Count-A-Licious

Count-A-Licious was created by Brainster Apps. It's an introduction to numbers kinda app. It may sound weird to phrase it like that, but there really are many steps to learning what numbers mean and this app really targets those initial steps. So while a narrow focus, it's the foundation to learning math. Price: The initial app is free, but after the first level that concentrates on the numbers 1-5, there's an in-app purchase for $0.99, and that gets you up to 20.

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later and also Kindle Fire.

Developmental Appropriateness: There are 4 games: Number Show, Counting Game, Tracing Game, and Treasure Crits. Ok, really only 3, as the last one there is more of a fun, reward game. Brainster Apps has also made my job easier by clearly stating what their learning intentions are: 1) Recognize number sounds, 2) Recognize numbers visually, 3) Understand that numbers have a sequence, 4) Understand that numbers are associated with a quantity, 5) Understand that numbers in the beginning of the sequence are associated with smaller amount of objects and latter number with more, 6) Introduction to writing numbers. Do they achieve these objectives? Yes. I think together, the three games, albeit very simple games, are done well. They sequence the numbers whenever possible and also associate the numbers with objects fairly often. I think these games do a good job of showing and teaching, but I do think this app is missing an important step. While the games all show the number to object correspondence, I guess we don't actually know if the kids "get it" - not with these games at least. It'd be good to have an additional game where the kids are asked to find/choose/tap - whatever you want, a target number of objects. Then we would know for sure that they've absorbed what these three games are aiming to teach. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 3 years).


Balance: While the special effects that happen as you count make it fun and engaging, at times, the sound effects are louder than the voice counting, especially in the Counting Game. Seeing the cool effects will already be taking kids attention away from the counting, so it's especially important that they at least hear the numbers loud and clear. Rating: 3.5/5

Sustainability: Cycling through the games gives it a nice feel of variety. Throwing in the just for fun reward game is nice too - and I think it's a game kids will get a kick out of. Since this app targets a narrow skill set and only goes up to 20, kids may master and bore of this app quick - although the goal is to master it, so I guess I can't complain! Rating: 5/5


Parental Involvement: This is a one-player game (it does allow for multiple kids to have profiles) and of simple games so maybe parents don't have quite as much of a role, but can still reinforce the material. there is no review/progress monitoring for parents. Rating: 3.5/5


Total: 15.5 out of 20 = 4 stars

Kids Crosswords

Kids Crosswords was created by Learning Touch. It boasts 100 words, 10,000 puzzles, and 10 levels of increasing difficulty. I like crosswords so let's go. Price: $0.99

Device Requirements:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: Ok, I must admit, I was at first disappointed. I was expecting crossword puzzles. Yes, for kids, but some form of here's a clue, figure out the answer. This is more of a put the words together. There are pictures, and you make the word for that picture and the words cross and intersection. But even on the highest level, you can just tap on the picture and it tells you the word. But, after I got over the initial realization that this was not a crossword puzzle app, I thought that this was actually a pretty good phonics app. The 10 levels may seem like they only increase in difficulty by a smidgeon, but the progression actually makes sense - although I'd still like to see it get into a larger range of words and combinations of sounds or even not providing the labels for the pictures so kids have to figure it out. For what's there, throughout the process, it very clearly sounds out everything, from the letter options to as you place them correctly. The blending of the sounds together could be smoother - as is it's very separated so it's hard to hear how all the sounds together make up the word.


I've let go of wanting this to be more like a real crossword puzzle, but I do have to say that the developers still could have given the crossword aspect a little more thought. For example, all the pictures start off in black and white. For one, it's a picture of a painter, and the target word is actually red. But there would have been no way for someone who was trying to figure it out to get "red" from a black and white painter without tapping on it, thus eliminating the fun of "figuring it out." Rating: 4/5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance - Everything is very simple and focused. I like that it doesn't allow you to do anything until it has completed sounding out and saying the words. Rating: 5/5


Sustainability - Although it seems like there's endless puzzles, there are really only 100 words and animations. Another reason I'd like to see a larger library of words is because a lot of the words start repeating, even within one level. This could get repetitive, and kids will just start memorizing. Rating: 3.5/5


Parental Involvement: There's not much to do here for parents. It'd be great if it could what words the kids are struggling with or at least a list of the words that appear on each level or just some sort of review for parents to generalize and reinforce. Rating: 3/5


Total: 15.5 out of 20 = 4 stars


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

Art Doodle Live

Art Doodle Live was created by TOGEVA Ltd. in collaboration with Bridgeman Art Library which allows it to showcase many works of art by great artists from Monet, da Vinci, Klee, you name it. The goal here is to expose kids to these great works and inspire them to create their own using the original masterpieces as a base. Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: The strength of this app is of course the availability of a great library of art from many different genres. I like the idea of not just creating an app for kids to make art, but to expose them to and teach them about works of art by others. Unfortunately, as far as the "teaching" goes, Art Doodle Live falls short. No additional information is given about the artworks - no prompts, "fun facts", etc. In fact, I at first didn't even notice the title and artist labels that are pretty small that are given when you first choose what piece of art to work with. So while it does expose kids to many artworks, I don't feel they learn much about them. 

