followed in a way that lets novices feel like experts very quickly. You are then prompted with the three preparatory steps for the interview: customizing a question list, selecting who you will interview, and setting the length of your interview.

When you are setting up your list of questions, you can choose from suggested questions on a variety of topics ranging from family heritage to serious illness or you can write your own questions. Adding one of the suggested questions to your interview is as simple as clicking the plus icon and once you have selected several questions, you can view your list and reorder the questions to suit your needs. You can also save your questions and then go back to editing them later.

The next step on the app is setting who your interview subject will be and this is the only one of the three steps that requires an account. Once you have done this, you can then set the length of your interview. The app allows for interviews of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 40 minutes in length, but you can also say that you don’t know how long the interview will last if you would prefer, though it is worth noting that the app will stop recording after 45 minutes. Even if you select an interview length shorter than 45 minutes, you can continue recording for longer, so this step doesn’t have to be too much cause for concern.

Using the app, you can set up multiple interviews before you record any of them, which can be useful if you are planning a single event where you will interview multiple people or if you are using a single (perhaps library-owned) device for multiple users. As you are conducting your interview, you will be presented with the questions one at a time and can swipe through them at your own pace. Once you have finished your interview, you will be prompted to take a photo with your interview subject. You will then be given the option to share it on the StoryCorps website and archive it with the Library of Congress for posterity. You can also delete your interviews after completing them if you would like.

This app has a lot of potential for use in library programming. Whether you want to plan a Bring Your Own Device workshop to introduce teens with iOS and Android devices to this app and the best practices for conducting oral history interviews or you want to host an on-site interviewing event to help teens find mentors and become more civically involved, this free app is a great way to achieve several of the goals in YALSA Teen Programming Guidelines 4.0. Because the app allows users to have so much autonomy in creating their interview questions and selecting who to interview, it is a great opportunity to bring in all types of teens with all sorts of interests and they can each make a contribution to local history while learning how to conduct interviews. The app is already very useful, but if you find bugs as you use it, feel free to submit comments; it is in public beta and they are actively soliciting input from users.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name:  Opinion
Platform:  iOS
Cost:  Free

With shows like Serial and Welcome to Night Vale, podcasts continue to gain popularity with teens and those of us who work with them, but the options for creating our own podcasts require more time and technical wizardry than some of us possess. Opinion is the app that will eliminate any remaining excuses to jump into the fray.

Two screens and three buttons are just about all it takes to record your podcast.  Hit the red button at the top of the home screen to record audio, which shows up as a vertical sound wave that stops when you hit the button a second time.  Tap on the sound chunk you just created and you're taken to the second screen where you can check the flow of your sound bites, edit out the dead air and exorbitant "um"s with the touch of the scissors icon, or get rid of an unsuccessful segment by selecting the trash bin.

A trip back to the home page allows you to add music and sound effects from your device's library, rearrange any of your sound wave segments, and export your finished product to SoundCloud, email, or text message.

While Opinion may not be a professional-grade recording platform -- there are no options to layer audio or work on more than one project at a time, and you're stuck with a 10-minute recording limit until you pay $3.99 for an upgrade -- it is fast, free, and so easy to use it's sure to inspire the podcast fans in your midst to become podcast producers.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: Space Age: A Cosmic Adventure
Price: $3.99
Platform: iOS

Combining 8-bit-style graphics and a mysterious foreign planet, Space Age by Big Bucket offers players an opportunity to explore a new world while trying to solve puzzles and find a way home. Set in 1976, the game follows a small band of interplanetary explorers who are exploring Kepler-16. On the planet, they find a variety of alien life forms, including plants and insects, but no intelligent life. Or so they assume. Navigate a map to accomplish missions, move back in time to learn more about how the characters came to be on Kepler-16, and try to solve the mysteries of this alien environment.

This game gives you control over a variety of characters and an opportunity to explore a planet with only small segments of the landscape revealed at a time. The game alternates between exploration, puzzles, and characters’ interactions, which can range from fighting to conversing. The levels vary significantly so that some are easy to complete and others are more challenging, which I found made the game more engaging and kept it from being too short. Though I played Space Age on an iPad, it is also available for iPhones and I think that it would translate well to the smaller screen, though the images are more impressive when larger.

