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Bible "Apps" and Websites for Kids, Creativity Programs, plus new and coming software/apps for Sunday School Children

This Bible Apps and Websites topic is part of our "Computer & Tech Workshop" resource forum here at Rotation.org. Please also visit our Software Download and Support Forum to learn about the 24 programs available for free here at Rotation.org!

You are welcome to add your suggested apps and reviews to this topic.

Intro from Neil "the Sunday Software guy"

I originally posted this topic and have been updating it for the past few years. Who am I? Let me introduce myself... 

I'm a Presbyterian minister who started teaching with software in my Sunday School way back in 1991 and has since then helped thousands of teachers do the same. For 24 years, I had my own Bible software development company called Sunday Software. I also helped found Rotation.org where I have continued to write about Bible software and apps for kids and create lesson helps for them.

Over the years, I've often been asked, "are there any Bible apps and websites I'd recommend, especially for tablets," and yes, there ARE several good ones -- as well as many I wouldn't recommend. I'm picky, and I'm interested software, apps, and sites that promote real learning, not just fun.

By "Bible App" I mostly mean downloadable apps for cellphones and tablets. That said, there are some rare tablet apps, like the excellent SunScool described below, that also have Windows and Mac PCs versions!

Some apps are web-based and not downloadable. These include apps like Washmylyrics, Wordclouds, and A.I. Image Generator described below.

The "app" list below includes some websites that have some sort of interactive content that you and your kids can use in your Bible lessons.

All these apps are in addition to the "PC software" I've created and/or sold for years through Sunday Software, my software ministry -- 24 programs of which I've made available as FREE DOWNLOADS to the Supporting Members of Rotation.org. In general, we tried to produce the kind of Bible software a Sunday School teacher would appreciate (story, plus discussion/reflection content in a fun format).

What I'm NOT talking about or interested in...

  • Apps only for teachers and church leaders.
  • Video app platforms designed to sell you and your kids animated Bible story downloads. ...Or their cousin: Bible apps designed to "complement" (sell) you Bibles.
  • Bible "game" apps with little or no teachable content.

I keep adding to this "app" and website list. I also continue to experiment with new ways to teach the Bible with tech. For example, you can see my experiments and lesson ideas for using "AI" programs that kids can create content with. Read: Exploring and Teaching with Bing's AI Imagebot and Bing's Chatbot -- two browser "apps" that kids can use to generate some surprising content with.

I hope my suggestions and "how-to" inspire you to use these exciting learning tools with God's kids.

NEILsig
P.S.

  • If you want to recommend an app, please hit the "reply" button below, and post a link with your thoughts and I will check it out.
  • If you have questions, visit our SOFTWARE HELP DESK.



Bible-based Apps for Sunday School Kids

Bible-based apps for Sunday school kids

There are three main categories of Bible "apps" for kids:

(1) Christian video apps that allow your kids to access and watch a company's collection of Christian videos. Sometimes the content is free. Sometimes the app is free but the content is pay-as-you-go. Some like the Superbook app give your kids full access to all the Superbook Bible Videos and are completely free. But these are not the "story and game apps" I'm really interested in. They are "apps to access videos."

(2) Websites with interactive or kid-viewable/usable content. Not all "apps" are downloadable, some are usable only on their website Wordclouds.com for example. If you want to use these in Sunday School, you need internet access. Typically these are free and/or ad-supported.

(3) Bible Story and Game Apps for your cellphone or tablet or computer.
In this category of Bible app, the app may tell a Bible story and may or may not have games/activities with it. Some may simply be games with a Bible story theme. Many are only for young children, but there are some gems.

  • Some of these have "in-app purchases" to unlock features or extra content" and some are thankfully free of ads.
  • Some of these are iPhone/Apple store only, but most also have an Android/GooglePlay version as well.
  • Some have multiple versions of the app for use on a wide array of platforms, including Windows.
  • Some of these apps come in multiple languages.
  • Included in this category are "Bibles" for kids, like the YouVersion app, that have some interactivity and storytelling.

