Tyler White Design

Elixir – The iPhone App for Meow Wolf’s ‘Due Return’ Installation

tyler — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:48:39 +0000

“The Due Return” rejects any sense of the preciousness of the art object; it is a cultural phenomenon that reflects the raw energy of the youthful collective that made it. Just as the Disneyland ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, has grown beyond itself from mere entertainment into cinematic lore, “The Due Return” is potent as a fantastic backdrop; it is cerebral, as visceral as a pirate’s “aaarrh,” and lots of fun. – Visual Art Source

I created the Elixir app in collaboration with the incredible Meow Wolf artists collective in Santa Fe, New Mexico for our 2011 summer installation, The Due Return. The app was build using a popular iPhone game engine called Cocos2D to provide the visual effects, animations, and physics.

The app used OSC (Open Sound Control, a communication protocol designed as a digital alternative to MIDI) to communicate touches wirelessly from the visitors’ iPhones into visual changes in the environment of the installation. Over 300 tiny stars and a handful of large colorful “trees” transcended the non-participatory static model of traditional art with technological enhancements which allowed the environment to “listen” and react to the needs of the participants of the show.

Various important relics and artifacts within the installation were annotated with QR Codes (similar to bar codes) which the visitor could decode using the scanner within the app to reveal detailed information from the Due Return’s rich history on their phone.

It was a pleasure working with my good friends in Meow Wolf and I am continually inspired by their generous activities of providing art where there would be emptiness.

How to Check-In Using the Facebook iOS SDK and Graph API

tyler — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:38:11 +0000

Update (Nov, 22 2011): The Facebook Graph API and iOS SDK have changed since I posted this tutorial. Message me on Twitter if you have any questions: http://twitter.com/tygeo I may be able to help! *crosses fingers*

I’d like to explain the simple procedure of checking in using the Facebook API on an iPhone. This is a fairly technical post which may fly over the heads of non-iOS-programmers but may be of some general value to those people who carry an interest in Location Based Services like Facebook Places.

I’ll also mention an idea that I think would do well in the App Store and that can be easily implemented using this tutorial. I have not seen this app in the store yet and I hope that one of you beats me to it.

Ok, let’s get started. First, let’s assume that you’ve already integrated the latest iOS Facebook SDK into your XCode project and you’ve already registered your app with developers.facebook.com and now you’d like to be able to find nearby places and then check in to one of those places. The general workflow is as follows:

To publish a checkin on behalf of the user, you need to have the “publish_checkins” extended permission granted to your app by the user. Get it.
Get the latitude and longitude of your user’s device. One way to do this is using the CLLocationManager singleton provided by the Core Location Framework.
Send a GET request to the Facebook Graph API which contains the user’s latitude and longitude: https://graph.facebook.com/search?type=place¢er=35.6869444,-105.9372222&distance=1000
Display the nearby place list produced from step 2 in a table view or something similar that allows the user to select which place she wants to check in to.
Send a POST request to the Facebook Graph API with path “me/checkins” containing the PlaceID, user coordinates (from step 2), and optional tags (friend IDs) and a status message.

These five steps are all it takes to check in. Let’s go over them in detail.

1. Get the “publish_checkins” extended permissions from your user.
- (void) login {


	permissions = [[NSArray arrayWithObjects: @"user_checkins", @"friends_checkins", @"publish_checkins", nil] retain];

[ facebook authorize:appID permissions:permissions delegate:self]; }
2. Get the latitude and longitude of the user’s device by instantiating the CLLocationManager object, starting it up, and accessing it’s properties. Don’t forget to add the CoreLocation Framework to your project.
- (void) init {


	locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];

	locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest;

	locationManager.delegate = self;

	[locationManager startUpdatingLocation];

}
- (void) saveLocation {

latitude = locationManager.location.coordinate.latitude; longitude = locationManager.location.coordinate.longitude; }
3. Get the list of nearby places. In this example, I’m using my custom class “NearbyPlacesRequestResult” to handle the Facebook request response (as an FBRequestDelegate). I handle all of my Facebook requests this way, each one having their own separate class to handle their individualized response. This is also how Facebook does it in their sample iOS SDK project.
- (void) getNearbyPlaces {


	NSString *centerString = [NSString stringWithFormat: @"%f,%f", latitude, longitude];
	NearbyPlacesRequestResult *nearbyPlacesRequestResult =