Space Age will appeal to video gamers who fondly recall 8-bit arcade games from their childhood, but it will also appeal to teens and tweens who like games that bring together appealing artwork and compelling storytelling to create an immersive experience. The puzzles will challenge even those who play a lot of mobile games, though the app remains approachable for those who are not dedicated gamers. Unlike many mobile games, I feel that Space Age manages to carefully walk this line between “serious” and “casual” gamers, in a way that I think will make this a popular game. If all of this intrigues you, you can learn more about the game by watching the trailer below.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: Adventure Time Game Wizard
Platform: iOS, Android
Cost: $4.99    

Fans of Cartoon Network's Adventure Time series can choose any number of games from just about any app store in order to continue their adventures in the Land of Ooo, but the show's latest app, Game Wizard, gives players the power to design levels of game play as well.

At it's core, Game Wizard is a typical 2D sidescroller game that follows favorite characters from the show as they collect coins, battle villains with their awesome swordplay, and jump from level to level.

However, the magic truly happens when players exhaust the pre-installed levels and turn to the Create mode.  The app walks creators through downloading and printing a tutorial kit and basic grid paper to get started, at which time they use the provided design vocabulary (plus signs for coins, wavy lines for moving blocks, etc.) and a ruler (or steady hand) to draw their game levels.

These pages can then be scanned into the app using the device's camera where they can be easily edited and multiple pages can be stitched together.  The new levels can then be shared with the public for others to play.

While Game Wizard is technically aimed at kids and tweens, the game design aspect and continued popularity of the show with teens makes it a fun addition to any library's STEAM programming.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: True Legends
Price: Free
Platform: iOS

True Legends is a very interesting and, fortunately, free app that I can best describe as a combination of a short story and an animated short. The app first asks users whether they would like to use the app in Hebrew or English. Once you have made a language selection, you are presented with an opening screen that looks very much like the front cover of a book with credits for the writer (Alex Epstein) and the illustrator (Tsach Weinberg).

At this point, the app also demonstrates the swiping motion that is required to advance through the story. Rather than turning pages, users swipe as if zooming in to trigger motion and animations throughout the story. Sometimes these animations are, in fact, zooming in to see details, but they also include movement and scenery changes. While there is only one path through the story, this does add an interactive quality to the app and makes for an impressive user experience. The soft and meditative music that plays throughout also adds an immersive quality to the app.

The story, and therefore the app, are quite brief, but the beauty of the artwork and the haunting and fable-like nature of the story makes up for that, at least for me. In the end, I think this app is an interesting example of how the app format can allow artists to change the way that they present stories and artwork and it is an example of the types of innovations that we will hopefully see more of in the future. Especially given the fact that it is free, I think this is a great app to load on library iPads for demonstration purposes or to show to those who are disappointed that ebooks are so frequently simply text presented on an electronic device.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: Space Station Research Explorer
Cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android

Space enthusiasts rejoice! At the beginning of last month NASA released a new (and free!) app that brings users aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with a particular focus on all of the research that is conducted aboard it. The app is divided into five sections: Experiments, Facilities, Benefits, Media, and Links.

The Experiments section, which is the first one that users encounter when they open the app, includes information on the wide range of experiments that have been conducted by various parties on the ISS. The section is divided into six topical subsections: Biology and Biotechnology, Earth and Space Science, Educational Activities and Outreach, Human Research, Physical Science, and Technology Development and Demonstration. Each of those subsections is further subdivided into deeper areas of focus. This diversity of topics shows the breadth of the work done on the ISS and also means that there is something to capture the imagination of almost anyone with an interest in science. Once you choose a specific subsection within a field, you can read about all of the related experiments that have been conducted on the ISS through extensive descriptions, media such as photos and diagrams, and links to related content elsewhere online. You can also search through the experiments using an included search feature or sort them by sponsor or the expedition during which they were conducted. This section was probably my favorite of the entire app because it offers so much rich information about the research that is done on the ISS.

However, this is not to take away from the other sections, including the Facilities section. This part of the app opens on an exterior picture of the space station and allows users to navigate to any of three sections of the space station. Once you have zoned in on a specific section, you see a detailed representation of that area of the ISS and you can pan and zoom using the standard pinch and swipe motions on your device. If you see something of interest, you can click on it to get a detailed image and brief description of what that section of the mechanics does. Next up is the Benefits section of the app which talks about how work on the ISS has been been translated to applications on Earth and the educational benefits in which the ISS has been instrumental. This section includes links out to further information on the NASA website, as well as brief descriptions within the app.