The layout of the art tools also seem more fit for adults rather than kids. 

All that being said, there are a couple of cool features here. For the art tools, there's one where you can "drip" the paint. Also, there is a "live" feature where if you login, you can activate a multi-user and multiple people can paint on the same canvas at the same time. You can then of course save and share and even order prints and get your creation printed on mugs and things. 

Rating: 2/5 (aim for 7 years)

Balance: The app is easy to navigate - all the menu features are on the top of the screen. The artworks are organized by type (photography, animal art, etc.) It'd be nice if you could choose by other options like artist or even "black and white", which I think would help kids to learn and think about the art in different ways. This would help keep the focus on learning about the artworks, instead of this app becoming just another art app. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: There are tons of art pieces and kids can draw forever. I'm just not sure if kids would continue using it because the artworks or simply because it's a fun art app. Rating: 4/5

Parental Involvement: This could have been a great opportunity for parents and kids to learn about artworks together. But since their's not much offered about the artworks, parents will have to rely on their own knowledge. It's still a good opportunity to create some art together. Rating: 3/5

Total: 13 out of 20: 3 stars

Disclosure: I received this app for free for review purposes

Butterfly Math

Butterfly Math was created by Bugaboo Math Games for Kids. It's a math drill kinda game, but with a little twist. Instead of coming up with the answer, you are given the answer and asked to come up with the problem. So x+x=7. What does this twist do in terms of learning? Price: $0.99

Device Requirements: Android 2.2 and up

Developmental Appropriateness: So the question here is does it require different cognitive skills/math knowledge to come up with the problem instead of the answer? I think so. It requires more flexibility in thinking - at least at first until you have it all memorized. And from a more practical view, kids don't practice this way of solving math problems as much in school. So in the least, getting the answer is something that may feel more automatic to them while getting the problem may require a pause at first.

Although it might not have been the developer's intent, this way of thinking does kinda prep you for principles like commutativity (3+4=4+3) and inverse (3+4=7; 7-4=?). So this is some untapped potential that I haven't really seen in other math apps. However, here I go again with the need for support and feedback. Nothing is really offered in terms of that. When you get the answer wrong, it just doesn't move on until you do or until the time runs out. So no strategy help is given, hints, prompts, nadda. Also, if kids rely on a certain combination - like if they always choose 3+4 = 7 instead 5+2 or 6+1, then the app should prompt them to try a different way. Further, support that highlights and reinforces the principle that these problems lend themselves to would be amazing. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 7 years).

Balance: There's a game between the levels, but I don't think it detracts from the learning. It actually seems like a good motivator, and the theme of the game (catching butterflies) is related to the butterflies in the task, so it's not taking you to a whole different experience or anything. My only question is whether the colors of the numbers draw attention to certain numbers more. The orange really pops, but sometimes, when the a number is blue and on a blue butterfly, it's not as noticeable. This may affect what numbers kids choose to solve the problems. Rating:4/5

Sustainability: I think this is a nice combination of game and skill. Kids will really like the catch the butterfly "reward" game that adds onto your score. For the content part, you can set it to do different operations (add, subtract, multi, divide). And with the game, there are levels that get increasingly harder. It saves a high scores list, separated for each operation type. One note though that it'd be nice if kids could choose something other than butterflies - in case butterflies really don't interest them. Rating: 4.5/5

Parental Involvement: So not much here for parents - there's no "review"at all - other than maybe the high scores list, but that may be confounded by kids being really good at catching the butterflies instead of solving the problems. If there were prompts as suggested above, that would give parents prompts to reinforce the material as well. Rating: 3/5

Total: 15 out of 20 - 4 stars

Ed's Jungle

Ed's Jungle was developed by OneUniverse Productions and is, as you probably guessed from the title, an app about animals in the Jungle. It combines two pretty popular topics in the app world right now - an "I Spy" kinda game and animals and the sounds they make. Does combining things automatically make it better than the originals? Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 5.1 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: "I Spy" and Animal apps are of course appropriate activities for young kids. Here, you see a main scene and have to find all the hidden animals. When you tap on one, it leads to a different scene where you can see the animal in animated action, hear it's name and the sound it makes. I think the "I Spy" element elevates the animal learning making it more interesting than apps that are a bit more "flashcard" where you would simple select an animal and learn more. On the other hand, I don't think the "I Spy" part is better than other "I Spy" games. Yes, it's nice that you can learn more about what you've found - that part I do like. But in the actual spying part, it's a little less engaging. Other than to find all the possible animals, there's no step by step goal to egg you on. So prompts like, "Find the monkey" or "Find something green". These kinds of game elements really add to the experience, especially for young kids who may get bored easily. Further, these prompts could reinforce the learning. Speaking of the "learning" aspect, the label for each animal is presented both visually and orally. I can't decide whether I think the voice is just meant to be weird, or of low quality recording. The animal sounds is of a human making them, so some are better than others. Overall, I found this part of the app's pacing a bit slow. Again - pacing is one of those elements that is important to the whole experience, and factors into attention and engagement. Finally, given the way it's laid out, more information could easily be given about the animals to add another layer to the app - this would help engage slightly older kids who may already be familiar with the animals.


