May 2013
I began A Matter of App about a year and a half ago. My initial goals were to familiarize myself with the hundreds of thousands of educational apps out there by systematically reviewing apps and also to inform parents, educators, and developers about apps from a research-oriented perspective. Since then, I've not only reviewed on this blog, but also for Yogiplay, Common Sense Media, and did a brief stint at Apple, the mothership of apps. So, I feel reasonably confident that I've accomplished my goal - at least the first part!
I'm now ready to move on to Phase 2 of A Matter of App. I hope to continue to help inform parents, educators, and developers about apps and incorporating what I know from the research field to help push the field forward. While Phase 1 focused solely on app reviews and really getting as many done as possible as an informative stage, Phase 2 will still incorporate some reviews but more selectively, and also highlight specific features and apps as "Trend Alerts", do some quasi surveys (which will still hopefully be informative): "The Survey Spot" and more. I'm sure it'll all evolve as I go - suggestions are welcome! I hope that you join/continue on this journey with me.
Cynthia
About Me:
I received my doctorate degree in developmental psychology from the University of Virginia. During my graduate studies, I was also a fellow in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a program devoted to building an interdisciplinary approach to educational research. My research focuses on how the design of educational media can affect young children's learning and the way they interact with them, as well as how parents and teachers use these technologies to teach. My research has been published in journals such as Psychological Science, Child Development, Journal of School Psychology, and American Behavioral Scientist. I am currently the founder of Digital Kids Research (found out more about Digital Kids Research on the next few tabs of this site). As such, I have worked with Apple on their education content team, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop exploring young children’s use of digital media, been the Director of Research at Sirius Thinking, the creators of the Emmy Award-winning children’s literacy show, Between the Lions, and more.
