Art HD

Price: Free
Grade Recommendation: 4th and up
Subject: Art
Specific Skill: Painting
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: iPad

The complimentary version of this app features the following great artists: Bouguereau, Cezanne, Da Vinci, Degas, Gauguin, Homer, Kahlo, Klimt, Marc, Monet, Rembrandt, Rivera, Sargent, Turner, and Van Gogh.

For each one, students can read a biography and view replications and descriptions of the artist's paintings.

A quiz is also included where students guess "Who is the artist?". You can select to have 10, 25, or 50 questions in the quiz.

Please note that some of the paintings feature nude women and men.

This app seems to crash more than others; but it's free so you can't complain too much.

Pictorial HD

Price: Free
Grade Recommendation: 3rd and up
Subject: Art
Specific Skill: Spatial reasoning
Levels: 2
Players: 1
For iPad, iPod, or Both: Both

This beautiful and soothing app is simply complex! Each scene requires the user to use a finger to turn a seemingly random group of dots different ways. Eventually, light lines appear to connect the dots; the lines become darker the closer you get to revealing the picture. Soon after, the dots and lines arrange themselves into a clear picture.

New levels and scenes are unlocked as you move forward. Also, points scored depends on how quickly you reveal the picture.

This app may be frustrating for some students. But those who enjoy the challenge spatial reasoning activities bring will appreciate this one!

iStereogram HD

Price: $.99 (or free version w/ads)
Grade Recommendation: 3rd and up
Subject: Art
Specific Skill: Optical Illusions
Levels: N/A
Players: N/A
For iPad, iPod, or Both: iPad

Stereograms are optical illusions that initially look like static you'd see on a television screen. When you look at them a certain way, 3D images seem to 'pop' out at you. To see stereograms, the user has to look beyond the picture. If done so correctly, an image - within the image - will appear.

I've only used this app once with students and probably never will again. However, I'm leaving it on the iPads because I won't mind if they stumble across it on their own and will probably explain its purpose when they do. While I can see the images contained within stereograms quite easily (by crossing, then slowly uncrossing my eyes), I realized I couldn't explain to my students how to also do so. I wasn't comfortable teaching them how to cross their eyes! :)

I'm filing this app under the subject of art. Perhaps an art teacher could incorporate the app into a lesson or unit on optical illusions.

The free version has ads running across the top of the screen. But their presence doesn't distract from each of the 150+ stereograms contained in the app.