The Media section includes access to one game that can be played within the app and which demonstrates how G forces impact the trajectory of a ball thrown in the ISS. It also offers access to a variety of educational podcasts and videos. Finally, the Links section of the app connects users with related apps and web content from NASA and the ISS to help users move beyond what is included in the app itself.

This app is a bit text heavy, but thought has clearly been put into the design, which is engaging, and the navigation, which is clear. As a nice bonus feature, while content is loading, users are presented with pictures of the ISS and information about both the facilities and the activities undertaken on the space station. This is a nice educational app for use in STEM programming or for teens who are already fascinated with the space program.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Title: Nuzzel
Cost:: Free
Platform: iOS 7 or later

Nuzzel is a great way to aggregate specific aspects of a Twitter or Facebook feed. The app pulls together posts from your feed(s) that include links and creates a stream of just those posts. The stream includes posts from those you follow, friends of those you follow, and news you might have missed. It also will keep track of articles that you have recently read within the app - when you've clicked on a link in a post from a friend or a friend of a friend.

Settings in the app allow you to sort posts within a particular period of time - say just the past 24 hours - and to display the posts by most popular - say Tweeted five times by those you follow on Twitter - or by most recently posted/Tweeted.

It seems like a simple idea, it is, but it can really be a bit life changing for you, the teachers you work with, teens, and others who sometimes feel overwhelmed by what 24 hours - or more or less - comes through in their social media streams. As a library staff member working with teens and other educators if you like to use Twitter as a professional development tool, you might miss several hours of posts on Twitter. As a result you might feel like there's no way to easily go back and find what you missed. But, with Nuzzel there is. While you won't see what your friends on Twitter or Facebook are posting about their lives with Nuzzel you can easily just see what's posted that links to an article or web page or website of interest. It's a perfect way to keep up with news without being sidetracked by the fun and great things your friends are doing.

One of my favorite Nuzzel features are the links that are from friends of friends. I'm a fan of that because that's where I usually find the resources that I would probably have missed if I stayed within the silo of those that I follow. This is a great part of the app that will probably be of interest to educators and teens too. It's always easy to find out what the colleagues and friends you talk with and see every day are finding interesting, but what about those who might be a little removed from one's every day world? Maybe they have some interesting things for you to know about as well. I could see teachers using this app feature as a way to expand their own research and professional development and in working with teens as a way to expand their knowledge of topics beyond what they might find within traditional sources and through friends and family members.

Nuzzel also has some good features for saving and sharing content including the ability to post links via Buffer, add to a reading list, open in Safari and share via email, text, etc. The look and feel of the iPhone and iPad versions are a bit different. The iPad version of the app allows you to look at feeds individually - friends, friends of friends, and so on. I like that capability but it's not really a problem to not have that in the iPhone app, particularly because of screen size and capabilities.

Don't let the simplicity of Nuzzel fool you into thinking it's not worth checking out. I think you'll find that it's the simplicity that really makes it worth your time.

For more apps for teens and the librarians who serve them, check out the App of the Week archive. Have a suggestion for an App of the Week? Let us know.

Title: Duet Display
Platform: iOS 7 and All Macs (Windows is in the works)
Cost: 14.99

I don't know about you, but I often like to work in a dual screen environment. One in which I can be looking at a document to refer to on one screen and look at or work on a related document on another screen. I'm also a fan of dual display environments in which I can easily interact with both screens and in which the two screens actually talk with each other. I haven't been able to do that between my MAC and iPad or iPhone, that is until Duet Display launched. Now with the app on all of my devices - laptop, iPad, and iPhone - I can work between screens easily.

To get started with Duet Display you have to download the app to all of your devices. (You don't have to pay for the app each time, purchase it once and it's downloadable across devices.) Once installed open up the app on the two screens you want to work with - a laptop and iPad for example. Plug the iDevice into the MAC USB port - using the same cable used for charging your iDevice, voilå your iDevice is reading your MAC computer screen.

