Created by Frontier (the same studio that made Kinectimals) Kinect Disneyland Adventures lets you move around a realistic 3D version of Disneyland. To walk, you point your hand. To walk faster you raise your hand higher — a navigation scheme that takes a while to learn. At any time, a second player can jump in (or out) making this a great context for social play. Each activity has you moving in a different way. In Frontierland, you can jump onto a mine cart in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, pumping your arms to go faster or slower. You can fly through Neverland with Peter Pan, with your arms extended like wings or challenge Captain Hook to a sword fight. Content includes 18 rides or attractions and 35 Disney 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.
CTR December 2011
CTR December 2011
Children’s Technology Review • December 2011 • Vol. 19, No 12, Issue 141
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This issue of CTR contains reviews of 66 new apps, toys and games to keep on your rader screen, including a first look at what 13 expert jurors said were the best children’s technology products of 2011. You can see the entire list on page 6. For younger children, try Mark Schlicting’s NoodleWords app (on this month’s cover) or zinc Roe’s DoodleCast for Kids. For older children, Bobo Learns About Light is a safe download for iPad. And as we wind down one of our busiest years in history—with 643 reviews—and head into a bit of a vacation, let’s all pause and remember that no technology can replace a walk around the block with a puppy and a friend, or the chance to get some snow in your boots when you tumble off a toboggan. There will never be an app for that.
Car Tech! It is now common knowledge that Google has been experimenting with driverless cars. Have a look http://bit.ly/qCB7TQ and you learn the computer guided lasers help the car map a safe route. Since it was invented, the automobile has always been the target of clever inventors, which is why it is the subject of this month’s LittleClickers. If you turn to page 3, you’ll find a set of sites and videos that illustrate such things as air bags exploding, in slow motion, and a car with folding wings that can fly like an airplane.
Ready or not, here comes the iPad in K-3.
When the Auburn, Maine schools announced that every Kindergartener would receive an iPad, some people had doubts. How would they be implemented? Could such an expense pay off? These questions were debated recently during a three-day conference called the Leveraging Learning Institute. In case you weren’t one of the 100 participants, don’t worry. CTR contributor Bonnie Blagojevic was there, taking notes and photos, and we’re lucky to get her exclusive report. Turn to page 4.
New Searching Features Unveiled in CTR’s Review Database
Are you looking for highly-rated first grade iPad math apps? Now you can quickly generate a list, thanks to some new fields that are now live in reviews section. Available to subscribers, the popup fields let you zoom down to just what you want, from our pool of 10,232 reviews, as of this issue. Using the new pop-up menus, you can quickly mix-and match your search criteria to try different curriculum tags, platform and grade level. In addition, a new printer friendly report lets you print your listing. Let us know what you think of these new features, and please send more suggestions as we improve. Give it a try!
We tried the Kinect version of Puss in Boots: The Video Game, and quickly became exhausted — in a good way — as we kicked, waved our arms, balanced, strummed a guitar, clawed and snuck our way through the first of what looked to be about four levels (we cannot confirm this). We also did not try the two player features. The PS3 Move compatible version lets you use your controller, or choose to use the Move remote and transform the gameplay into a full-motion sword fighting experience. In the Wii version, you use the Wii Remote to slash with Puss’ sword, the Nunchuk to dodge attacks, and button combinations to deliver damage to enemies. The handheld DS/DSi version continues the movie’s storyline with a new plot that has Puss engaging in swordfights, flamenco style dance battles, dozens of mini games, and rhythm-based activities. 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 collection of resort games takes place on a trip to Kawawii island, a virtual family resort. The game features co-operative and competitive events, and you can play with up to four players. Activities include sky diving, surfing, white water rafting, beach volleyball, tennis, miniature golf, snowball fights and shooting water guns. It is also possible to explore the island on horseback, through scuba diving, or riding snowmobiles. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
A faithful adaptation of “The aMAZEing Labyrinth” board game, in which you slide in and out tiles to create and change a dynamic maze and collect treasures before the other players. The game comes with a single-player campaign and computer opponents, hot-seat multiplayer (with kids passing around the DS for their separate turns) as well as single-card and multi-card multiplayer with multiple DS’s. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This exercise program contains 155 exercises in eight categories including Hip Hop, Latin Dance, Aerobics, Boxercising, Karate, Karate Forms, Yoga/Pilates and Stretching. After you construct a profile, you are given a lesson on each exercise. The number of calories burned as well as METs (intensity of the workout) are displayed for each exercise. ExerBeat is compatible with both the Wii Balance Board and Wii MotionPlus. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Let’s say you suddenly lost your voice. How would you communicate? There’s an app for that — several, actually and they range greatly in price and quality, due in part to the growing diversity in the app store. The reality is the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch — which comes with a microphone, camera, clear speakers, text to speech software, and is a ready made Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC) device. Created by Boise-based Legend (www.thinklegend.com), OneVoice 1.1.2 served up a starter set of 100 icons; each associated with a common phrase like “I want” and “breakfast.” To speak, you just tap an icon, and you hear the words spoken, in clear, synthesized speech, available in one of four voice choices (two per gender) and adjustable in speed. Phrases can be built, by touching more than one icon, and it is easy to create your own icons using the iPad 2 camera, or simply type a phrase using the standard iOS keyboard. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
E3: Wii U, PlayStation Vita and Kinect
Bustling with gamers and overly enthusiastic Italian TV crews, this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was a good one. Held each May in LA, the show has had both on and off years, and this year was definitely an “on.” Besides the crowds and a lot of buzz around new children’s Kinect titles (see Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover!) two important game platforms were announced. Wii U, which represents Nintendo’s step into both HD and the “social cloud” (thanks to a camera and Wi-Fi link between the controller and the console) and the technology-packed handheld called PlayStation Vita; Sony’s admission (finally) that the future really does lie in capacitive touch screens. My two favorite Vita titles to watch: Little Big Planet, and a collection of logic puzzles called Little Deviants.
