Writing Challenge for Android

I downloaded this app in hopes that it would be a good tool to use in the classroom. Great concept but the clock doesn't want to work appropriately. It starts, counts down about three seconds and stops. For a $2 app, this needs to get fixed.

This app is great for kick-starting the writing process. There are two things it lacks however. One is a "return to the last screen" option, for the occasions when you accidentally click the wrong button. The other is a "save" option for when you have a really great series of prompts but have to cut the session short due to time constraints. Since this app is targeted to the elementary and middle grades, it is worth taking into consideration that the ability to step away and return to the same project is important as is recognizing that pressing the wrong button will happen every once in a while.

While the app itself is well designed and works great, I'm a little disappointed that it includes such lines as "Follow the yellow brick road," and "In a galaxy, far far away." For the most part though, the prompts are fun, inventive and sure to get kids thinking up some terrific (and hilarious) stories.

This app is not designed to be used in landscape mode. If I want to use it in potrait mode, I have to prop it up with one hand while using the on-screen keyboard. Not only is this awkward, the hand propping it up tends to go numb. I wish designers who promise that their app is compatible with Mobile would take into consideration that most of our Mobile covers do not provide enough stability to prop up our iPads in portrait mode. As it is, this app is useless to me.