App of the Week 2 - Duolingo

This week’s App of the Week is Duolingo.  Duolingo is a website and app that uses a gamified approach to teaching foreign languages.  I’ve done a few lessons now and while my Spanish is still horrible, I can see how this approach could lead to some improvement.  Duolingo tracks your vocabulary and takes you through a skill tree as you learn.  You can also compete against friends to see who can complete the most lessons.  Duolingo claims that your chances of success increase by 200% when using this feature. 

So how much do you pay for all of this?  It’s free.  Apparently, Duolingo uses its lessons to power its actual translation service for people that pay with real money.  You can use Duolingo to learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English.  The website is www.Duolingo.com and the app is available through iTunes, and Google Play.

The Typical Dad

App of The Week 1 - PBS Kids Photo Factory

da da da da PBS Kid

The Typical Dad is always looking for some fun apps for the phone or iPad.  This is the first in what will be an ongoing spotlight on apps that I find and enjoy.  I recently found a fun photo app from PBS Kids.  This app lets you take a picture or import one from your gallery and edit it with your favorite PBS Kids characters.  No fun and crazy filters here, just some frames and TV characters.  Above are some photos of G that I “improved” with this app.  PBS Kids Photo Factory is available from iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon .

The Typical Dad