As with traditional dual display setups, you can move screens from your computer to your iDevice screen by dragging the content you want to show on the second screen "over" to the device. Your MAC's System Preferences is where you set up whether or not you drag content left or right to move it to the second screen. When viewing content on either screen you can use traditional mouse functions to move through the content, click on links, and so on.

The video below provides a good overview of how the interaction between the two screens works.

One of the comments that many reviewers are making about Duet Display is that there is no lag time between screens either when dragging content from one to the other or when interacting with the content on an iDevice. It's also quite seamless with no lag time when watching a video on one screen and taking notes or browsing other content on another.

While library staff working with teens are likely to find Duet Display useful professional projects, teens and teachers will most likely find it helpful as well. For example, teens working on research projects looking for easy access to digital research resources and their notes will find access to two two screens helpful. Teachers developing curriculum can review materials on one screen while updating their curriculum on another. These are just two ideas for teens and their teachers, I am sure there are a lot more possibilities for anyone using Duet Display in a formal or informal learning environment.

It may seem that a duel display isn't necessary when one has two devices at hand already. But, instead of having to move between devices and their keyboards and screens and so on, with Duel Display it's one set of keys and one mouse with two screens. If you or the teens you work with haven't tried working in an duel display environment, check it out. If you have been looking for a high-quality duel display app for your iDevices and MACs, Duet Display is it. The price is worth the gain in productivity.

On a side-note, the Mountie Clip looks like a very useful accessory to use with your devices and Duet Display. I'll be trying the Clip out for sure.

For more apps for teens and the librarians who serve them, check out the App of the Week archive. Have a suggestion for an App of the Week? Let us know.

Throughout the year, YALSA's App of the Week bloggers review what's new and interesting in the app world for teens and the library staff that work with them. In this end of the year App of the Week post, we look at the top four apps that stood out to bloggers in 2014.

Canva
A favorite of YALSA Blogger Jen Scott Willis

Graphic design is a tricky business, and one that many of us don't realize is part of our job description until we're faced with a blank document and a list of almost-but-not-quite-right font choices. ' Canva, a free, web-based application' that lets you easily produce' professional-looking' designs, made this part' of the' job much easier for me when it debuted over a year ago. ' Now, with the introduction of the iPad app, the possibilities are both endless and mobile.

So far, I've used Canva's web app to design everything from icons for our online calendar to posters for programs and thank you cards for presenters, and I've heard glowing reports from teens of their successes using it for both school projects and social media posts.

The iPad app is not without its bugs --' pics can be slow to upload and there are sometimes hitches in the interface that you don't see in the web version -- however, the developers seem quick to respond to user feedback and offer updates. ' Meanwhile, the ease of use, professional results, and potential for collaboration that the iPad version offers' makes this a go-to for your toolkit.

Monument Valley
A favorite of YALSA Blogger Carli Spina

My top app this year is the game Monument Valley. Available for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire devices, this is a beautiful game that was clearly designed with a great deal of thought. Everything from the architecture of the buildings that players must navigate, to the color scheme, to the music playing in the background comes together to create a mesmerizing experience. The puzzles themselves are, for the most part, fairly straightforward, but you will still want to continue playing to see more and more of this gorgeous world. The game was initially released for iOS devices in the spring and has already won a 2014 Apple Design Award and been named the best iPad app of the year.

New levels for the game were released in November, though somewhat controversially they are not included in the price of the original app and instead cost an additional $1.99. Given that these levels almost double the size of the app, fans of the original game will definitely want to download them. Now that Monument Valley is available on more platforms, it will undoubtedly find an increasing audience of devoted fans. I highly recommend giving it a try!

ScratchJr
A favorite of YALSA Blogger Linda Braun

The MIT coding program for kids and teens, Scratch, has been around for a long time. However, ScratchJr, the iPad app was released in the summer and it is a great way for young children to learn about programming and for staff that work with teens to learn that too.

ScratchJr doesn't have as many commands to work with as it's parent product Scratch, but it has plenty to get started with for those who are learning how to program in this way. Users can move characters in all directions, have the character speak, record narration, hide and show characters and more. Users can also add backgrounds and change the look of a character using some simple character editing tools.