NECC: A Race to the STEM Clouded Candy Bowl
White board-based instruction systems (with handheld polling devices), expensive, cloud-based curriculum with annual contracts, and some extremely interesting Android-based tablets were on display at this year’s highly swagged National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).
Fortunately for me, the show was in Philadelphia so I could drop down for a day to walk the floor, have dinner with my friends from Computer Explorers and stroll past the real, non-virtual Liberty Bell.
It is easy to become both excited and cynical when you attend two technology shows (E3 and NECC) in the same month. Both deal with “E’s” – Entertainment and Education. So which show had the learning innovation? E3, by leaps and bounds. Case in point, Nintendo’s Measure Up. At NECC, educators were lined up with coupon books, trading time for the candy and T-shirts being tossed out as a reward for sitting through a sales pitch for a $3000, soon-to-be obsolete interactive white board. How behavioral. Two highlights none-the-less: BrainPOPs new game section and the Toshiba Thrive tablet, the first generation, Google powered iPad competitors.
LittleClickers: Pasta
If you live in the US, you eat an average of 15 pounds of pasta every year. Macaroni really is as American as Yankee Doodle. Learn more on page 4.
Virtual Worlds Sliced ‘n Diced
Which virtual worlds are getting the most traffic, and why? Have a look at page 5 for a preview of a study just completed by the all knowing, all seeing Scott Traylor of 360 KID. This article is important for two reasons. Besides providing a global perspective on the virtual world space, it is written by our first Contributor, as part of my effort to expand the voices in Children’s Technology Review. If you’d like to write something and you can agree to our editorial guidelines, let me know.
Dust or Magic News
Save the date for Dust or Magic 11, to be held Nov. 6-8 in Lamberville New Jersey. On the agenda: Chip Donahue on “Erik Erikson in the Age of iPad.” If you missed AppCamp, the videos are now live. See http://bit.ly/mq9fww or http://dustormagic.wikispaces.com/AppCamp.
Calling all occupational therapists. Now you can turn your iPad into a fine motor skill assessment and practice instrument. The $10 app, was inspired when an app developer (Frank Jensen) needed such a tool for his daughter. There are three sets of multi-touch activities designed to both assess and provide practice with common skills: Tap it, Pinch it and Write it. A set of reporting options records the time and accuracy of each task for one user. 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.
Mario Sports Mix brings four sports to the Wii console. The games — volleyball, basketball, ice hockey and dodgeball, can be picked up and played with 1 – 4 players, with or without a Nunchuk (although a Nunchuk is preferred), in tournament or exhibition play, or against other real players, online. You can play as one of 12 Nintendo characters or as one of your Miis. There are some usual Mario style twists, for example, you can collect coins while you play to earn extra items, like a Koopa Shell to use as a shield in Dodgeball. 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.
Designed exclusively for the Wii, this game features characters from seven Disney channel shows, including Camp Rock, Sonny With A Chance and Wizards of Waverly Place. You can jump to a tutorial at anytime — even in a game, which is a nice feature, and the controls are explained well. The more you play, the more games you unlock. There are both circuit mode and free play mode, and high scores can be saved. Developed by Page 44 for Disney Interactive Studios. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
by WARREN BUCKLEITNER
(updated December 28, 2010)
There’s good reason Apple’s iPad ranks up there with a pony on your child’s “most wanted” list. Kids are adapt at sniffing out authentic play opportunities, and when loaded with the right apps, the iPad delivers. But it’s far too easy to clutter a high quality screen with low quality apps. In order to help, here are ten or so of the best, listed from young to old.
