- @FlatStanleyApp: Fan Stanley http://t.co/TJwuj7A0 #
- $10K will get you 54 iPod Touches, or 50 #OLPCs If you were a child, which would you choose? http://t.co/vZ0wH4A1 #
- Some common sense advice on gadget recycling for children, from Leslie R at #PBS Kids http://t.co/wGKuEQJj #
- AAP's O'Keeffe "Toddlers under 2 shouldn’t play with an iPad unless it’s used to display books." What is a book? http://t.co/JN6TOqS0 #
- #Happy #Thanksgiving! I'm going dark for a day… time to turn off my screens and play with my kids. #
- Do two wrecked air swimmers disqualify it from a recommended toy list? Or were we just over zealous pilots? #
- #Happy #Thanksgiving! I'm going dark for a day… time to turn off my screens and play with my kids. #
- Do two wrecked air swimmers disqualify it from a recommended toy list? Or were we just over zealous pilots? #
- Howard Gardner – no app can replace walks in the woods/ visits to museums. “You can’t replace the human imagination.” http://t.co/yeYsUF5f #
- Blurry pontification in today's WashingtonPost – http://t.co/yeYsUF5f "Apps for Kids: Tools or Trouble" (referred to me by L. Landsman). #
- Got kids and an iPad? Get Doodlecast for Kids – you won't be sorry (reviewed in your Dec CTR) http://t.co/A2UblBOd #
- Just released: A Charlie Brown Christmas – Loud Crow Interactive Inc. – http://t.co/2dBuXJCB #
- Howard Gardner – no app can replace walks in the woods/ visits to museums. “You can’t replace the human imagination.” http://t.co/yeYsUF5f #
- Blurry pontification in today's WashingtonPost – http://t.co/yeYsUF5f "Apps for Kids: Tools or Trouble" (referred to me by L. Landsman). #
- Got kids and an iPad? Get Doodlecast for Kids – you won't be sorry (reviewed in your Dec CTR) http://t.co/A2UblBOd #
- Just released: A Charlie Brown Christmas – Loud Crow Interactive Inc. – http://t.co/2dBuXJCB #
This is a narrated version of “The Ugly Duckling” presented Living Books style. There are 15 screens, each with about five hidden hot spots. Sometimes they are sequential. For example, you can press an egg several times before it will hatch. It is possible to record your voice on each page. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The basic Tetris challenge is the same as always; to steer a falling block into place on a grid as quickly and efficiently as possible. Color and shape matches earn points. Content includes 20 game modes with names like Marathon, Computer Battle, Fever and Survival, plus Party Game Modes for two to eight players, using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Developed by Hudson Soft for Nintendo. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This ebook is about a Sleepy Mole who can’t find a place to rest. You help, by choosing a direction to flip the page. If you choose down, Sleepy Mole digs down, where he might meet an angry frog, who might tell him to go away. Content includes four directions to move, with 16 different animals along the way. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This app is designed to introduce children to parts of the body. There are three screens: Learn, Match and Compose. Learn lets children watch and listen; Match lets them listen to the song and choose the image that corresponds to the music; and Compose lets children compose their own song by selecting the pictures they would like to include in the song. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This game came from an extremely non-educational company, called Double Fine, best known for games that the ESRB says are not for children. See for example, Brütal Legend. This time, Double Fine has taken on an even harder-to-please audience — preschoolers. After you log into your Xbox account (required in order to bookmark your progress) a storybook is introduced by Elmo and friends, and you are shown how you can turn pages with a slow wave of your arm. To jump into the page to play an activity, you move both arms slowly as if doing a slow breast stroke. Each page features a different activity, including jumping through an obstacle course (jumping, ducking and leaning left or right), growing a garden by tossing seeds and squirting a hose, flying through a maze by flapping your “wings,” dancing, pulling weeds, and calling out your name, to have it recorded by the Kinect microphone. 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.
Drag-and-drop puzzles abound these days in the app store, but not many have animated pieces. The animated features bring a new type of timed problem solving to the challenge. For example, you can watch an animated part of the scene move, and use that as a clue to know the order in which the parts go. Songs include Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Oh Where Has My Dog Gone?, Down By the Bay, Itsy Bitsy Spider, You Are My Sunshine, Old MacDonald, This Old Man, I’m a Little Teapot, Twinkle Little Star, Yankee Doodle, Bach Minuet, Wheels on the Bus, London Bridge, Saints Go Marching, Boccherini Minuet, and Coming Around the Mountain. 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.