Any adult that is wondering what this coding thing that people are talking about as a part of learning for children and teens is all about, should try out ScratchJr as a first step in their own learning. Teens working to help younger kids will do well learning ScratchJr as well. It's worth the time to take a look and think about how ScratchJr does have an impact on the teens and the families that you work with.

YikYak
A favorite of YALSA Blogger Wendy Stephens

If there is one app that has had an impact on youth culture in our communities in 2014, it would have to be YikYak. The app is designed for users to get a sense of what’s going on locally. YikYak lets you peek at othercommunities or college campuses, where use is huge, but can only post and vote (up or down) for Yaks in your immediate area. It doesn’t require a username, just proximity, though you can insert a “handle” if you wish.

YikYak has great potential for sharing what’s going on nearby – I’ve seen it used to advertise special retailer promotions discounts as well as crowd-source information on traffic conditions -- but in many schools, teens made anonymous threats or become victim of systematic bullying using the anonymity of the app.

It might be the digital version of a bathroom wall, but I wanted to write about YikYak because I think it and others apps of its type offer important opportunities for powerful conversations with teens about digital citizenship. Also, arrests related to content illustrate the need for helping young people understand that digital anonymity is somewhat of an illusion and that content posted through apps like YikYak remains identifiable.

Libraries should be safe spaces, so if cyberbullying in your area is an issue, you might want to investigate the geofencing option that prevents posting to YikYak from school campuses. Also good to know: five down votes will remove a Yak from the feed, so if you see something that slanders an individual, you can help make that content disappear.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: Steller
Cost:  Free
Platform: iOS

Digital storytelling apps have a tendency to be cumbersome and not so conducive to telling stories on the go.  Not so with Steller, which lives up to its name by letting users combine text, photos, and video to create stories with the ease of an Instagram or Twitter post.

Users build their stories page by page, choosing the type (text, photo, or video) and layout before tweaking things like colors and fonts.  Design choices are limited, but result in a modern, professional-looking story that, once published, uses the parallax effect in iOS to produce an impressive 3D page-turning experience.

Publishing your story adds it to Steller's home page, where other users can like, comment, and follow your profile.  The stories can also be embedded into blogs or websites, emailed, or posted to Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter.

So far, stories posted to Steller run the gamut from travelogues and fashion lookbooks to illustrated recipes and even short works of fiction, but the potential uses for libraries and teens are exciting:  book reviews, booklists, school projects, and portfolios would all be at home here.  Or, you could turn all the photos you take this holiday season into beautiful stories to share with your family and friends.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog's App of the Week Archive.

Name: Fragment
Cost: $1.99
Platform: iOS and Android

My previous App of the Week post discussed Matter, an app for creating otherworldly images. This time, I took a look at Fragment, another app from the same company, Pixite. As with Matter, this is an app that is aimed at making your pictures look beautiful and yet alien. You can import any image from your device and make it into a magical view through a prism that looks professionally done and completely transforms your original picture.

When you first open Fragment, you are given the option to start creating your first fragmented image or to view the “Inspiration” gallery to see how others have used the app. I found the images in the gallery to be particularly useful in seeing how the app could be used since some of the possibilities would not have immediately occurred to me without these examples. When you decide to “fragment” an image, you will have the option to import any image stored on your device, take a new photo with your device, or use one of the “Community Photos,” which have been contributed by other users for free use by anyone. Once you have selected an image, you can start adding effects to it. First, you will need to decide the aspect ratio you wish to use for the image. You can then move on to adding effects. When you purchase the basic app for $1.99, you have access to the two classics volumes, though there are four additional collections that you can purchase if you want to try additional effects after you have given it a try. Each of the two collections included in the basic version of the app includes over twenty different options for shapes or styles of fragments and each of those can be resized, aligned at different angles, and shifted on the image for an almost limitless number of combinations. In addition, the app allows you to change the underlying image by altering the light level, contrast, blur levels, and saturation of the image. You can test out as many variations as you like before making your final selection for each of the settings.

Once you are happy with your image, you can save it, share it via Instagram, share it via text message, Twitter, or email, send it to one of the other image apps on your device with two taps, or “refragment” it, which will take you back to the editing features. If you have other apps by Pixite on your device, Fragment also makes it easy to move your image from one app to the other for further editing if you want to add multiple effects to a single image. Whether you have used any of Pixite’s other apps or not, Fragment is an intuitive app that allows you to make fun and very unusual looking images that will really stand apart from the average online picture. If you enjoy taking, editing, and sharing images, it is worth checking out.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.

Name: Brushstroke
Cost: 2.99
Platform: iOS 7 or later

Brushstroke is a seemingly simple app that turns a photo into a painting. You might think to yourself, so what? But really, it’s a pretty powerful tool that gives teens, teachers, and librarians the chance to use a variety of effects on their photos and is a great way to start discussions on painting techniques, styles, how visual messages change as a result of visual choices, and even artists and art movements.

The way it works is that a user selects a photo from an iPad or iPhone camera roll or takes a photo from within the app. The next step is to crop the image if need be. After that, and I admit it took me a minute to figure out how to get from the crop screen to the painting screen – it’s the > on the top right (as you can see in the images below) – the image is rendered as a painting. In the photos below you’ll see the original version of the photo I painted on the left and the painted version on the right.

Once a photo is turned by Brushstroke into a painting, a wide-array of painting styles are available to render the image in. Choices range from oil and watercolor styles to experimental and abstract styles. You can also add color filters; a canvas type such as primed, rough, canvas, stone, and so on; change exposure, brightness, and add a highlights; and add a signature to a painting. When adding a signature there are a few color choices available and as the signature is created it’s visible on the painting so it’s easy to tell which color will display the best.

After completing a painting it can be saved, shared via traditional social media channels, or even produced and shipped framed and ready to hang in a school, library, or teenager’s bedroom.

Teens who are interested in different styles of art can compare their favorite artist’s paintings to the styles they create with Brushstrokes. Teachers who are working with teens in art classes, history classes, and so on can use Brushstroke as a jumping off point in conversations about the ways in which different painting techniques can be used in order to send a particular message or create a particular emotion.

Turning a photo into a painting might seem like a simple idea. But in reality, to transform the photo into the style most appropriate for the image portrayed takes a lot of thought and trial and error. Critical thinking and problem-solving are a key part of the process.

Name: Matter
Cost: $1.99
Platform: iOS

Matter is the latest photo app from Pixite, a company that has created a number of other photo apps for iOS devices. This fun app lets you add mysterious and otherworldly images to your photos with a few clicks, changing your snapshots from simple records of where you have been to stunning alien landscapes.

The app comes with four different packages of objects that can be added to your photos, for a total of 64 objects, meaning that there is almost certainly the perfect option for all of your images already included in the app. Once you have selected an object, you can drag and drop it into your desired location, change its shape, and rotate it all with the standard touchscreen motions you would use on other images. You can also style the object, changing its opacity, transparency, color, and how reflective it is to suit your needs. Detailed work, such as modifying the shadow cast by the object and masking specific portions of the object allow you to completely integrate it into your existing image so that it looks as if an alien object crashed into the original setting. Once you are happy with the look of the image, you can export a looping video of the object which can show it stationary or rotating. If you opt to have the object rotate, you can specify which axis you want it to rotate along and the speed at which it should move. The final video can be saved to your device, shared via email or text message, or uploaded to Instagram. If you want to see some examples of what users have created with Matter, check out their gallery on Instagram (or from within the app) or watch the trailer for the app.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.

Name:  The Photo Cookbook
Cost:  Free
Platform:  iOS

As much as I would love to offer cooking programs for teens at my library (other than the Iron Chef/Top Chef/Cupcake War-type snack challenges) I am hampered by two very important things:  the absence of kitchen appliances in our building and a complete lack of culinary ability on my part.  Thankfully, there are apps like The Photo Cookbook for me to recommend to my future Bobby Flays and Rachael Rays.

The Photo Cookbook app offers 84 recipes in four categories —  “Quick & Easy,” “Italian,” “Asian,” and “Baking” — each containing recipes for a variety of tastes and skill levels.

Click on a recipe and you’re met with a minimalist group photo of the ingredients that looks like those you’d find on popular food blogs or in your Pinterest feed, followed by a guide to how the recipe will look at each step along the way.  

The included text is straightforward and icons on the photos lead to more information about the history and culinary significance of each ingredient. Other icons allow you to create a list of favorite recipes, get nutritional information, make notes, and email shopping lists.