	[[[[NearbyPlacesRequestResult alloc] initializeWithDelegate:self] autorelease] retain];

	NSMutableDictionary *params = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:

								   @"place",@"type",

								   centerString,@"center",

								   @"1000",@"distance", // In Meters (1000m = 0.62mi)

								   nil];

[_facebook requestWithGraphPath:@"search" andParams: params andDelegate:nearbyPlacesRequestResult]; }
NearbyPlacesRequestResult.h – This class has its own delegate which it calls when the request succeeds or fails. So make sure your class conforms to this class’ delegate protocol if you choose to use it.
#import #import "FBConnect.h"


@protocol NearbyPlacesRequestDelegate;
@interface NearbyPlacesRequestResult : NSObject  {
	id _nearbyPlacesRequestDelegate;
}
- (id) initializeWithDelegate: (id)delegate;
@end
@protocol NearbyPlacesRequestDelegate
- (void) nearbyPlacesRequestCompletedWithPlaces:(NSArray *)placesArray;

- (void) nearbyPlacesRequestFailed;

@end }
NearbyPlacesRequestResult.m
#import "NearbyPlacesRequestResult.h"


@implementation NearbyPlacesRequestResult
- (id) initializeWithDelegate:(id )delegate {
	self = [super init];

	_nearbyPlacesRequestDelegate = [delegate retain];
	return self;

}
/**

 * FBRequestDelegate

 */

- (void)request:(FBRequest *)request didLoad:(id)result {
	NSArray *placesArray = [result objectForKey:@"data"];
	[_nearbyPlacesRequestDelegate nearbyPlacesRequestCompletedWithPlaces: placesArray];

}
- (void)request:(FBRequest*)request didFailWithError:(NSError*)error {
	NSLog(@"NearbyPlaces %@", [error localizedDescription]);
	[_nearbyPlacesRequestDelegate nearbyPlacesRequestFailed];

}

@end
When the nearby places response returns successfully, the method nearbyPlacesRequestCompletedWithPlaces: will be called on your NearbyPlacesRequestDelegate, passing an array filled with nearby place dictionaries in this format:

{ "name" : "Institute of American Indian Arts Iaia Iaia Museum", "category" : "Local business", "location": { "street" : "108 Cathedral Pl", "city" : "Santa Fe", "state" : "NM", "country" : "United States", "zip" : "87501-2027", "latitude" : 35.686501, "longitude" : -105.936913 }, "id" : 111664535537155 }, { "name" : "Long John Silvers Seafood", "category" : "Local business", "location": { "street" : "115 E San Francisco St", "city" : "Santa Fe", "state" : "NM", "country" : "United States", "zip" : "87501-2109", "latitude" : 35.687032, "longitude" : -105.937745 }, "id" : 111626122209166 }, { "name" : "La Casa Sena Restaurant", "category" : "Local business", "location": { "street" : "125 E Palace Ave Ste 20", "city" : "Santa Fe", "state" : "NM", "country" : "United States", "zip" : "87501-2304", "latitude" : 35.68755, "longitude" : -105.936941 }, "id" : 115120131844030 }, ...etc...

4. At this point, you should probably display the nearby places in a list format. Here’s how I displayed them in a UITableView.
- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {


	static NSString *CellIdentifier = @"Cell";
	UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
	if (cell == nil) {

		cell = [[[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleSubtitle reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier] autorelease];

	}
	cell.textLabel.text = (NSString *)[[placesArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] objectForKey:@"name"];

	cell.detailTextLabel.text = (NSString *)[[placesArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] valueForKeyPath:@"location.street"];

return cell; }
5. Finally! Here’s where we check in. postCheckinWithDictionary takes a dictionary that contains the checkin information (PlaceID, tags, and message).
- (void) postCheckinWithDictionary:(NSMutableDictionary *)dictionary {


	PostCheckinRequestResult *postCheckinRequestResult =

	[[[[PostCheckinRequestResult alloc] initializeWithDelegate:self] autorelease] retain];
	SBJSON *jsonWriter = [[SBJSON new] autorelease];
	NSMutableDictionary *coordinatesDictionary = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:

										[NSString stringWithFormat: @"%f", latitude], @"latitude",

										[NSString stringWithFormat: @"%f", longitude], @"longitude",

										nil];
	NSString *coordinates = [jsonWriter stringWithObject:coordinatesDictionary];
	NSMutableDictionary *params = [NSMutableDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:

