If one word could describe this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, it would probably be “motion.” If that were expanded to three words, it might be “geeks looking silly.” Fortunately we had our camera, and the resulting mashup is called “The E3 Waltz.”
So now that we’ve reached the mid-point of 2010 and Toy Fair, E3 and ISTE are behind us, we’re able to start connecting some dots.
1. Nintendo is still in first place in the children’s software quantity and quality race. They also had the star of this year’s E3 — the 3D edition of the Nintendo DS, called the Nintendo 3DS. For the first time, a child can play with 3D photography.
2. Microsoft and Sony are playing catch up. But at least they’re in the race. It will be interesting to see if the Kinect connects with the public, at the estimated $150 to $180 estimated price. Based on the title list, they’ve definitely been drinking the Wii Kool Aide. The optical based Sony Move controller are also interesting.
3. The App Flood Continues. Flip through the feature reviews of this issue, and you’ll see some very exciting iPad experiences for children.
Video Games in Libraries? Absolutely!
“You can check out a movie or a book at a library. Why not a video game?” Starting with this issue, we’re beginning a series of articles designed to help children’s librarians use and circulate hardware. This includes a listing of recommend titles for starting a collection. Do you have experience with this topic? If so let us know! We’re also offering a new white paper, “Building Your Collection: 100 Library Friendly Video Games” for $25, in PDF format. Visit the order form.
NO MORE ESRB PARENTOOLS IN CTR
This will be the last issue of CTR to contain ParenTools, because the ESRB has discontinued the email service. It will be replaced by a web resource that will list the recently rated games. The plan is to push out a link to that page on a weekly basis through Facebook and Twitter, so if you follow the ESRB on either you’ll get a reminder. The ESRB is working to promote a set of mobile tools so that you can get summaries in the store, when you need them. Visit http://www.esrb.org/mobile.
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT INSECTS?
In this month’s LittleClickers, we examine bugs, a timely topic for the summer. See page 4, visit http://www.littleclickers.com.
We hope you have a wonderful July!
If you can’t wait, have a look at our YouTube channel for some of our recent E3 footage, including highlights from the IndieArcade, and an advance look at Super Scribblenauts; one of the most exciting literacy titles of the year (now it recognizes adjectives, like “amazing.”)
On behalf of all of us at CTR, see you next week, and have a great July 4 holiday.
Just posted: “Training Wheels for Your iPad – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com” ( http://nyti.ms/bolxnN )
Buckleitner, W., 2010. Book Review: Engineering Play: A Cultural History of Children’s Software. American Journal of Play, Spring 2010, page 485-486.
Engineering Play: A Cultural
History of Children’s Software
Mizuko Ito
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press,
2009. References, index, photographs,
tables. 234 pp. $24.95 cloth. ISBN:
978026203352
If you’re looking for a thrilling tale of
corporate espionage and rags-to-riches
(and rags-to-rags) careers, you need look
no further than the business of making
children’s software over the past two decades.
In Engineering Play: A Cultural
History of Children’s Software, cultural
anthropologist Mizuko Ito opens the
door for a closer look at children and
technology during this time period. Limited
in scope for reasons described below,
the book breaks new ground in the way
it attempts to interpret what happened
during this period of optimism and frustration,
when publishers were competing
to produce and market 979 commercial
products per year during the peak year
(2001) and trying to market them in retail
settings.
