Shadow Puppet App for Digital Stories and More

I've been very impressed with the free Shadow Puppet iPad app for quick digital slideshows. In the past I've written a lot about 30Hands as my favorite tool for creating these, but I have to say Shadow Puppet is now my go-to app.

I'll post a quick example video I made below. Here are the features that impress me the most so far:

• The intuitive interface allows you to quickly arrange some photos and record narration.
• You can add titles, zoom in and pan and also draw on the screen.
• The Edu version and website has some great resources for the classroom including image search engines and lesson ideas.
• It exports to the Camera Roll so you can share it how you like, transfer to a computer and even edit it in other applications.

The only downsides I've seen so far:

• The area for the image is cropped to a square shape rather than a 4:3 or 16:9 rectangle. 
• The music plays during the recording if I use that option.
• I got confused at the end of the creation process. I wasn't sure if I was previewing the video or finishing it.
• I'm not sure if this is a problem with my YouTube app or the video created by Shadow Puppet, but when I upload it, the audio is a few seconds off from the video.

For an app that should work well with almost every grade level, those are minor quibbles.

If I'm making a quick story for our high school news or a highlight for my church Facebook page, I'll go to the more robust iMovie. For the classroom, though, Shadow Puppet is my current recommendation to students and teachers. Download the Edu version now and give it a try!