The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Waiting in line. Waiting for water to boil. The DMV. Disneyland. The doctor's office. Delays. I had hoped for a summer release of the Android version of Stick Pick, as well as the Universal iOS version (with better iPad resolution) but unfortunately, development is taking longer than I had anticipated. While the Android version could drop any day, the soonest the iOS Universal version will be released has now been pushed to December, 2012. On the bright side, last week, iOS 6 was released without any adverse affect on Stick Pick. Some of you may recall that the release of iOS 5, Apple's fifth update to iOS, actually caused a pesky little text-size formatting issue in Stick Pick. Fortunately, in less than a week, we pushed out an update that promptly fixed the problem, but updates are notorious for breaking little things in apps, and I'm fortunate that Stick Pick appears to be running normal. 

There are numerous features I'd like to see come to fruition in future updates to Stick Pick -- many of which users have already contacted me about: such as import/export of student data, syncing across devices, making anecdotal records, and a host of other really cool ideas. I can assure you that these features will incrementally make it into Stick Pick. Until then, I appreciate your continued support and for using Stick Pick.

Happy Birthday, Stick Pick!

Since its debut in the iTunes App Store on June 2, 2011, just over one year ago this week, thousands of teachers and administrators from all over the world have been discovering how easy it is to incorporate higher order thinking skills into their daily lesson plans.

Although it has been a successful year for my development team and I, we are continually working on Stick Pick to make it even better. Got and iPad? Wouldn't it be great if Stick Pick could take advantage of all that screen real estate? Get ready, because this summer, Stick Pick is coming to iPad.

"What?" You may ask, "Stick Pick already works on iPad..."

True, but using Stick Pick on the iPad is like using a giant, pixelated version of the iPhone version. While this does technically work, it's not very elegant. That's why over this past year, I redesigned the user interface for iPad to take full advantage of its large screen, as well as integrated an optional "landscape" mode. But the best part is, Stick Pick is going to be released as a "universal app," which means, this summer, iPhone and iPad users won't need to purchase the app again! The update will be free!

But perhaps the most exciting Stick Pick-related news of the summer is that Stick Pick is coming to Android! Currently in its final stages of beta-testing, Stick Pick, like it's iOS cousin, has also been in development for several months. Similarly, Stick Pick for Android will also be available as a single application, optimized for both smartphone and tablet form factors. So, get ready for the Summer of Stick Pick!

And as always, thank you for your comments, emails, and suggestions. Keep them coming. We're listening!

Stick Pick is an Apple Staff Favorite

This week, Apple is featuring "Stick Pick" in the Education category of the App Store under "Staff Favorites!" It's reassuring to know that teachers aren't the only ones aware of how important it is to encourage young learners to think more critically and support English language aquistion. Because of this move, more and more teachers are finding Stick Pick and discovering how easy it is to integrate Bloom's Taxonomy and higher order thinking questions into their daily lessons. Thanks Apple! And thank you teachers! Share how you're using Stick Pick in your classroom!