Puzzingo was inspired by classic wooden puzzles for kids. As children play with the puzzles, they learn what the different pieces are, as well as the different sounds they make. After they complete a puzzle, they are rewarded with minigames – including singing the ABC song, popping balloons, swatting flies, and more. In addition, once a puzzle is completed, children will unlock new puzzles to play. All the puzzles come together to build a circus ground. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
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.
Adapted directly from the printed Golden Book with the same title, by Janette Debring Lawrey, this is a 23 page, 12 screen ebook (two “pages” per screen). The story — of mischievous puppies getting into trouble — is supported nicely with good interaction, professional narration, and guided exploration on each page. The story is tried and true, and the springy illustrations wait quietly for a child’s touch. It is easy to jump to any page at any time, making this a solid addition to your ebook library. 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.
You heard it right, Pokémon fans — 3D, for the first time. The game contains 600 Pokémon, including the libraries from both Pokémon Black and Pokémon White.
There’s also Boss Pokémon, which is stronger, and two new battle modes. In Team Battle, you are joined by two of your own Toy Pokémon as you battle numerous mini bosses in a quest to defeat a Boss Pokémon. In Charge Battle, the strength of your team is challenged when two large battalions of Pokémon collide. The game also allows for two players to team up and play over a local wireless connection, or you can use the StreetPass features and challenge Toy Pokémon that other nearby players have collected, and view customized Mii characters within the game. 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 series Millie Was Here is a book app series for iPad featuring Millie, a mischievous dog. The first book in the series, Meet Millie, is a free teaser, in the form of an eight page introduction. You’ll learn about Millie’s origin, and see some of her magical powers in action. The second book in the series, Millie & The Lost Key is $4. In it, Millie travels to a far away land in search of a powerful treasure – The Key to Endless Bacon. 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.
Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus comes to your Nintendo DS, complete with hundreds of ecology-related facts. The games are fast-paced and generally fun. For example, in one you try to find fish with spots as quickly as possible, while avoiding predators. In another, you sketch fish outlines. The game features seven games with just under 200 science interactions, and you will earn points to unlock ocean areas to explore and learn hundreds of facts about underwater life. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Featuring ten animals (five bears and five large cats), this interactive animal sim lets you explore an island with a realistic looking pet. After you choose your pet, you can give it a name using the Kinect’s voice recognition abilities (you don’t actually hear your recorded voice, but your pet runs over when you say it’s name). Other voice commands include “jump,” “roll over” and “play dead,” plus you can give the Kinect general yes and no commands, which speeds things along. The story varies with each pet. If you choose a cat, you’ll solve a mystery on the island of Lemuria; bears undertake Fiddler’s Quest on the island of Mira. On both islands, you’ll be able to unlock items and personalize the gameplay experience. These items include special toys that can be unlocked by buying one of the $12 plush toys, that include a special tag. The items can be unlocked by holding a tag up to the “scan stone” at the start of the game. Microsoft now has a deal with select Build-A-Bear Workshop stores, which also use the Microsoft Tag technology. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This second version of Kinect Sports contains six sports: tennis, golf, American football, baseball, skiing and darts. Each game has three difficulty levels, with the starting level (rookie) designed to make sure that a child can succeed. Sharing is possible either online (an XBox Gold membership is required, sold extra) or with as many as four other players in your living room. Noteworthy features include in-game voice commands and much better motion tracking than last year. Also new is Challenge Play for Xbox Live, which lets you send a challenge to a friend for later when they log on. You can also log onto KinectShare.com and download photos and videos capture in-game and share with friends and family, and for the first time, post these directly to your Facebook wall. 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.
Here’s a fun way to put yourself into a book, and create a funny language experience. Note, that you’ll need a camera on your iPad (e.g., the iPad 2). Also note that there are both free and paid version pathways to these stories. This first title, called “The Biggest Pizza Ever,” tells the story of a kid who wreaks havoc on his town with a gigantic pizza pie. The book features simple character animations. Additional titles cost $8 each, or you can subscribe for $4/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.
I Am T-Pain Mic ($40, Jakks Pacific) combines three rhythm tracks, an MP3 Player, auto-tune technology, a speaker, an audio-out jack and a USB port, with enough memory to store up to three minutes of your voice. Your goal, of course, is to sound like rapper T-Pain, one of the first to use auto-tune technology in his music. Powered by 3 AAA batteries, the Mic comes in four styles. You can sing in freestyle, or record and play back your songs. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
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.