								   [dictionary objectForKey:@"place"], @"place", //The PlaceID

								   coordinates, @"coordinates", // The latitude and longitude in string format (JSON)

								   message, @"message", // The status message

								   tags, @"tags", // The user's friends who are being checked in

								   nil];

[_facebook requestWithGraphPath:@"me/checkins" andParams:params andHttpMethod:@"POST" andDelegate: postCheckinRequestResult]; }
Just like in step 3 where we request the nearby places, this request has its own request result handler class, “PostCheckinRequestResult.”

PostCheckinRequestResult.h
#import #import "FBConnect.h"


@protocol PostCheckinRequestDelegate;
@interface PostCheckinRequestResult : NSObject {
	id _postCheckinRequestDelegate;

}
- (id) initializeWithDelegate: (id)delegate;
@end
@protocol PostCheckinRequestDelegate
- (void) postCheckinRequestCompleted;

- (void) postCheckinRequestFailed;

@end
PostCheckinRequestResult.m
#import "PostCheckinRequestResult.h"


@implementation PostCheckinRequestResult
- (id) initializeWithDelegate:(id )delegate {
	self = [super init];

	_postCheckinRequestDelegate = [delegate retain];
	return self;

}
/**

 * FBRequestDelegate

 */

- (void)request:(FBRequest *)request didLoad:(id)result {
	[_postCheckinRequestDelegate postCheckinRequestCompleted];

}
- (void)request:(FBRequest*)request didFailWithError:(NSError*)error {
	NSLog(@"Post Checkin Failed:%@", [error localizedDescription]);
	[_postCheckinRequestDelegate postCheckinRequestFailed];

}

@end
When the checkin post goes through, the postCheckinRequestCompleted method is called on the PostCheckinRequestDelegate telling you that it worked. Now the user should have no doubt about where she is at the moment!

I have an idea. You thought I’d forget didn’t you? There needs to be an app for checking in with one tap. One tap should be all that’s needed to do the whole checkin process. Our users are busy, flying from place to place after all, so checking in should be QUICK! Since the nearby places result list is returned by Facebook in descending order by proximity, the 1st place on the list might suffice. Or, an algorithm taking into account the user’s most frequented places might be better (but harder to implement).

AdWhirl on the iPad

tyler — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:51:03 +0000

UPDATE 01/30/11 After I wrote this article and continued experimenting with AdWhirl, I became sorely disappointed with the fact that AdWhirl does not support MobClix. MobClix does however support AdMob (the creators of AdWhirl). MobClix provides an ad mediation platform which I now believe to be more robust than AdWhirl. I’ve abandoned AdWhirl in favor of MobClix. Unfortunately, at this time, MobClix does not support iAds on the iPad out of the box. There are ways around this caveat using Open Allocations which I may write about in a future post.

So your ad requests are going up, GREAT! But for some reason or another, your advertising revenue is going down. Advertising budgets are low, so low, that major advertising agencies, including Apple’s iAds, are having a hard time filling it’s publisher’s demands. As developers, we need to squeeze as much as we can out of our hard work, so we need to fill those empty ad slots! That’s where ad mediation comes in.

To see the code and skip the commentary, scroll down to the end of the post.

AdMob’s AdWhirl solves the problem by providing an open-source mobile ad mediation solution that will fill your ad requests in an order and configuration that you choose. Just sign up for each advertising agency individually (AdMob, iAds, Google AdSense, MobClix, etc) and AdWhirl will serve those ads in the priority and ratio of your choosing.

In it’s current state, 2.6.2, AdWhirl supports iPhone (and iPod Touch) devices but not iPad. I was disappointed when I launched my universal binary (Checkin Map) on my iPad, after the iPhone version had worked flawlessly, only to see my ad as a tiny rectangle in a sea of empty UIView which should have been filled entirely by my ad.

I did some quick research and found that AdWhirl does not know when or how they will be integrating iPad support into their SDK. They seemed indecisive about it because of the technical challenges and considerations involved.

