Celebrate Spanish Language Day with these Apps
April 23 marks Spanish Language Day. Today, there are approximately 400 million Spanish speakers, making Spanish the third-most-spoken language in the world, after English and Mandarin.
Throughout Spanish-speaking nations, a series of cultural events are held in schools, community colleges and universities, to celebrate the language.
But even if you can’t make it to a Spanish Language Day fest, these apps can help you better understand and appreciate the language.
Photo Translator
One of the most valuable apps when travelling abroad, Photo Translator allows you to take pictures of text and then translate the messages using language recognition. It supports more than 30 languages and also works perfectly for ordering food.
English Spanish Translator
Easy to use, the English-Spanish translator app has voice support, a valuable function if you are traveling abroad. It works best if it’s a Hispanic voice being translated; otherwise, the app will offer many different interpretations.
Tourist: language learn & speak
Specially designed for travellers, this app features useful Spanish phrases for common situations abroad. Beyond basic words such as gracias andamigo, other important phrases include ¿Dónde está el baño? (“Where is the bathroom?”), ¿Dónde están mis maletas? (“Where is my luggage?”) and ¿Que hay de comer? (“What is for dinner?”)
Toddler Spanish
If you want your toddler to learn Spanish, this app offers simple words and images that can help a child build a Spanish vocabulary while also building an English vocabulary.
For more click here.
A team of eighth grade students from Hampstead Academy in NH are winners of a national competition to develop mobile applications that address a need or problem in their school and community. Their ‘Chow Checker’ app concept is one of 10 winning designs. The app will help people with food allergies avoid foods and ingredients they are allergic to – such as milk, eggs, peanuts and shellfish.
The Verizon Innovative App Challenge was created by the Verizon Foundation in partnership with the Technology Student Association to help boost student engagement and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab will continue to work with the Hampstead Academy “Chow Checker” team to refine their project. Verizon will provide the teams with professional support and training to help bring their concepts to market. The final products will be made available for download from Google’s Play Store. In addition, Hampstead Academy will receive a $10,000 Verizon Foundation grant to advance STEM education at their school, and each team member will receive the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, courtesy of Samsung Mobile.
More than 470 student teams from across the country submitted concepts for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. The Hampstead Academy Chow Checker team consists of seven students who will be invited to present their app at the National Technology Student AssociationConference in Orlando, Fla., in late June if they build the app by June 7.
For more info on the App Challenge, click here.
How will you celebrate Earth Day this year? A great way to commemorate Earth Day at home is to start a garden. You can use your smartphone with an app or two to help you have a successful gardening adventure.
To help you figure out what you want to plant in your garden and the optimum planting times for your area, check out the Garden Time Planner from Burpee. This app tells you when to sow seeds or transplant and has a large database of plants, where you can learn about their requirements, watch how-to videos and more!
Once you have purchased your tomatoes or petunias, download Landscape & Garden Calculators. This handy garden app tells you how far apart to plant what you’ve purchased, how much fertilizer to use, how much mulch you need, etc.
You want to be sure to stay on top of the watering regimen for a bountiful garden. The Garden Manager Plant Alarm lets you set alarms that remind you to weed, water and care for your garden.
For more suggestions from Verizon, click here.
Verizon and their Education Empowerment Program, with the help of the Paterson Public School and the Board of Education of Paterson, selected 20 students to compete in a competition to develop a new marketing plan for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Partnering with Samsung and SOTI, the School of Business, Technology, Marketing and Finance as a part of the John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, NJ presented 20 students with Galaxy Tab 2 devices to help them with their marketing plans which will involve creating a plan and a video showcasing the very device that they will be using.
The program will focus on mobile learning and using technology in the everyday life to prepare them for higher education as well as the workforce. The goal is to have the program prepare the students for college and career success. Verizon will be providing the 20 students with free service during their 4 months with the devices and of course prizes for the best marketing plan. June 2013 is when the program will commence. The students, Verizon and a panel of judges will choose just 3 finalist of the 20 students. Voting will be online and open to the public to determine first, second, and third place winners.
Verizon has previously worked with other schools in Boston, MA and Newark, NJ.
For more info on this and other Verizon Wireless initiatives, check out http://news.verizonwireless.com/
Everything’s Coming Up Roses: Apps to Enhance Your Green Thumb
With winter slowly changing to spring, gardening season is just around the corner. Whether you’re looking to plant your own personal vegetable garden or enhance your landscaping expertise, now is the time to get planning. There are apps available for all experience levels, from amateur grower to pro-gardener, to help improve your green thumb this spring. Don’t know where to begin?
The Food Gardening Guide from Mother Earth News for a one-stop app as you prep your plot. The Garden Squared app lets you size and plan your plots before you plant. You can also track your garden’s progress throughout the growing season in a grid you personally design. Click through for a full list of suggested apps from Verizon Wireless.
