Volume 18, No. 8, Issue 125
Tutor, Tool and Tutee, Revisited
Here’s some good news. Helping a child learn to program a computer has never been easier. Why is this important? It helps to recall a bit of history.
In 1980, Robert Taylor, a professor at Columbia Teacher’s college, put together a collection of essays on educational technology (see http://bit.ly/d8bR8w). In the book introduction, he defined three roles for computing in education: as a tutor (something that teaches you), tool (something you use to enhance your abilities) and tutee (something you teach or program). Now remember — back then, computers had 1 MHz processors and floppy drives.
Thirty years later, children are walking around with more computing power than NASA had to land on the moon. One of Taylor’s classifications, the computer as tutee — is once again very useful. That’s why, for this month’s LittleClickers column (p. 4) we took a closer look at helping children become teachers of the computer, aka programmers, a job made easier thanks to Scratch, App Inventor for Android (page 12) and Singing Fingers (page 10) and TonePad (page 10). See page 4 for more tips on helping children become programmers.
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- Just published "Building Your Collection: 100 Library Friendly Video Games" 53 pages, for libraries. $25/PDF from http://bit.ly/aV3XP9 #
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- Just published "Building Your Collection: 100 Library Friendly Video Games" 53 pages, for libraries. $25/PDF from http://bit.ly/aV3XP9 #
Just published “Building Your Collection: 100 Library Friendly Video Games” 53 pages, for libraries. $25/PDF from http://bit.ly/aV3XP9
Zoodles is an Adobe-air based app that is designed to put pre-selected materials at your child’s fingertips; while keeping everything else out. The idea is to provide a safe, virtual playground that can be adjusted to your child’s age and skills. Once it’s installed on your Mac or Windows computer, your child sees games from popular children’s sites like PBS Kids and Starfall.com, stripped of any advertising content. The service is free for the basic service; the Premium Membership is $6/month. 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.
We tried the PS3 version of this game (with a load time of nearly 10 minutes!) and found the game to deliver on the kinds of battles you’d expect to find in a Transformers game. In the story, your goal is become the ultimate weapon as a Transformers character in the final, epic war that will determine the survival of their entire race. Features include a variety of weapons, and the ability to convert from robot to vehicle at any time for air or land battles. There are different multiplayer modes and you can play through story missions, using the drop in/drop out online co-op play. Prices are $60 for Xbox 360 and PS3, and $40 for PC. There are also two versions available for the Nintendo DS — Transformers: War for Cybertron Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron Decepticons, rated E10+ and priced at $30 each. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Available in both free and “Pro” ($.99) versions, TonePad lets you compose rhythmic simple songs by arranging dots (or notes) on a 16×16 grid. Like the pins on a music box, each dot activates a tone, making it easy to make rhythmic and melodic patterns. The Pro version lets you compose your own ringtones. 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.
Following the historical battles of the infantry division The Big Red One, you play through some of the most famous battles of World War II. The game features 72 missions in total. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Singing Fingers starts with a blank white screen, then you drag your finger slowly across the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad’s screen. A microphone is required. As you move your fingertip, you notice that your “ink” is powered by sound. The louder you sing, the fatter your line. And the color is associated with the pitch. So if you sing a scale, you make a rainbow pattern. After you’ve made a doodle, trace your finger back over your drawing, to hear your captured audio. If you drag quickly, you make a drawing, to play your sound back. If you trace your finger quickly, the sound plays back quickly, like fast-forwarding through a file. The app was created by doctoral students Eric Rosenbaum (who spoke at Dust or Magic 2009) and Jay Silver of the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Group. 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.
Seek Your Own Proof is a web-delivered detective adventure that follows the story of three investigative siblings – Aidan, Milanie, and Heiko Munro on a series of missions. Each Flash-based mission is sold for $4 (the first one is free, after you register); or you can buy ten for $20. Created by Canadian-based Rocketfuel Productions, in partnership with Discovery Kids. 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.
Play as Grace Styles, a young designer at the Satisfashion Design House. You travel about to different famous cities around the world, displaying fashions at two shows in each. Each show consists of three parts – the first is where you put clothing and makeup on your models that match the theme and season of the show (each piece of clothing has two symbols associated with it). The next phase is the show itself, which is again, matching symbols. Then you determine which buyers to present your clothing to, once again, matching symbols. Finally you can create your clothing by coloring inside the lines and connecting the dots on the touch screen. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Road Trip Bingo turns your iPhone or iPad into a bingo board. Instead of numerals, the 5 x 5 grid contains a random assortment of items you might see passing by your window, ranging from common things — a cloud, tree or exit sign, to the more unusual — a horse, sailboat or a police car (may your sightings be rare). Once you spot an item on the board, you give it a tap to mark it with a virtual marker. Five in a row in any direction wins, an event marked by a chime and a sticker. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a balance beam scale with this math app. There are three modes of play, each with three challenge levels, and it is possible to alternate between ounces and grams. The challenge is the same — to see if you can pile on just the right amount of weight on one side of the scale, to balance it with fruit on the other side of the scale. There are 9 types of fruit, from the 10g cherries to the 490g melon. The weights come in six sizes. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This time-telling app offers four activities from the main menu. The first lets you freely move the hands of an analog clock with your finger, to see if you can make the time match a digital am/pm clock below. The background provides clues about if it is day or night. Correct answers provide a round of applause. The second lets you change the numbers in the digital display at the bottom to match the time displayed by the clock hands. The third is a free mode, where you can move the clock hands or the change the numbers at the bottom to see the time instantly change. The fourth turns the clock into a real, functioning clock, in a clever twist. Part of the “Learning is fun” collection. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Mixing a side-scrolling collecting adventure with multiple-choice workbook problems is nothing new, and this title is no exception. Children guide a Penguin through simple levels, earning badges as they kick rats, collect popcorn and complete activities. This title covers basic math content — such as comparing quantities, solving tangram shape puzzles and completing addition or subtraction problems. Created by InLight Entertainment for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This new format Leapster cartridge (for Leapster Explorer only) targets girls with seven princess-themed games. As you flip through pages of the book, reading-related challenges come up. For example, you are asked to touch items that help clear the path, to get into a castle. Created by Other Dream for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Of the three new format Leapster cartridges this one, targeting older children, seemed the most fun and was the best designed, perhaps due to some of it’s side-scrolling game play which looked passable on the small, crisp Leapster Explorer screen. In the story segment of the game, you try to defeat Dr. Animo to free Ben’s friends, working through five levels, each with a science/geography related activity. Designed by Virtuos for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The size of a typical door mat, this folding cardboard map of the United States has been coded to work with the $50 Tag Reading System — Leapfrog’s fat, talking stylus which has been out for several years. The stylus is not included in the $20 price of the map, and using the interactive features requires downloading and installing Leapfrog’s free, 50 MB or so “Leapfrog Connect” software utility on your Mac or Windows computer. This is required, along with a USB connection to transfer the audio files to your Tag. This process takes about 30 minutes, and only has to be done once. The map has two sides — each with two modes of play and several hide-and-seek types of games. One side deals more with state identification and the capitals, and the other has cultural highlights, with snippets of state related trivia, and music. Both sides feature a racing game, where you try to touch as many states or capitals before the music runs out. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This maze game app is part of the “Learning is fun” game collection. Your goal is to help the UFO find the exit by following a predetermined path with your finger while avoiding being electrocuted during your trip. It features 60 levels divided into easy, medium and hard. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Like the other Oceanhouse Media Dr. Seuss titles, Green Eggs & Ham follows the same formula of pulling the text and illustrations from the original Dr. Seuss story, and presenting it, one page at a time. The story can be presented in three modes: Read to Me (each page is presented, one at a time), Read it Myself (touch the words or pictures to see them labeled) and Auto Play (which presents the story, slide show style). To turn the page, you swipe the screen, which either presents a new page, or zooms in to highlight one of the features. 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.
Fresh from Disney, a children’s virtual world based on the movie Cars, making it possible to drive into Radiator Springs, chat with other car avatars, enter races, or just explore. If you have a Mac or Windows computer, you can have a car up and running by the time you finish this article by visiting www.worldofcars.com. There are three areas to explore, each with a different theme, stores and four player racetrack. Features include two types of chat, the ability to make friends and have private chat sessions, and subscription access to special areas of the world. In addition, Mattel is selling a set of die cast vehicles that come with special race codes. 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.
Book Buddy is a small, mouse-sized digital audio player and a book. The idea is to start the audio, and follow along with the text; listening through the included headphones. The stories are narrated with a human voice with sound effects. Two books come pre-loaded on the device, and are included in the $30 price: Home Run (reading level 3-4) and Touchdown (Level (5-7). There are 15 titles in the series including Bold Moves: A Dancer’s Journey, Full Speed Ahead, and The Biz. Prices are $30 for the Book Buddy with one title (two levels), $70 for six copies of any Future Star Series title, and $300 for the entire library of 15 titles. Includes batteries and headphones. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Barbie Video Girl Xray
At first glance, Mattel’s Barbie Video Girl Doll ($50, Mattel, for ages 6-up) looks just like a regular version of the doll. But a closer look reveals a camera in her pendant, and a postage-sized color screen on her back, peeking through a square space in her blouse. To make a video, you insert a AAA battery into each leg; a tricky process that involves a clothing change and a screwdriver. The three button interface on Barbie’s back makes it easy to know when you’re filming, and you can transfer footage in AVI format to your Mac or Windows computer by way of the included hot pink USB cable (a first for us). The accompanying editing software is Windows only, however.
According to Mattel Spokesperson Michelle Chidoni, Barbie first talked in 1968, when you could pull a string to hear her say six phrases. She’s since had fiber optic clothing, and an impeller that pushes glitterized fluid through her wings. Her vocabulary development nicely maps onto microprocessor speed, from six words to Teen Talk Barbie’s 270 phrases, with a moving mouth. This edition comes with 256 MB of memory (30 minutes of video) and the 2 AAA batteries last just over an hour. See the sample video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ZcgE_K4D8
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Like any public WordPress blog, this one attracts more than its fair share of spam. Like political advertising in New Jersey, spam like this seems to be one self-afflicted human condition that we all can’t avoid. This one arrived on Monday from Topping@gmail.com. I’d congratulate him or her, for being the first spam message to have writing entertaining enough to make it through the filter.
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Inventor of Paper-Computing, Jim Marggraff will share his roller coaster quest for digital empowerment at #dustormagic http://bit.ly/18g8co
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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
by 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.