So here’s a simple solution that worked for me. The idea is simple:

Check if the device is an iPad or iPhone
Request the appropriate size ad from the ad network in the ad network’s adapter
Set any other variables, keys, IDs, etc, based on your device
Once the ad is received, resize your ad’s UIView to fit the ad

Here’s an example for AdMob:

In AdWhirlAdapterAdMob.m:

- (void)getAd {

	// Request the right size ad for your device
	CGSize adSize = ADMOB_SIZE_320x48;
	if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad)
		adSize = ADMOB_SIZE_748x110;

	AdMobView *adMobView = [AdMobView requestAdOfSize:adSize withDelegate:self];
	self.adNetworkView = adMobView; 

}

In your view controller that implements the AdWhirlDelegate protocol, set your publisher ID based on your device

- (NSString *)admobPublisherID {

	if (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM() == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad) {
		return @"your_iPad_publisher_id";
	} else {
		return @"your_iPhone_publisher_id";
	}
}

And resize your ad view for the new ad:

- (void)adWhirlDidReceiveAd:(AdWhirlView *)adWhirlView {

	[UIView beginAnimations:@"AdWhirlDelegate.adWhirlDidReceiveAd:" context:nil];

	[UIView setAnimationDuration:0.7];

	CGSize adSize = [self.adWhirlView actualAdSize];

	CGRect newFrame = self.adWhirlView.frame;

	newFrame.size = adSize;

	newFrame.origin.x = (self.view.bounds.size.width - adSize.width)/ 2;

	self.adWhirlView.frame = newFrame;

	[UIView commitAnimations];

}

Digital Alchemist

tyler — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:14:36 +0000

Santa Fe’s Digital Alchemist

Self-taught app designer forges a high-tech career path of his own

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican
Monday, December 27, 2010

Tyler White is getting an education in innovation.

White, 23, is not pursuing a piece of paper that will put letters behind his name, nor is he following a corporate organizational chart. Still, he’s a rising star in Santa Fe’s tech scene.

The self-taught developer is making a living on the sales of three applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, including one based on a program that won a top prize in an international competition this summer.

Although other people might label White an unemployed college dropout, his self-description defies archetypes.

Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno

“I think of it as an artist. I’ve always thought of it that way, just exploring different mediums and canvases and paints and colors,” he said. “It’s being spontaneous and not being tied down too much to a certain job or being employed. That seems to be stifling to my creativity and my sense of agility.”

White grew up in Santa Fe and graduated from New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell before heading to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. But after just one year in college, he returned home and started developing websites. This summer, he saved enough money to take a few months off, bought a book and learned Objective-C, Apple’s primary programming language.

Some might consider White an unemployed college dropout, but the self-taught app designer — who is making a living off sales of three such apps — considers himself an artist. – Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

“I was sort of tired of the two-dimensional boringness of doing websites, and the iPhone offered so many cool things like accelerometers, compasses and microphones and touchscreens and GPS,” he said.

Then, White and friend Mick Thompson spent just three days creating an app for iPad that integrates Flikr photos with an interactive satellite map. An international communications and development firm called Alcatel-Lucent awarded the pair a $10,000 prize in July, picking their app from a field of 17 in a promotional contest.

“All of these things already existed, and I was sort of like this alchemist — and a lot of software developers are doing this. They are sort of the modern-day alchemists,” White said. “They take the ingredients of Google maps and the spice of Flickr and the mixing cauldron of the iPhone, and they throw it all together, and all the sudden you’ve got this new brew of digital information that nobody has ever been able to experience before.”

White also won a contest to earn free passage to the California ISODevCamp conference, where he received recognition through another programming contest called Hack-a-thon.

White and partners have three apps for sale on the Apple iTunes Store, where about 15,000 users have purchased a refined version of “Flickr Photo Map.” The instant-marketing strategy gives 70 percent of the $4.99 purchase price to developers while Apple keeps 30 percent. White hopes that app, or a free application called “Checkin Map for Facebook” — which is gaining hundreds of users each day since its Christmastime launch — will get enough attention to support him through future innovations.

Choosing an alternative career though computer skills isn’t for everyone, White says, but he’s part a group of young risk-takers willing to try.

Some of those who have trudged that path before him are industry powerhouses who also skipped out on college degrees and went straight into technical success — such as Apple founder Steve Jobs; Michael Dell, who founded Dell computers; Larry Ellison, who developed the Oracle Corp. software firm; and Richard Branson of Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic Airways and New Mexico’s Spaceport USA.