The game of Marbles moves to the iPad screen, with Marble Mixer, a four player game with three modes: Monster Picnic (see how many times you can hit a monster’s mouth in 1 minute), Space Mania (try to get your marble to stop on a score ring, or push your opponent’s marble into the hole in the middle of the turntable) and Table Tactics (a turn-based game where you try to score as many points as you can with ten marbles). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Well designed but very challenging, this picture searching program follows a tried-and-true formula that translates well to the iPad’s clear touch screen. While it isn’t designed specifically for children, it’s the kind of app that a child (or adult) can do. It is also fun to do as a huddle game, with many people helping to spot the hidden item. You start by logging into one of four game-save slots, which saves progress automatically. The goal is to search through ten scenes that consist of hundreds of tiny, clear items, shown against a single color background and arranged into an outline that you instantly recognize (e.g., a dog, shoe or pair of scissors). 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 is the collection of 20 fast paced Kinect activities that comes bundled with the Kinect Sensor ($150). After you sign in and choose your profile, you pick an activity by waving your hand left or right. By holding your hand over an activity icon, you can start playing. Games include Rallyball (swat at balls and hit targets), River Rush (stand up rafting), Reflex Ridge (a high altitude fitness course), Space Pop (fly around the room, waving your hands to pop bubbles) and our favorite, 20,000 Leaks (move your hands and feet to stop leaks in a glass wall). Developed by Good Science Studio for Microsoft. 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.
See yourself on the stage, as you try to keep up with a cast of experienced dancers in this dancing program. Content includes 30 tracks of music, each with a dance, from a variety of genres including Hip Hop, R&B, Pop and Techno. In order to know how to move, you have to first learn a system of markers, step ripples, poses and streams. There are four levels: Light – one or two markers per bar; step ripples and posing, and occasional streams; Standard – one or two markers per bar; step ripples and posing, with moderate normal ripples, front ripples, rock ripples and streams; Extreme – two or more markers per bar, markers in eighth will appear, and entire variation of the ripples will appear; and Stealth – hardest of all levels with extreme mode with markers off screen, just follow the model’s movements. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Cover: CTR 129, December 2010
Children’s Technology Review
December 2010 Volume 18, No. 12, Issue 129As the first New Jersey snowflakes start to fall and 2010 draws to a close, let’s take few minutes and review this important year for children’s technology.
In 2010, Two New Platforms Set a New Standard
When we started this year, iPad and Kinect were nonsense words. Most of the children’s media we were reviewing required pressing some kind of button, whether on a game controller or on a mouse or keyboard. As we end the year, we have two completely new, button-free platforms that have dropped the minimum user competency, which is significant for children and adults alike. Each uncovers two new veins of interactive gold for programmers, teachers and designers. The iPad is based on multi-touch and uses a child’s fine motor abilities; the other — Microsoft’s Kinect, uses motion and uses a child’s gross motor skills. Each has specific strengths and weaknesses, and each breaks new ground for children’s interactive media.
The fact that they both arrived in 2010 is no accident. This is a year of the convergence of enabling technologies. These technologies include things like the ability to manufacture an extremely strong oleophobic (coated) plate of glass, enough high definition big screens in the living rooms, smart lithium-polymer batteries, voice recognition, skeletal mapping, infra-red cameras, Wi-Fi and thick walls for noise-tolerant neighbors.
We’ve all grown used to the talking greeting card. Record a Story, ($20, from Publications International) takes that idea up a notch, by letting you record your own 45 second message on each page of an eight page book. To record your voice, you turn to the page, press record, start talking or reading, giving a young child an good excuse to read the words, or even stray from the script. To hear your masterpiece, you simply turn to the page — a series of holes marks each page. There is no limit to the number of times the narration can be re-recorded, and it is possible to save the current recording using a lock switch in the battery compartment. The book is powered by three AAA batteries, included with the book. Titles include Guess How Much I Miss You, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Sesame Street: Together at Heart, and Dora the Explorer; all for sale starting today at www.pilbooks.com. Teaches: reading or language. Publications International, Ltd.. www.pubint.com, $20. Best for ages 3-up.
Rating: 
or .94%
The latest game in Disney’s Sing It Series, this karaoke game turns your Wii or PS3 into a well designed, pitch-sensing vocal coach. Content includes 30 songs with on-screen lyrics from the most popular Disney classics. The song list includes Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations, Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast, and The Bare Necessities from Jungle Book. 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.
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.
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.
Inspired by the Mandala patterns of the Buddhist monks, this app makes it possible to convert your finger drawings into snowflake-like symmetrical art, set to zen-like music. There are two drawing modes, normal and blend. The palette contains 35 colors and three types of brushes. Content includes ten songs. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
First Annual 2010 Kids @ Play Interactive (KAPi) Nominees and Winners Announced
We are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual KAPi Awards, given at Kids @ Play event on January 7 at CES.