    *Many apps require an internet connection to download specific story or game content as you use the app.  Some don't require an internet connection after the app has been downloaded, but in general, you'll want internet access.

    Keep in mind that there are non-Bible-based apps and website server-side apps (not downloadable) that can be used to create Bible content. See some suggestions below.

NEIL's COURTESY LISTING of BIBLE APPS for KIDS

Some are better than others or may meet more of your needs. Some have a theological POV that is different than my own but I can work around it. Like all resources, you have to preview.  I will continue to update this list.

GreenCheckMark

SunScool --one of my faves

We now have a full-fledged SunScool Resource Page complete with a SEARCHABLE OUTLINE of all the lessons throughout the app's many age-level adjusting menus.

This app is awesome! And it comes in iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows versions. Created by a UK non-profit international ministry, the app also comes in many different languages. With the exception of one or two story retellings, I found it reasonably ecumenical.  It includes four different levels of age/difficulty for each story/activity.

I especially liked the story-related activities, puzzles, help system, and how it rewards completion of stories and games. Lots of encouraging, helps, and incentives for kids to use it. Go to the SunScool webpage at https://www.sunscool.org to download it.  And don't forget to view/save our complete outline to the program!

Bible App for Kids by life.church
This ministry continues to develop a very nice "app" product for young children. Also known as the "You Version Bible App for Kids" --the stories are animated.

Superbook Kids Bible App
A free app that lets you watch the popular Superbook Bible story videos. You can also view them for free on the kids' version of the Superbook site when you register.

RightNow Media  --they have a large catalog of Bible videos for kids and adults which you can access over the app (or online) for a fee. Some churches have accounts so your kids might be able to access it.

Jesus Bible Trivia Challenge

Bible Coloring Book -- Bible Coloring Pages for little kids.

Guardians of Ancora from Scripture Union is very interesting and fun to play for churched kids ages 9 to 14 (in my opinion). Good for home, not really for Sunday School. You run and find Jesus and a few Jesus stories, then watch them unfold (captioned, unnarrated which is a little too bad). It does keep track of what stories you've completed. It's designed for iPad (works on iPhone but text is way too small even for a big phone IMHO). Here's their helpful description:  "Guardians of Ancora is a fun, epic parkour side-scrolling adventure game where players have to run, jump, roll and slide their way through stories of the Bible (know as "the saga" in the game. Choose your Guardian hero, then train and learn the ways of the Guardians before setting off into the world of Ancora. Explore the ancient world of the Bible, meet Jesus and return light to the city of Ancora."  Published by "Scripture Union" an international children's ministry organization.

Pathways to Jesus iPhone/iPad app from Turning Point Ministries has a good storyline (traveling to find Bibles to power an airship), graphics, and interesting Bible story content, but it feels flawed in that it is difficult to navigate/play at times which will likely cause children to quit. The 'pathways' you travel are essentially a puzzle-maze you have to move around through and rearrange objects to clear a path in order to reach story objectives. It's too easy to get stuck and then you have to restart the level, and you move by swiping the screen which gets old quick (needs nav buttons instead). If you like puzzles/mazes, then you may like this app, but I recommend only playing it on your iPad as the graphics are too small on the iPhone.

The Bible Word Match Game

Bible Songs for Kids (Offline)

Windows-Based Bible Game Software recently released or in production

As of early 2023, I have found just two NEW PC-only Bible games in development. There may be more. Neither has been released. If I find more worth mentioning I'll create a new post about them.See my list of still available older programs for Windows available as free downloads to the Supporting Members of Rotation.org.

  • "Gate Zero" (formerly titled "Bible X"). It appears they have dramatically reworked the storyline. Looks good. Releasing in 2024, we hope.  "Travel back in time to explore ancient Israel, interact with gospel stories and examine the deeper meaning of Jesus' words. Discover the history and culture of ancient Israel as you freely roam the streets of Jerusalem, Capernaum and surrounding areas, picking up missions and items along the way.

  • Exodus Vigil --a game exploring the Exodus and Egypt. The graphics look great.