This fall, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, well-known as a PayPal co-founder and Facebook backer, caught heat from bloggers and politicians for establishing a foundation that will administer grants to people under the age of 20 to “further their innovative scientific and technical ideas.” Those awarded grants won’t be permitted to attend school for the two years that they are part of a fellowship.

Foundation board member Jim O’Neill, who was a science-policy adviser with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Bush administration, said he was surprised that criticism of the project wasn’t more broad. Although the deadline for entries is not until the end of the month, several hundred have already applied for one of the 20 $100,000 grants up for grabs. Educators, he said, have been among some of the strongest advocates.

“A lot of people are questioning the cost of college, the problem of student debt and how much value college adds financially compared to other ways people could spend their time,” he said.

O’Neill said he hopes there is a rising tide of young people who are more interested in the kind of career White is launching.

“We are hopeful that the next generation, the people who are now teenagers, will be a lot more interested in breakthrough innovation and entrepreneurship because in a lot of ways, our economy depends on that happening,” he said.

Even though White is too old for that program, he’s tuned into the idea that some programmers make a living entering contests like the one he won. Others find a breakthrough product that wouldn’t be possible, he said, if they devoted all their mental energy to a 9-to-5 office job or an advanced college degree.

If he does want a traditional gig, he’s already skilled in a growing field. For example, full- and part-time jobs in technical, scientific and professional services grew by 14 percent in Santa Fe between 2006 and 2008, according to data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

White works from wherever he feels like opening his laptop, but he likes to hang out at Santa Fe Complex, a free workspace near the Santa Fe Railyard focused on economic development through collaboration in art, science and technology.

Complex founder Stephen Guerin said White’s among a growing group of people who are re-inventing the idea of career. It’s working, he said, because “there is a depth of technical resources and there are exemplars, people who work in a project-based world and make their own careers versus trying to find a job.

“Those two things give people the confidence that they can take on jobs that they may not have the initial technical expertise for, but there is a community around them that they can draw upon.”

Checkin Map for Facebook Places on iPhone & iPad

tyler — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:19:00 +0000

Get the App Here!

The Ultimate Facebook Places App!

Your friends are close… your enemies may be closer! Stay in the loop with Checkin Map!

Checkin Map displays your friends’ Facebook Places checkins on an interactive map. See who is across the world, or just next door. Keep in touch with what’s happening and where.

Download CheckinMap for a new kind of Facebook Places experience to see what the BUZZ is in this new world of Location Based Services.

Checkin Map features many awesome and unique features:

* View your checkins and your friends’ checkins on a glamorous world map
* Check into existing places or create new ones
* Receive alerts you when your friends check in nearby
* View your top places and the top places of your friends (more stats coming soon!)
* Find deals and coupons at nearby businesses
* Receive push notifications based on proximity

Available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Flickr Photo Map for iPhone & iPad

tyler — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:20:23 +0000

Get the App Here!

★★★★★ “I love it!! I’m able to see pictures of my hometown. Best App on my iPad!!!” – Scorpion1877

★★★★★ “A terrific way to explore the world. The random pictures are interesting but when you choose keywords to focus on a specific subject AND place it becomes a travelers dream. – NMMapguy

★★★★★ “Checking out new locations has never been this much fun.” – Chris Pirillo

★★★★★ Featured by Apple in New and Noteworthy.

1. Start the app and watch as the photos fly in automatically. You don’t have to do a thing.

2. Explore by swiping and pinching. The photos will appear wherever you’re looking.

3. Use the options menu in the top-left corner to filter by Tags and Places and more.

4. This app is relaxing and simple to use and provides hours (days/weeks) of fun exploring.

Explore your world like never before. See photos from anywhere on Earth. Scan the sands of the Sahara or island hop in the Caribbean, go anywhere! Flickr Photo Map is easy and simple.

Search photos by Tag, Flickr Username, Text Description, and Place. View your current location and see the photography was taken around you. This app is awesome and photo maps have never been so addicting.

The pictures will be placed exactly where they were photographed (geotagged).

Awarded “Best Use of Web API” at the iOS Dev Camp 2010 in San Jose.

An interactive photo map like this has never been done before! Zoom into your house to see photos in your neighborhood. Check out areas that you would like to visit and get a sense for that place.