“Libraries Can Be Games Source | TheLedger.com” ( http://bit.ly/cPTzKI )
**PRESS RELEASE COPY**
KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE LAUNCHES FACEBOOK GAME THAT CONNECTS MOM’S GAMING EXPERIENCE TO CHILD’S LEARNING
LOS ANGELES – July 22, 2010 – Knowledge Adventure, creators of JumpStart and the innovator in adventure-based learning games for children, launches SPA ADVENTURE, the first Facebook game that includes the “JumpStart Connect” platform, a new technology that allows moms to have fun and earn rewards which their kids can redeem at JumpStart.com, an educational world for children. “With social gaming at an all-time high for adults, we wanted a seamless way to engage the player on Facebook that will be fun and benefit their children,” said David Lord, President and CEO, Knowledge Adventure. “Knowledge Adventure plans to extend the connection between the parent and child interactive gaming experience in the upcoming months, allowing parents to take an even more active role in their children’s game play and education.” SPA ADVENTURE, www.Adventure.com, invites players to design and run a relaxing, resort-style virtual spa. As one of the first Facebook games offered in true 3D, SPA ADVENTURE features addictive gameplay and amazing graphics. As mom enjoys social gaming with her friends on Facebook, she’ll be able to do much more than just rack up virtual currency and send stream posts; she’ll be able to enhance her child’s learning. How it works: After signing in using their Facebook and JumpStart accounts, parents who play SPA ADVENTURE will be able to earn coins and other virtual prizes to send to their kids at JumpStart.com. When their kids log in to play their favorite learning games, they’ll find bonuses sent from their parents! For additional information about SPA ADVENTURE, please visit www.adventure.com. About Knowledge Adventure Since 1991, Knowledge Adventure® has set the standard in kids’ gaming by creating the finest educational products for use in the home and the classroom. Today, Knowledge Adventure’s JumpStart® and MathBlaster® products invite kids to learn through endless gaming adventures in 3D virtual worlds. By blending learning and entertainment, Knowledge Adventure’s adventure-based learning inspires kids’ minds through immersed play. A subsidiary of Knowledge Holdings, Inc., the company is privately-held and based in Torrance, California. For more information, go to www.knowledgeadventure.com and www.jumpstart.com. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. Wii Balance Board accessory sold separately with Wii Fit Plus™.
Nice job! (YouTube http://youtu.be/KfmEENzacGU?a)
“If Your Child Wants to Be Dick Tracy – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com” ( http://nyti.ms/b0fwF7 )
“In the World of Cars, Lessons About Money – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com” ( http://nyti.ms/8ZzmPD )
VTech’s completely re-engineered MobiGo is an important new addition to the handheld learning category. There is no backward compatibility with the age-old V.Smile cartridges, a break from the past for V.Tech. Fortunately, the included Touch & Learn game cartridge offers six fun games. Powered by four AA batteries or AC power (neither included) there are also ports for earphones and a USB connector for saving progress online. Additional $20 cartridges feature characters from Toy Story, Dora, Mickey Mouse and Shrek. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
A kindle for the kindergartners? V.Tech (www.vtechkids.com) hopes so, with this week’s release of V.Reader (formerly called FLiP), a $60 ebook player targeting early readers with a clear touch screen and a membrane QWERTY keyboard. To read a book, you snap in a cartridge, or, if you’ve downloaded content from a Mac or Windows computer, you can touch the backpack icon. You can listen as the story is narrated in slide show fashion, or touch any page to discover hidden hot spots. When plugged into a Mac or Windows computer by way of the USB port, it will be possible to download additional stories from www.vtechkids.com, a feature not available until August. Stories in the library will include The Little Engine that Could, Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Shrek, Dora the Explorer, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Disney Fairies, Mr. Men and Little Miss, Scooby-Doo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Five activities — each previously released as separate apps — have been combined into one $4.99 universal app. See the individual reviews of each app, with ratings. Sound Shaker is a sound making game that uses the accelerometer, so you move the screen to make musical patterns (see the full review). Field Flier lets children control a flying bird. They touch spots on the screen to hear activities like sleeping, resting or hiding labeled. Count Caddy lets children count by 1s, 2s or 3s, by dragging and dropping items into a large circle. Sort Slider shows two objects, and asks children “which one matches.” To make a match, you can either swipe with your finger (left or right) or tilt the screen. In Pattern Painter, children are asked “which shape comes next” and are then presented with three options, multiple choice style. They are then asked to trace the shape on a template. If they have trouble, a short tutorial automatically starts. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