    You never know when promised software will be released or how long they'll stay around. Sometimes they struggle with funding and revenue. When these "coming soon" programs are available, I'll revise this listing.

A Reminder

Supporting Members of Rotation.org have free access to Sunday Software's library of 24 Bible story and game programs for Windows.


Secular Apps That Might Be Useful in a Sunday School Setting

Here's a list of secular apps suggested by other teachers that have been used in Sunday School (or someone thought about using them). The list is about two years old, so a few of these apps may already be defunct or superseded by the next great app.

A list of secular “learning and creativity” apps, mostly of the Apple iPad variety. A few are free or have free account options. MOST of these would be for older children and teens.

Having used a number of "creativity programs" over the years in my computer labs, the issue is always the amount of time it takes for the kids to learn and use the tool -vs- the amount of classroom time they take to focus the tool on the CONTENT you want them to learn. You can waste a lot of time "being creative" and not teaching a darn thing. The answer is to know your tool, and keep the kids on track.

  • Wordclouds.com   --- a really nice and easy to use web-based online creation tool for making WORD CLOUD art. Easy for kids to use. See my Word Cloud experiments, lesson ideas, and description of the site.

  • Bing's A.I. Image Creator website   -- create expressive and unique Bible artwork of Bible stories and concepts using keyword -- and let the artificial intelligence server software create your artwork. See my examples and lesson ideas below. Very cool. I've written about my experiments with it here and posted some lesson ideas.

  • For creating podcasts: Anchor. There are others. The point is your kids could create a Bible podcast!  Imagine interviewing David and Goliath, for example.

  • For creating videos: Animoto, Clips, Flipgrid, Kapwing, Loom, Magisto, Typito, WeVideo. Creating video "shorts" is all the rage in this Tik Tok era.

  • For creating animated videos: PuppetMaster App.
    This app looks really cool, though might take some time to play, create, and master. See the YouTube video demonstration of Puppetmaster. It's not free, but might be worth the $2.99 if you are really into your tech Sunday School!  See my "closer look" below.

Others that might be worth exploring:

  • For making a video into a lesson: Edpuzzle
  • For creating publications: Book Creator
  • For giving photos a voice by taking a picture: Chatterpix Kids
  • For creating scavenger hunts: GooseChase
  • For drawing and animating: Green Screen by Do Ink
  • For engaging discussions: NowComment
  • For creating boards, documents, and webpages: Padlet
  • For creating digital stories: Pixie
  • For creating digital stories using photos: PhotoPeach
  • For creating digital flashcards and interactive games: Quizlet
  • For creating immersive 360 tours: Tour Creator
  • For creating playlists and newsletter: Wakelet

  • See the post below about Genially -- a fun creative content creation program. It's not an app, rather, you log onto a website to use it and share presentations with each other.

  • Some of the apps originally on the above list were nowhere to be found when I updated the list. If you can't find it in your app store, then it's probably defunct. That's one of the problems with "lists of apps" but it also means new ones are coming out all the time. One of the reasons I've included many "other" apps is to help you see the BREADTH of tools and inspired you to look for one that works with your teaching imagination.

What would you add to the list? Which apps have you used in the classroom (or recommended for home use)? Post your recommendations below.

https://www.rotation.org/pages...lessons-for-children

This topic was started by Rev Neil MacQueen, founder of Sunday Software and a Sunday School computer lab teacher with over two decades of teaching with tech experience. 24 of Neil's interactive PC software titles have been made available as free downloads to the supporting members of Rotation.org.

Many of the same principles Neil pioneered with computer software in the classroom apply to the use of tablets and apps. Most important among those is the principle of "guide by the side" which describes the physical position of the teacher with tech and students, that the teacher should go through the software WITH the kids, and idea that software is not a replacement for a teacher or a lesson plan. Read more about how to teach with software at https://www.rotation.org/forum...ol-Computer-Workshop and in Neil's guides and lesosn plans for the programs he has created.

See the video recordings of two "Software in Sunday School" Webinars Neil participated in here at Rotation.org. The second seminar shows 12 different programs in action.

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