6 Educational Ways to Use Doodle & Sticker Apps

The App Store must have thousands of doodle apps and sticker apps, some of which I have found useful for a variety of purposes, including the creation of quick visual aids, handwriting activities, language expansion, story retell, social stories, and more.  A lot of these examples are interchangeable with other apps but here are some of my favorites and some of their uses- these were all under $2 at the time of this post:


Use as a Visual Aid or as a Token Board:

Easy Board

Easy Board (99 cents) can be used to drag icon "magnets" to the main screen and incorporate them into a drawing.  This is great for quickly reducing a frustration by drawing what is coming next with First/Then, circling Yes/No, showing a timer for a break, as well as numbers etc.   The great thing is the eraser will only erase the writing you add via the pen- the magnets will remain and can be reused for another activity. 

You can also turn the entire iPad screen into a board by tapping "Full" and then tapping the "Hide" button.  Easy Board can also be used as a Token Board- drag the number magnets on the board in order (or not-for extra challenge) and allow the child to cross off  the numbers at a set interval until they are done with the task.


Complete Writing Tasks:



Dime Paints

 Finngr Pro (99 cents) allows you to add any picture or image with writing, for example- it will show up dimmed so it can be traced more easily.   You can also do Rainbow Writing by writing over the letters or numbers practiced in a variety of different colors. 

Dime Paints (99 cents) also has an array of bright colors for rainbow writing and an insert picture feature, but the picture is not dimmed as it is in Finngr Pro.  There are FREE lite versions available for both of these apps.





Practice Articulation:

Doodle Buddy for iPad

In Doodle Buddy for iPad (FREE w/ ads, in-app purchases) choose the tic-tac-toe, dots background or hangman-depending on your audience- to practice sound(s) X number of times before each person's turn.
If you are adventurous, try Creative Doodle by Pamakids (FREE) - I can't figure out how to switch off the directions in Chinese, but  it is easy to maneuver around nonetheless.  You can use the app by asking the child to incorporate something with his/her sound into the picture- this allows recording.  


Work on Language Expansion:

Creative Doodle

Doodle Buddy for iPad (FREE w/ads, in-app purchases) has stamps or "stickers", stencils, brush or chalk drawing, plus the option to type on the screen or add a background, including a custom one from your pictures.  You can have the child request, comment, describe etc. to get the stamp in the place he/she wants. This has ads- it is best to set your iPad to airplane mode to use it, or you can do an in-app purchase to remove them. 
Depending on the student's level, elements he/she wants can be requested and drawn by you in  Creative Doodle by Pamakids (FREE), or the child can draw and describe the picture him/herself. 




Play Barrier games:
Work on Following Directions/Prepositions etc.



Animal Stickers

 These are especially great for working on prepositions! Choose one of the scenes from  Animal Stickers by Mind Juice Media(99 cents) Tell the child where to put each object or animal- in the tree, on the rock, behind the flowers etc.

Doodle Buddy for iPad (FREE w/ads, in-app purchases) even allows you to add your own picture background.

To make this a barrier game, use the same app with identical background loaded on two devices (or one device and one printed set of matching background/ cut out images).  Each team or individual instructs the other on where to place each object.  At the end they can check if they are correct or not.

*Other similar "sticker" apps that can be used for barrier games: Animal Stickers for iPad (by Matthew Maddock, has ads) Toddler Stamps HD (by Generate Learning), My Farm Friend Stickers (by Portegno Apps), Buildo (-several themes available- by Jajdo AB), Sticker Book (by toolbukx.com), My Scene (by MyFirstApp), Pets in the House (by KandaBi- there are other themes by the same developer too)  One of my favorites is Techitot Pets, but it appears to have disappeared from the App Store. 


Work on Story Creation and Retell:


Educreations

Educreations Interactive Whiteboard (FREE) has a recording feature that not only plays back voice but also retraces the lines drawn on the screen.  You can also insert images (even from the Internet or Dropbox too), add text etc.- there are quite a few colors to pick from for both drawings and text.  You can also save your projects and share them with others (or keep them private)  Doodlecast Pro is a (slightly) pricier alternative ($1.99 at time of post).

Creative Doodle (by Pamakids) (FREE) has several different categories of  "story starter scenes" to jump start a conversation or story-you can record your own voice and play it back.  (FYI the buttons are in Chinese, but it is easy enough to navigate through the app).  Kidoodle Apps has an app with story starters as well, Pirate Scribblebeard's Treasure with Oscar & Josephine by Kidoodle Apps ($1.99).  

Scribble Press (FREE) allows you to create your own stories or use an existing story template; do story retells, or make social stories.  There is a public gallery of shared books, but you can keep your books private.

Toontastic: Play, Create and Learn!

Toontastic: Play, Create and Learn! (FREE w/in-app purchases) lets you design and use your own doodles but goes way beyond this- it actually helps set up a story by walking the user through the selection of story elements.  You can follow the "story arc" - a setup, conflict, challenge, a climax, resolution- and choose characters and settings.  It even pairs music to match the "mood" of each scene.