CTR 134 May 2011
May 2011
Volume 19, No. 5, Issue 134
ANNOUNCEMENT: Don’t miss the Children’s AppFest, May 22nd in Monterey California. It is free and public, and part of Dust or Magic AppCamp.
News & Commentary on Children’s Tech
After a disaster like a train wreck, it’s not uncommon for a flood of experts to arrive to try to figure out what went wrong. But rarely do we step back from a children’s interactive media disaster, as measured in terms of irrate parents, damaged corporate image, crying children, or bad ratings, and ask “why?”
In this month’s CTR, we’re going to take a closer look at children’s interactive “dust” as part of the talk I’ll be giving at INPlay. This includes seven factors that lower ratings (page 5), the Top Ten Excuses for Bad Ratings (page 6), a closer look at Apple’s HOME key (also on page 6) and a proposed Code of Ethics for the Publishers of Children’s Interactive Media (page 7). Also on page seven, I write a pretend letter from the creators of Tap Zoo, which is currently one of the top grossing apps in the iTunes App Store.
What do you think? Comment on the NAEYC/Fred Roger’s Center Position Statement on Technology and Young Children
In spring 2010 the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media (Fred Rogers Center) began working on a revision of the NAEYC 1996 position statement. Called “Technology and Young Children—Ages 3 to 8” the document is important for helping us all better understand how to exploit the power of technology for the growth and development of children, while minimizing the downsides. The position statement will be issued jointly by NAEYC and the Fred Rogers Center. Now is the time to review the latest draft. To provide comments, send an email to TechandYC@naeyc.org by and provide comments by May 31, 2011.
May is a great time to build a treehouse
What could be more low tech than a treehouse? That’s why it is fun to go online to learn to learn about how to build one. Don’t miss this month’s LittleClickers, where we explore such things as how to find the perfect tree, and how to make a treehouse that will be around in ten years. See page 4, or visit http://www.littleclickers.com.
The CTR Subscriber Portal is live!
We’ve done it! The Children’s Software Finder has been replaced by the new CTR Subscriber Portal, where you can search back issues and 13,000 archived reviews. Subscribers, if you are having trouble logging in, please let us know! Thanks to Don and Tony for all their help in making this huge step for us.
Reviews in this issue
All Ages
Wordseek, www.hgappstore.com, 17
Babies & Toddlers
Big Grips Frame for iPad, www.biggrips.com, 15
Fun n Learn Toddler Phone, https://sites.google.com/site/toddlertrainingphone/, 9
MonkeyThinks, www.incandescentcore.com, 17
Preschool & Kindergarten
ABC Wildlife, www.peapodlabs.com, 8
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree, www.oceanhousemedia.com, 9
Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover!, www.warnerbros.com, 17
iLearnWith The Mighty Jungle: Animals! HD 1.0, www.tribalnova.com, 10
Monster at the End of This Book, The, www.callaway.com, 11
SmackTalk (App) 1.3, 12
Tacky and the Winter Games, www.oceanhousemedia.com, 13
Toca Tea Party, http://tocaboca.com/, 14
Early Elementary
Being Benny, http://purplesneakers.com, 15
Bubbling Math for iPad, www.tappytaps.com, 8
Farmer Pete, http://jumpingworldstudios.com, 16
It’s Tyrannosaurus Rex!, www.oceanhousemedia.com, 10
Tap Zoo, www.pocketgems.com, 13
Three Pandas, The, www.seeherestudios.com, 13
Word Wall HD, Punflay, 14
Upper Elementary
Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do, www.2kgames.com/2kplay/, 9
LEGO Battles: Ninjago, www.warnerbros.com, 11, 16
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, www.lucasarts.com, 16
My Word! Reader: Are Bees Smart, or What?, www.wrinkledpants.com, 12
Ridge Racer, www.namcobandaigames.com, 17
Stack the Countries, http://dan-russell-pinson.com/, 12
Middle School
Be Confident in Who You Are: A Middle School Confidential Graphic Novel, www.freespirit.com, 15
Deskplorers, The, www.bulkypix.com, 16
LunchLine, http://playsciencelab.com
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