APP: The Explore Shakespeare App

[Ryan Goble]

From the Illinois Computing Educators Newsletter:

Explore the Literary World of the Bard

William Shakespeare was born on April 23 in 1564. The Explore Shakespeare app brings Shakespeare’s greatest stories to life. Cambridge University Press’s definitive versions of the texts have been beautifully reimagined for theiPad, with illuminating visuals, helpful commentary and compelling audio performances from actors such as Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale and Fiona Shaw. This free app enables students to compare and contrast the initial scenes from six of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night,Hamlet and Othello. You can also buy the complete text of each play directly from within the app. After purchasing a play, you will have access to the full text with a complete audio performance, plus photographs, glossaries,activities, synopses and articles for the entire work. Students can customize and enhance the plays to experience them at their own level. They can listen to audio performances and see the action with more than 100 photographs of professional productions. Clear glossary definitions help students understand Shakespeare’s language, and an overview of the action includes plot summaries inside the plays. Students can also explore the language of each scene through interactive word clouds. They can choose a character and see that character’s sections of the play clearly separated—perfect for learning lines or studying a particular character’s story. Circles help students to understand the relationships between characters, and Themelines let students see how the play’s themes ebb and flow through the acts. Hundreds of activities—for individuals, pairs and groups—get students involved with the plays. Students can search the plays, with highlighting and filtering. They can also use detailed notes alongside the texts to examine the literary inspirations and history of interpretation of the plays. And they can delve deeper into the context, key themes and history of the plays with a series of accessible articles by authoritative Cambridge University sources. Cost: Free app; in-app purchases, $6.99

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