thinkSMART for the Wii and DS is a collection of exercises paired with a record keeping system. After you sign in and make an avatar, you choose from a series of mental challenges that include math, logic, memorization, language, and spatial reasoning. These are organized into free-training exercises, a daily routine, a test, and a multiplayer mode. All include the same challenges, but the free-training and multiplayer modes allow you to set your own difficulty. Created by dtp young entertainment for Mentor Interactive and Conspiracy Entertainment. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This racing game consists of an eight inch tall talking dog, with 12 bones that fit in a container in his back. The idea is to follow directions, and try to be the first to slip the bone into the dog’s mouth. After setting up the game by randomly placing the twelve bones around the floor, you press Red Rover’s nose and he calls out which bones he wants. You must run to find the right bone and feed it Rover. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
These 1/2 inch thick musical instruments are good for pretend jamming. There are three components — a guitar, a drum set, and an amp. Each is powered by batteries. The surface of each instrument is touch sensitive, covered with a capacitive paper Wowee calls “Active Graphics Technology.” This allows you to strum the guitar or tap on the drums by merely brushing the tip of your finger across the surface of the instrument (not unlike an iPhone or mousepad). Each instrument includes 3 songs that you can play along with, and there are six versions of the guitars and drums, for added variety. You can also control the guitar & drum rhythm for each song. There are 18 songs in Series One (3 per guitar/drum pad) including Sweet Home Alabama, Hey There Delilah, All Star, Born to Be Wild, Rock Star and others. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Part of the “Learning is Fun” line, this $1.99 app includes 36 tangram puzzles. The idea is that you drag-and-drop the puzzle pieces, scattered on the bottom of the screen, onto the outline. Incorrect matches self-correct by dropping to the bottom of the screen. Correct matches snap into place, as if by some magnetic force, to the sound of a crisp bell. When all the parts are put together, you hear a round of quiet applause. You can then return to the menu to select another puzzle. We reviewed version 1.4. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Five bite-sized games feature a chatty, quirky little monkey, who serves as the coach and instruction giver. Content includes concentration, color matching (touch all the green fruit), jigsaw puzzles (drag-and-drop puzzles), odd one out (which fruit is not the same), find the fruit that starts with the letter B. Every three activities earns you a sticker,which can be saved on a flannel board. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This gimmick-free app offers free-form letter and numeral tracing, with narration in English or Spanish. Content includes upper and lower case letters, and numerals 1 through 100. Other features include the ability to set the size of the line, and a “shake to erase” feature. The menu that controls the features is shown on the main screen, but it can be hidden. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The second of two letter tracing apps (the first is Letter Writer: Oceans), this App combines a set of lower case letters with real space facts. For example, after you trace the letter ‘m’ three times, you are presented with a short narrated presentation all about the planet Mars. To complete a letter, you must follow a pulsing line of dots with your finger. See also Letter Writer Oceans for practice with upper case letters. Note that both apps are designed for the smaller iPhone or iPod Touch app (they are not iPad native). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The first of two letter tracing apps (the second is Letter Writer: Space, that deals with lower case letters), this App combines a set of upper case letters with real ocean facts. For example, after you trace the letter ‘W’ three times, you are presented with a short poem about the Whale, as a large whale swims across the screen. To complete a letter, you must follow a pulsing line of dots with your finger. See also Letter Writer: Space for practice with lower case letters. Note that both apps are designed for the smaller iPhone or iPod Touch (they are not iPad native). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Completely re-designed around a Flash-based format (the same as the didj), this year’s Leapster Explorer ($70, for ages 4-9) won’t run older Leapster cartridges. But it will run older didj software, making this a new beginning for the trusted Leapster line. The didj has been discontinued. The games we tested featured characters from Toy Story 3, Dora, Star Wars, SpongeBob and the NFL. A USB link lets you download additional “Leaplets” (or apps), including ebooks from Leapfrog’s TAG library. Requires 4 AA batteries. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