While in-app purchases are required to get past the “Quick & Easy” section ($2.99 for each of the other sections,) there are plenty of options with the free recipes to help a teen cook develop this very important skill.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week?  Let us know.  And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.

Name: Touch Van Gogh
Cost: Free
Platform: iOS and Android

Previously, Yours, Vincent has been featured as an App of the Week, but now the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has released another, equally impressive app devoted to Van Gogh’s work. Called Touch Van Gogh, this app gives users the ability to fully explore eight of Van Gogh’s famous pieces: The Cottage, View from Theo’s Apartment, The Bedroom, Seascape at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Garden of the Asylum, and Daubigny’s Garden.

For each of the images, users are encouraged to “touch” the image to learn more about it, whether this means rubbing the image to unearth more information about damage the painting had sustained, revealing side-by-side comparisons of the original color of the paint, viewing X-rays of other paintings hidden on the canvas, or even exploring the back of the canvas to see parts of the painting that are normally hidden away. In all instances, the images are gorgeous and offer the next best thing to a trip to Amsterdam to visit the paintings in person.

The app has been around for some time, even winning the 2014 Heritage In Motion Award, but recently the number of paintings included in the app was doubled, so even those who have already explored it will want to take another look. You can see the app in action in the video below:

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.

App: Heyday
Cost: Free
Platform: iOS (with Android coming soon)

Have you ever wished that you kept a journal, but not been able to find the time? Want to track everything you do without announcing it to everyone you know? If so, Heyday is the app for you. This journaling app automates the process of tracking what you do each day while keeping all of the information private.

To get started with the app, you are asked to give it access to both the media library and the location data on your device. Heyday automatically compiles this information to create an entry for each day that data is collected on your device. Photos (and videos) that are pulled into the app are automatically made into a collage.

Though the app will work without any input, you can also customize each day’s entry by adding notes, rearranging the images, or adding additional location information. If you want, you can also change which images are included in the journal and how they are arranged in the day’s collage. Fans of Instagram and similar photo apps will be happy to know that you can also add separate filters to each of the images, which allows you to display your photos to their best effect. If you are particularly happy with one day’s collage, you can also share it to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or send it via email or text message from within the app. Alternatively, you can also save collages to your device’s media library, making it easy to use them in other apps or simply view them outside of the app.

Heyday truly makes daily journal entries as easy as possible. As an added feature, the app offers the option to create an account, which allows Heyday to automatically sync your journal with the cloud periodically so that you have a backup if anything happens to your device. However, even if you would prefer not to create an account or share your content outside of your device, you can use all of the features. Heyday is a great option for those who want to journal in theory but never manage to in practice.

Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.

Title:  Party Party
Platforms:  iOS
Cost:  $.99

If you’re anything like me, you probably have so many photography apps that you sometimes call your phone a camera by mistake.  The trouble with such a bounty is that each app usually offers a singular use or function, forcing you to thumb through all the options for each photo op.

The Party Party app cuts through some of that cumbersome decision-making by offering an easy way to take and edit single photos, or take sequential photos that can be formatted as a photo booth collage or stitched together to create stop-motion animations.  In essence, you get three apps in one.

The interface is bright, playful, and intuitive, opening to a photo capture screen with minimal and clearly defined icons:  toggle the lightning bolt for flash, change the orientation of the camera, select the number of photos you want in your sequence (1, 4, 9, or 16), select the gear icon for further options, or hit the shutter button to begin.

The camera then takes the selected number of photos with a couple of seconds lag time between each — long enough to change facial expressions or move the star of your stop-motion project.  If the product isn’t to your liking, selecting the gear icon allows you to change the amount of delay between pictures in the sequence or choose Manual mode to set up shots without being rushed.

Once satisfied with your photos, you can move to the Layouts page to choose how fast you’d like your animation to run (from turtle to rabbit) or choose the style of your photo booth collage.  Next, a basic photo editor allows you to apply filters and adjust brightness and contrast before exporting your creation as a photo, video, or GIF to social media sites or your camera roll.

The ability to import photos and opt out of the automatic looping that occurs with the animations might make this party a bit more fun.  Still, Party Party will appeal to teens looking to enhance their Instagram experience and offer those of us who program for them lots of options with one icon on our homescreen.