The KAPi prize is an honest attempt to ask as many people as possible “which children’s tech products raised the bar for innovation and excellence last year?” For more about the award and award process, visit the KAPi FAQs.
Like a recipe book for exercise, this reference for iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad consists of a database of 150 exercises. You start by touching a region of the body (e.g,. back, legs or shoulder) and then see a list of exercises, presented in step-by-step fashion. For each exercise, you can download a short 10 second video showing what to do. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
You begin by plugging in your iPad into a Windows or Macintosh computer (required), and starting iTunes (also required). This starts the standard registration process, and some free trial offers to subscription-based data services; all easily skippable. Next, you log into your favorite Wi-Fi zones (also required). The next parts are familiar to anyone who has ever synced an iPod Touch or an iPhone with a computer. You can decide which apps you want to transfer, from the huge selection of free choices, along with your movies, podcasts and photos. Or you can give Apple your credit card and download some of the new iPad native apps already on the market. These titles, in the $5 – $10 range, have markedly better graphics and sounds. Regular iPod Touch apps appear in a regular sized window on the iPad’s larger screen, with a “2x button” in the lower corner, making it easy to quickly fill 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.
Last month Apple released its iPad, a $500 picture frame/clip board/report card/bubble scoring sheet/virtual world portal/music stand/easel/photo editor/browser/movie player/record collection/book shelf/carpenter’s level/subway map/chess board/night light… I’ve already blogged about how it might become a child’s best friend for the New York Times (see http://bit.ly/cHxQG1), and that post has stirred up a good deal of additional questions.
Nintendo's DS lite, DSi and the new DSi XL
Here are some official photos that Nintendo released yesterday about the Nintendo DSi XL (covered yesterday in GadgetWise). The DSi XL (which I’m assuming stands for “eXtra Large” will be in stores March 28, at a suggested retail price of $190. That’s just $10 cheaper than the Wii. According to the release, the screens are significantly larger than those of the Nintendo DS Lite model and feature a wider viewing angle. The new system will come in two colors, Burgundy and Bronze, and comes pre-loaded with two Brain Age titles ( Arts & Letters, Math and Photo Clock) plus a browser and Browser and Flipnote Studio. The stylus is larger (“pen-like”).
Question: Do you think that Nintendo is trying to get into eBooks? Is there any coincidence between the release of the iPad and the XL? What does XL really stand for? And where do you store that big ‘ole stylus?
The larger, more comfortable stylus
This is a collection of follow-along gross motor body puzzles, ideal for children or adults. The puzzles are played from a non-interactive DVD that contains eight songs. There are multiple motions to go with each song, that vary in difficulty. MeMoves is the second release from Thinking Moves. The first, with more complex routines, is sold by FableVision. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
One of the more interesting things I spotted at CES 2010 was a keyboard made of light, formed by a red projected laser. At first I was a skeptic, so I put down my camera to give it a try. Yes, it does work, but it takes some getting used to. For one, I had to separate my letters, because it seemed that my fingers were casting shadows. Compared to my texting ability, however, my Laserkey typing was much faster. Clearly there’s some validity to this concept. The red laser diode keyboard comes in four languages (English, German, French, Korean) and is regular sized. It requires an opaque (not clear) surface, so don’t think of using it on a glass table or anything with a reflective surface. If a laser mouse will work, so will the keyboard. It is powered from your USB port, or an optional battery; and is designed to work with Microsoft Windows Mobile software, Palm OS 5.x, RIM OS (for the Blackberry), Windows, and Symbian OS s60 3rd Edition (for Nokia). Besides having some implications for student desktops or library tables, this type of device could have obvious use with a portable device or perhaps a living room. Teaches: a laser projected keyboard. Celluon. http://www.celluon.com/index.html, $190.
This is a new feature that lets you password-protect your browser, so that the only Google search option is strict filtering, designed to remove explicit language and images. To change your settings go to the classic Google start page, click on “Settings” at the top of the screen and then “Search Settings.” Look for the SafeSearch settings, and find the “Lock SafeSearch.” Once it is checked, you’ll need to type your password to set the lock. From this point on, any Google search done with that browser will be strictly filtered, to remove explicit text and explicit pictures. In addition, four large colored balls are shown on the top of the search results screen if the SafeSearch lock is on; a design that is easy to spot from across the room. No colored balls means no lock. Learn more by watching 
. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
JP Dyson of the Strong Museum of Play’s National Center for the History of Electronic Games demonstrates a historic toy that raised the bar in electronic games. He starts by providing hints. How quickly can you guess which toy he’s talking about?
Presented at the Ninth Annual Dust or Magic Institute on November 3, 2009.