After you sign into one of the three game-save slots, you can select the gender of the pilot in this flying game. You then begin a tutorial that helps you learn to fly through some rings by holding the controller like a pair of handlebars. Next you try putting out a fire with a water canon which involves carefully buzzing a building, and then clearing sheep from train tracks with carefully aimed buzzes. There are 40 missions including hunting for lost pirate treasures, abducting cows in a UFO, and eventually becoming the Sky Captain. You can play alone, or invite a friend to fly cooperatively (in split screen) in any of the missions. You can also compete head-to-head in mutliplayer mode. Developed by Torus Games for D3Publisher. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This fitness game for the Wii features 18 games. After a brief introduction by a real personal trainer (Brooke Burke) you are asked to sign in and design an avatar. Next, you can choose a mode of play; either quick play or routine. The quick play option lets you jump right to a game; the routine mode gives you a sequence of activities. If you play in two player mode, you see a split screen — this could be fun for parents and children to play together. The game requires a Nunchuk, and a Balance Board is optional. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Featuring Diego, this musical app includes six simple songs like Jingle Bells and Mary Had a Little Lamb, each set in a different environment (e.g., the Savannah or the Arctic). Made for Nickelodeon by Chewy Software LLC. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a drag and drop creativity space for collages. After you choose a background color and a head shape using as set of slide-open menus, you can freely drag and drop different items into place to try out different looks. Finished products can be saved or shared on social networks. The program look and runs fine on the iPad although the version we reviewed was not universal. The clip art library was developed by illustrator Hanoch Piven. Content includes 20 face outlines and 100 objects. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
In this game, you play as Buzz, Woody or Jessie as you run, ride and fly through scenes inspired by the film. For example, in one scene, you jump along the cars of a moving train, ducking under low poles or swinging buckets, and navigating across train cars with moving logs. You can complete missions to earn rewards such as gold and new customizations, and purchase new toys with your virtual earnings. Or you can customize new buildings, and then change how they look with paint and accessories. A “Toy Box” mode lets you add new characters and game elements. Developed by Avalanche Software for Disney Interactive. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Duck Duck Moose’s fourth app contains two nursery rhymes woven into one app: Baa Baa Black Sheep and Row Your Boat. There are three ways your child can navigate from scene to scene: manually, by swiping or touching; using an arrow button; or selecting autoplay in the preferences to automatically change the scenes. As children explore, they can hunt for four hidden outlines in the pictures. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
In case you needed a reminder you’re living in a digital age, how about 100 full-length books, like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Robinson Crusoe, for $20, on a single Nintendo DS cartridge. After you choose your book, you can hold your DS sideways like a book, and turn the pages by swiping the screen, or pressing the arrow keys. The game cartridge contains an assortment of books, ranging from The Jungle Book for kids, to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for teens, to Pride and Prejudice for adults. Each book includes a biography of the author and a synopsis of the plot and characters. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Lisa Guernsey blogs about the #NAEYC position statement — When Young Children Use Technology at NewAmerica.net ( http://bit.ly/acejhd )
One of my favorite Microsoft Kinect games — Xbox.com | Kinectimals” ( http://bit.ly/bq9Bxk )
Just posted this app review — “Bingo on the Go – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com” #dustormagic ( http://nyti.ms/c14zMV )
Back from e3… Survived earthquake and Laker victory mob.
Write a blog post describing a day in the life of a specific child (say your own child or grandchild) in 2020 (or 2040). Predict how technology will influence your child’s growth and development. In doing so, you may want to consider:
• The current generation of kids is unique. No other generation will need to live through such a dramatic change. In other words, iPods, the Wii, Wi-Fi and multitouch will only be invented once.
• That any person’s idea of childhood is defined by his or her culture, values and theories of learning. Not all of us share the same vision, and there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.
• An infant born in 2020, 2040 or 2060 will start out with the same biology as if that child were born today. Jean Piaget’s stage theory will still apply, and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will still apply. Wikipedia is a great resource on these guys.
COMMENTS:
The great way to understand time is to watch your kids grow up. Ten years ago I wrote A Day in the Life of a Child in 2020 (CSR, Jan/Feb 2000, online at http://childrenstech.com/2020). My two daughters were 3 and 7 (pictured with their Compaq Presario, playing Catz by PF Magic) and I was eager to test the latest software products on their developing brains. Today, they’re 13 and 17 and have burned through six cell phones (each!).