— Awesome Features —

- Optimized for HD displays, for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch
- Buy it once and get it for all of your devices
- Explore photography from anywhere on planet Earth!
- Share photos on Facebook and by Email
- Full Screen mode on iPad
- Photos constantly stream onto the map for wherever your looking
- View photo titles, authors, and descriptions
- Filter by Tags, Flickr Usernames, Photo Descriptions, and Place
- See photos from past and present
- Choose from three types of maps: road, satellite, and hybrid
- Email your photo map to a friend (iPad only)
- Upload and share your photo map of Facebook (iPad only)
- See your current location
- Fade the photos in and out for map readability
- Four random splash screens with blue map faces

– New Advanced Toolbox (In-App Purchase) –
- Sort by Relevance
- Sort by Most Interesting
- Sort by Least Interesting
- Sort by Newest Taken
- Sort by Oldest Taken
- Sort by Newest Upload
- Sort by Oldest Upload
- Filter by Date Taken Range
- Filter by Date Uploaded Range

P.S. Just because you’re awesome and you’ve read this far, use the coupon “freeupgrade” within the app to get the Pro Version for free! Sshhhhhhhhh….

Winner: $40,000 Alcatel-Lucent Location-Based iPad App Challenge

tyler — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:04:41 +0000

Tyler White, working with Mick Thompson, has created Peer to Peer, the winning iPad App in the Alcatel-Lucent TopCoder iPad App Challenge. Using Location Based Services (LBS), the new iPad app provides users with a unique way of looking at their world.

This app, the first of its kind to work with smart and “dumb” phones, displays pictures that are geographically close to users’ friends. The geotagged images are pulled from Flickr based on the latitude and longitude of your friends which is provided by the Alcatel Lucent/ Open API Service system.

“My inspiration for developing this app is my hope that new and interesting social patterns will emerge,” said Tyler White. ‘”For example, if your friends are hungry friends, you might start seeing your map populated by pictures of food and restaurants. If your friends are world travelers that enjoy the outdoors and van trips, your map may have an emergent theme of barren deserts and roadside assistance. This level of synchronicity is yet to be determined.”

More than seventy developers registered for the contest with entries from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania, Russia, United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States.

The Reading Game for iPhone

tyler — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:43:43 +0000

Get the App Here!

The Reading Game makes reading books more exciting and fun than ever before! Now different users can track their own books and get rewarded every time they read. With over 300 rewards to unlock, this game transforms daily reading into your favorite thing!

The Reading Game was created for middle school students and those studying English as a second language (ESOL).

Unlock special characters such as the parachuting squirrel, the cute puppy, the weight-lifting robot, the guitar-playing penguin, the surfing alien, and the water-skiing mouse. After you enter the names and total pages of your books, The Reading Game keeps track of the pages you have read to unlock your rewards. There are over 300 crazy sound effects and songs to unlock with your reading. While viewing your reward, shake and tilt your phone or iPad to create wild sound effects.

Features:

Many readers can track their own books and review their rewards.
Offers over 300 animations.
Offers over 300 sounds and songs.
Responds to shaking and tilting with original sounds from the sound rewards.
Calculates how many pages are left to read.
Displays the percentage of the book that you have completed.
Keeps track of your current page like a bookmark.
Tracks your reading progress with as many books as you want.

Parents!

This is the app that makes the difference in your youngster’s academic skills. The Reading Game provides the incentive for all your children to read more books and receive immediate rewards. Give your children and teens the gift of reading with The Reading Game.

Teachers!

Your students are already hooked on technology. Now you can harness that energy to prevent the summer slide that causes them to shed their skills. Encourage them to read every day, to track their reading and be rewarded every time they read with The Reading Game. Each of your students can track his or her reading daily and keep their rewards!

Reading For Kids: 100 Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Read for iPhone

tyler — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:47:52 +0000

This app is full of great ideas that will encourage your kids to be eager, happy readers. Studies show that the more children read, the better readers and writers they become. You can make reading an everyday part of your kids’ lives. Here’s how, from the time they are babies through elementary and high school.

The free companion app to The Reading Game. Your kids will love The Reading Game!

Features:

Approaches for infants, as well as young children and teens
Web activities that have kids reading and writing daily
Reading hints to replace television watching
Use maps, recipes, coupons, horoscopes and games to get kids excited about reading
Rewards and incentives
Ideas that give kids confidence
Practical suggestions that work

Get the App Here!