Folks, February is going to be significant for children’s interactive media; hang onto your seats. Three events will be on our radar screens. iKids is a new one-day only event created by Kidscreen Magazine (disclaimer: I write a column) which will include a children’s App contest. The following day, I’ll be across town at Engage Expo to host the 11th annual Dust or Magic Journalist Huddle (4 PM at Javits Center). See the video from last year at http://bit.ly/gV1VRW. Besides these events, the American International Toy Fair which kicks off on February 13; will be creating plenty of news. Here are two trends I’ve noticed already, covered in this issue:
1. NEW WAYS TO CREATE. During a pre-Toy Fair press event for Mattel/Fisher-Price, I noticed two traditional toys that have been modified so that you can put your ideas inside of them. See Hot Wheels Video Racer (page 15) and Sweet Talkin’ Ken. Also consider ToonTastic, a new app that turns your iPad into a puppet show. See the full review on page 13.
2. WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CHILDREN’S APP TSUNAMI. Last month, The Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell asked me to try to estimate the number of children’s interactive products on the market for an article on children’s apps, so I had a closer look at Apple’s iTunes app store, with kids in mind. See last week’s post if you’re curious. In other news:
The Future of Children’s Portable Gaming Takes Shape
They have cameras, microphones, touch screens, accelerometers, Wi-Fi, App stores, in-room game sharing, rechargeable batteries, and crystal clear color screens. They cost about $250 each (although we’re not sure on the NGP price). But most importantly, they fit easily in your pocket. Now that we have the specs on the next generation Sony handheld device (see page 13) it’s not difficult to connect the dots, to better understand the next generation of children’s portable game hardware. Some key points:
• Since our last issue, the American Academy of Opthalmology has weighed in on the 3D eye issue. There’s probably less to worry about than you think. (see http://bit.ly/dMpqME).
• The NGP has multi-touch on BOTH SIDES (front and back) — plus cameras and motion sensitivity. For the first time in Sony gaming history, software will be cartridge based, like the Nintendo DS. More NGP details are on page 17.
• The iPod Touch has a pretty important big brother (or sister) — the iPad; and more Android-based apps and hardware is arriving every day.
Also in this issue: LittleClickers with the theme of teeth, and an essay called “A Letter to 20 Years Ago.”
Will 3-D exposure cause eye damage? This statement, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology should help adults relax. At this time there are no conclusive studies on the short- and/or long-term effects of 3-D digital products on eye and visual development, health, or function in children, nor are there persuasive, conclusive theories on how 3-D digital products could cause damage in children with healthy eyes. If we hear of any, we’ll pass it along.
Funny thing — the App store rating for the ESRB’s own app (marked by an E for Everone) is “12+” for things like “Infrequent Mild Profanity or Crude Humor.”
This raises an interesting question — will ESRB ratings ever be in the App store, or will Apple’s less symbolic, age-based system with ESRB-like descriptors start to infringe on the ESRB’s space?
This is more evidence that the “App” way of thinking is reconstructing old media models — even the video game industry.
Here’s a press release and image released by the ESRB today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2010
ESRB RELEASES MOBILE APP THAT LETS PARENTS FIND RATING SUMMARIES BY TAKING A PHOTO OF THE GAME BOX
New iPhone® and AndroidTM Apps Give Parents Simple Way to Get Detailed Information about Video Games
Just in Time for Holiday Shopping
Ben Franklin was a most certainly a geek.
Everyone has a little geek inside them. But how much is too much? Turns out there are many geek tests. But here’s one that we cooked up for our own readers.
If you check more than four of the items below, you’re probably a bit excessively geeky.
__ You put two (or more) GPS devices in one car to compare their accuracy.
__ On chilly evenings, you snuggle up under the covers with a nice warm power brick.
__ Your house has so many LEDs you don’t need a night light.
__ You go to a friend’s house for a dinner party, and end up running disk utilities to check for bad permissions.
__ In choosing a hotel, free Wi-Fi (by the pool) is the deal breaker.
__ You wake up in the morning with an ear bud in your nose.
__ You simply can’t pass up a bin full of discounted power strips.
__ The clerk at Radio Shack goes on break when you come in the door.
__ You know the location of every power outlet in Newark’s C Concourse.
__ You ask the UPS guy to stay for a demo of the gadget he just delivered.
Did you check more than four? Yup, you’re a geek.
(Feel free to contribute!)
Warren Buckleitner
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.
**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™.
Children’s Technology Review, May 2010
CTR No 122
Volume 18, No. 5, Issue 122
This is a free editorial by Warren Buckleitner. For full access, please subscribe.
Since Hermann Rorschach created his famous personality screening test back in 1921, many have used it to try to figure a person’s state of mind. Giving you the
Rorschach test is simple: I show you something unique (such as an inkblot), and then ask you to describe what you think you see. I then crank your answers through a set of instruments, and “DING,” I know if you’re mentally sound (or not). Now swap the inkblot for something else unique and open ended. An iPad. What do you see? More importantly, how does it make you feel?
Because this is an interactive column, I’ll allow you to sit quietly for a while as you study the photo on this month’s cover, and jot down your thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »
Coming next week (April 12) from Netflix, the addition of the Nintendo Wii as a video streaming option, joining other platforms including Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Apple’s iPad.
Providing you have an active NetFlix subscription ($9/month), along with a web-connected Wii, you start by inserting a special DVD provided free from Netflix, just as you would a regular game.
When it’s movie time, you bribe your Wii away from your child, and start the Netflix movie viewer, logging into your account. Next, you pick your movies and start buffering. If the Internet winds are blowing your way, your Wii Remote soon is transformed into a real remote.
Here’s a sneak peak at our April issue (April 2010 Volume 18, No. 4, Issue 121). Not a subscriber? Sign up now, for just $24/year for an instant download, and help support this commercial free work.
Inside the current issue: Why does Pokémon work? We look closely at Pokémagic, and help you understand the elements of design that can be applied to any other new media product. Also, we bring you news from the FredForward conference on children and technology, and we list web resources to help children understand how GPS works.
DIRECTORY OF REVIEWS
Alice 3 Animal-themed Computer Mice Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny Bermuda Triangle Brushes, iPad Edition Califone Listening First Headphone, 2810 Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple Chronicles of Mystery: The Tree of Life Classic Chatter Telephone Daring Game for Girls Read the rest of this entry »FISHER-PRICE LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER IPHONE APPS
Classic Chatter TelephoneTM, See ‘n Say®, Little People® Farm Toys Transform into Magical, Fun iPhone Games
EAST AURORA, N.Y. – March 18, 2010 – Fisher-Price, Inc. (a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. NASDAQ:MAT) today put a fun, digital spin on some of its beloved, iconic toys by launching its first-ever iPhone applications, enabling children to experience classic toys in an exciting new way. The Chatter Telephone™ toy (first introduced in 1962), See ‘n Say® product (first introduced in 1965) and Little People® Farm (the Little People® brand was first introduced in 1959) applications, for ages 2-5, are available for download on the iTunes App Store now for $.99 – $1.99 each.
Not shown in the video, besides the selection of tasty food in the cafeteria, was a walking tour through some of the cubicles, where I met some Steve Grove’s news team (with a mascot beagle). At one point I asked that question about “famous people who have visited YouTube” and I was told the story of a not-to-be-named Presidential Candidate who famously asked “where do you guys make all the videos?”
Here’s a sneak peak at our March issue. Not a subscriber? Sign up now, for just $24/year, and get instant access!
March 2010 Volume 18, No. 3, Issue 120
The Huddle Speaks: The Top Tech Toy Trends for Twenty Ten
Some things follow seasonal patterns. Birds migrate. Daffodil bulbs bloom, and one geek finds another drawn by new technology. We’ve come to learn that when it comes to figuring out the thousands of products released each spring, “no one of us is as smart as all of us.” That helps explain a meeting that started ten years ago just after the first Dust or Magic Institute. This year, the “Tenth Annual Dust or Magic Low Budget Toy Fair Huddle” met at the Javits Center in New York City on the last day of Toy Fair. For the first time, the group had a quiet spot and a table (thanks to the TIA’s Reyne Rice). This was also the first year that the meeting was recorded and successfully posted on YouTube (thanks to Scott Traylor). Next year, we may try for a pitcher of water.
Read the rest of this entry »
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