Measurement HD

Measurement HD was created by Emantras Inc. for kindergarteners to learn some basic measuring skills. There are five different activities that teach the concept of time, weight, volume, length, and time of year. Let's see how these stack up. Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: This is an overall cute looking game. Some of the activities are better than others for learning this material. Let's start with the better ones: Fill me up (volume), Long and short, and Scale Tale. These are simple games where you have to choose which is heavier, which is longer, or which has more. However, the feedback could be better. At the end of each item, it could point out what they were suppose to look for more. Like for long and short, you could line them up and say, see, this one is longer, and especially in Fill me up, it could say, "this one held 5 and this one held 3, 3 is less than 5." Both kids who get the question right, and especially kids who get the question wrong need this type of reinforcement and feedback. As for the other two games, Crazy clock and and Action month, I don't think kids will actually learn to tell time or how to spell the months. Rather, with Crazy clock, they might learn what types of activities are associated with the time of day. With Action month, I don't think they will learn much without a parent or teacher there to talk about the months and what occurs during those months. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 4 years)

Balance: The overall design is straightforward. I think it could use more distinction for correct versus incorrect. The answers turn either a subtle green or red, and then just continues. And a few things here and there could be clearer as well. For example, in Scale Tale, the monster, who is the scale, is cute, but the scale movements could be more realistic to the weight of the objects. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: The plus is the there are five different games, providing a variety of activities. You collect rewards as you get points in the activities. However, there doesn't seem to be any higher levels and these are fairly easy concepts, so once you get them, you get them. I would even say that for the app's recommended age of 5-6, these activities are too easy, or at least they will learn it quick and then get bored as there are no high scores to beat either. It would be nice to see a progression into harder math concepts. Rating: 3/5


Parental Involvement: There's not too much for parents to do here. The items are very simple and wouldn't require too much help beyond the initial introduction. There are no records f the scores, so parents cannot review their child's progress on the different activities. Rating: 2/5


Total: 12 out of 20: 3 stars




Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes.