The World Wildlife Fund’s free iPad app called WWF Together is one of the most beautifully designed apps that I’ve tried over the last year. WWF Together features eight interactive stories about endangered animals around the world. Each of the interactive stories includes beautiful images and videos, facts about the animals and their habitats, and the threats to each of the animals. The animals currently featured in the app are pandas, marine turtles, elephants, tigers, polar bears, bison, whales, and snow leopards. Stories about rhinos, gorillas, sharks, and jaguars are slated for addition to the app later this year.
Students can explore the WWF Together app in a couple of ways. Students can choose an animal by selecting it from the menu that unfolds when the origami polar bear is tapped. Alternatively, students can find animals by spinning a globe in the app and tapping on the blue dots that represent the locations of animals. If students have location services enabled on their iPads they can quickly learn how far the animals are from where they are using their iPads.