My, how things have changed. Ten years ago, cell phones made phone calls and to get online, you used a wire and AOL. There was no IMing, Wii or DS, Club Penguin, Webkinz, Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, iPods or Netbooks and Alta Vista was way bigger than Google. Gordon Moore (aka “Moore’s Law”) was true to his word—Microprocessor-based technology has continued to multiply in power and drop in price. What does this mean for my daughters’ children?
Technology changes, but a child’s development doesn’t. The answer, of course, is to study both, testing the technology, and continually assessing if it is “good” for our kids, based on how we define “good.”
It’s a safe bet that the next ten years will be marked by significant evolution on the software and human/computer interaction front, now that we’ve made it to connected tablets with ten hours of battery life. We have the tools. Now it’s time to figure them out, and start the sometimes uncomfortable process of assimilating it into our home or school culture of choice.
After you setup your child’s account, you can create a schedule, and then see a log of what your child has done, while using the Mixels service. It is possible to link up members to chat online with friends, play games, and read about current events. The service is free for a 14 day trial, after that the cost is $5.99 per month, or $55 per year. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
“Up With A Fish” is a fast-paced stacking game, not unlike “Scoops” (both are made by Nimblebit), where you lean your iPhone or iPad left or right to collect falling objects, which are balanced on the Cat in the Hat’s head. Catching fish bowls increases your life. Dodging trouble-making kids will also increase your score. You can pause the game at any time by tapping the screen. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Lean the iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone left or right, to steer a single balloon through a maze of tree branches or clouds that gradually get harder. The higher you go, the more points you score,and high scores can be posted on a leader board. The free version has less content. The $.99 version contains more mazes and balloon options. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Like it’s 2007 predecessor, you find yourself immersed in a planetary hopping theme, where the conventional rules of physics don’t always apply. You steer Mario through each maze-like level; flying, jumping or working upside down. New power-ups include a drill that Mario uses to tunnel through the planet’s surface all the way to the other side of the planet. Your goal is to collect as many Power Stars as possible, rescue Princess Peach and defeat Bowser. Other content includes the ability to transform yourself into either Cloud Mario or Rock Mario, which enables Mario to create temporary cloud platforms, or to smash through obstacles. With the Spin Drill, he can tunnel from one side of a planet to another. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This action-arcade racing game is set within a reality TV show, in a made-for-TV city. As you race, you try to collide with other vehicles to send them off the track, in order to trigger events that change the race. The game features a variety of game modes in 2-player split screen, along with online racing for up to eight players. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Out this month from Mattel, a choir of singing plush toys that are designed to sing in harmony. In the default mode, they make a whole-tone; selected at random. When two or more toys are squeezed simultaneously, the two tones can form a chord that more-than-likely forms a chord with it’s neighbor. By squeezing the $13 toys in rhythm, you can make silly songs. The toys run on 2 AAA batteries, and can sing a variety of songs, including “Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone,” “Skip to My Loo,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The Princess and the Frog comes to your iPad with this 23 page/screen adaptation that mixes highlights of the movie with two games, two songs, three coloring activities, the ability to record your own narration and a new feature for the read-along series, three jigsaw puzzles. Features include the ability to have the story read automatically, or to let the child flip through the book, one screen at a time. A pair of mouse ears at the screen bottom lead to a tray of options that include a microphone for recording your own narration, the coloring activities, and a scrolling set of pages, that makes it easy to jump directly to any page. There are two games: Facilier’s Fortune and Firefly Chase. Both games are active, and have three challenge levels. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The original game was a number-based grid puzzle where players filled in squares to reveal the hidden picture. In Picross 3D you must reveal a 3D image that is hidden inside a larger rectangular block composed of smaller squares, using the stylus to remove the blocks. You use a variety of numerical clues placed upon the rows and columns of the larger form. The clues indicate the number and possible grouping of blocks within that row or column. When there are no clues present, you must use logic and the clues on surrounding areas to determine where blocks should be removed or left in place. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.