Designed for older (upper elementary) readers, this 40 page/screen story is about life at the animal film studios, where The Fox is the director. The mystery has to do with finding some stolen jewelry. While there are no text-to-speech features, each page has something interesting to discover, or fun to do to support the story. On one page, you might match various types of lace to different dresses to complete a wardrobe. 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 electronic flannel board features four sets of resizable stickers that can be combined, and then “played” on a race track, as a rock riff plays. There are no coloring or drawing features. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This second edition of Bartleby’s Book of Buttons contains 17 pages, each containing one or more puzzles that must be solved in order to unlock the next page. In the page labeled “Whale in the Way”, you must figure out how to get a sleeping whale to wake up, in order to see the door to a hidden cave. This requires playing records on Bartleby’s phonograph (spun with your finger). If you pick the right record (street noises) long enough, the whale wakes up. Other screens have you tilting the screen to steer a bubble and shining a spotlight on various points on 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.
Dressed in bright orange and white colors (to make sure it doesn’t get confused with a real gun), this is a plastic gun that houses your camera-equipped iPod Touch, iPhone 3 or greater in a plastic case that snaps onto a gun barrel, about where the sight would be. So instead of looking down the barrel, you look into your iPhone screen. The first step is to download one of the apps. We tried AlienAttack, a game that plays exactly like many Nintendo DSi and 3DS games, where you see creatures floating around your room as seen through the camera on your device. A radar screen clues you into the creature location — the more you shoot, the harder the challenge. There are just two buttons on the app, one for each trigger. When you pull the trigger, the capacitive energy from your finger is passed to the screen, through a little plastic pad that presses against your screen. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This letter recognition app is designed to introduce and teach letters in Spanish, based on the Montessori methodology. After each letter is introduced, children can practice writing each letter, one at a time, in upper or lower case by following the prescribed path. If you stay inside the line, you are praised in Spanish. The app is available in Spanish and Catalan. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The idea behind this alphabet app is to teach children to read and write the alphabet, one letter at a time. Activities include picking the right letter to fill in the blank to complete a word, singing along with the alphabet song as they pop each bubble to reveal a hidden creature, and tracing letters. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
- US has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. That's just not right. Can our schools help? http://t.co/aovP5Gb9 #
Children’s Technology Review • November 2011
Vol. 19, No 11, Issue 140
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We’ll Miss You, Steve Jobs
Since this is our first post-Jobsian issue of CTR, let me pause for a moment to pay tribute to *the* original magic seeker. Sure, Steve Jobs didn’t invent stuff like chips and multi-touch gorilla glass, any more than Julia Child invented butter. But he was adept at mixing them up to create magical results, and his products have empowered many, many children over the years. This is also a good time to remember that Steve wasn’t finished with his grand scheme of digital domination, and that he left a lot of key ideas in the hands of a smart team with a lot of money. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve was eyeing the multi-billion dollar textbook industry as a next target for digital transformation. One can only hope. Without Steve’s hardware, we would never had software, and without software, we’d have nothing to review. To quote one clever tweeter, “thank you Steve, for the jobs.”
Microsoft Presents “Kinect for Kids”
Last month in New York, I attended an extravagant press event targeting children. It was sure fun watching the kids try to figure out the tiny cheeseburger hor’dourves. In the past, Microsoft’s attempts at the children’s space have lacked credible titles (remember Viva Piñata?), but not this time. Besides unveiling partnerships with Sesame Workshop and National Geographic, they gave the audience a chance to try Once Upon a Monster (on the cover of this issue). Don’t miss the review of this important product, with analysis on why it is pushing innovation in children’s interactive media right now. See the review on page 15.
Learn About Pianos
What do Elton John, Lady GaGa, and Mozart have in common? They all started playing the piano when they were four years old. Learn more about this magical musical machine on page 3.
A Closer Look at Apps for Learning to Read
According to neuropsychologist Jeannine Herron, “Most of the apps currently being developed for teaching children reading skills have this serious gap of phoneme awareness that will hinder, not benefit the development of skilled reading because they produce inefficient wiring in the brain.” Do you agree? Have a look at page 4.
One iPad, Forty Kindergarteners and Some Respect
“Wow, I could really use this” said Kindergarten Teacher Chris Crowell, as he started exploring ways to tap the power of the iPad. Using the camera feature, he figured out how to help his children understand ideas related to respect. See page 6.
Research Watch: Who Said TV is Dead?
Besides the death of Steve Jobs, October 2011 will go down as a big one for new research unveiled about kids and media use, a least in terms of Google new alerts. Fortunately for us, Scott Traylor covered both events, and he had his camera. See page 7.