So if your kids love seeing animals, this is a more interesting app than other basic animal apps. But if your kids are really into "I Spy" games, then there are better options. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 3 years)


Balance: Overall, this app is straightforward, no bells and whistles that aren't related to the topic. It also features a "map" where you can see what animals you've found and haven't found. On the other hand, I think adding a couple of game elements would enhance both the experience and learning. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: There's only one scene so in comparison to other "I Spy" games, this will seem limited. But maybe if was viewed more like a picture book where you can just go through all the animals, it'll have more life. And for some reason, kids just love animals! Rating: 3/5


Parental Involvement: Parents don't have an obvious role here. This is another reason why I think the prompts in the spying stage would be nice - parents could use those as prompts to help, and as conversation starters. Or if there was additional animal facts presented, then parents can go off those. But as is, parents aren't offered much here. Rating: 3/5


Total: 14.5 out of 20 = 3 stars


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

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures!

i Learn with Boing: Ice Land Adventures! was created by Tribal Nova. It is a literacy app targeting preschool and kindergarten. It has three activities targeting Letters, Phonics, and Words. I was looking forward to checking out this app because I previously reviewed iLearn with Poko: Seasons and Weather, which was a solid app and has now (along with other apps by the developers) been updated to include a parent center that tracks kids progress. So how this Ice Land stack up? Price: $2.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.


Developmental Appropriateness: The developers have clearly given thought to the design through an educational lens. Are the activities appropriate? Check. Is there leveling for each activity? Check. Is the leveling adaptive according to performance? Check. Is there instruction/tutor? Check - in the form of Boing, the character. Are the games engaging? Check - in general, yes, and one of the games even has a two-player mode to launch "snowballs". This is all great. 


Now here's me being critical and possibly nit-picky. First, is it me, or do some of the phonics pronunciation sound a bit off? I am not a phonics/speech expert, but I have some experience administering literacy assessments that include phonics and I feel like some of these are not quite right. For example, "e" here seems to always presented silent - which yes, there is the "silent e", but not always. How would you say "sh" or  "ow"? Second, there seems to be a wide range of vocabulary here - which is good, but it's kinda randomly presented. Figuring out the phonetics of "yogurt" is way harder than "sun". There's a progression not only for vocabulary, but letters and phonics and I don't get the sense that the level of difficulty within these domains were considered. The first point of the pronunciation concerns me quite a bit, and for that, I have to give a lower rating than what I thought initially. Rating: 3 out of 5 (aim for around 4 years).

Balance: Everything looks cute, yet simple at the same time. The phonics game, where you launch snowballs can get a little distracting as aiming and timing them correctly can be a little tricky! Also, not sure where to mention this, but my second player froze up during play. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: So as you play, you collect rewards. These rewards can then be used in a connected app where you can make your own avatars and "play" in this other planet. It's kinda neat. However, while you are doing the activities, it may get repetitive. While you do collect rewards as you go, the activity remains exactly the same as you progress through the levels. This may bore some as there's not much to break up the activity play itself, since the reward system is a separate thing. Rating: 4/5


Parental Involvement: A great addition to Tribal Nova apps is the parent center. Like other apps that have also started including a parent center, this one allows parents to review their kid's progress within the app an then makes recommendations for other apps that target other subject areas. This one includes a comparison of their kid's accuracy rate with the general population's. There's also a nice kinda guide for parents, explaining the activities and what's available in the parent center. Like I've said with other parent centers, this is a wonderful start for parents to stay connected. Perhaps there could be different packages for parents depending on the level of information they'd like. 


One thing I'd like to see (not specific to the parent center) is some sort of setting so parents (and kids) can set the levels within each activity. Some kids might get bored with having to get past the initial levels that may be too easy for them. Rating: 4/5


Total: 15 out of 20: 4 stars


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

Hot off the presses: E-book study results

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center released a "QuickStudy" looking at print books versus basic and enhanced e-books; enhanced e-books having more interactive features than basic e-books. This is a study/report I've been working with the JGCC for awhile now and I'm excited to finally be able to share it with you! The report is pretty short and at least in my opinion, worth the read! I'll leave the details to you and your reading of the report.

As you'll see, the results  - very generally - that the interactive features in the enhanced e-book was distracting and took away from the reading experience and comprehension - are very similar to the research on pop-up books (and even other platforms like computers) that I've mentioned. So while I was not surprised by the results, I was surprised by the level of similarity! I really do believe that this is an effect that is strong and here to stay. So drawing upon my observations from the study and past research, here are a couple a hunches:

1) The distraction of the interactive features is not a novelty effect. It is certainly a possibility that as kids get more familiar with e-books and iPads and whatever devices, the interactive features may become distracting - less novel and probably just something they expect. However, my hunch is that yes, they may be more used to it, but the distraction remains. Pop-up books have been around forever, and yet the findings were the same.  It will always be fun to discover what tapping on something does. What I would be interested to see is if the effect remains after many readings of the same book. However, it would be hard to isolate the effects as I would hope that after many readings of the book, kids will remember more of the story, regardless of the interactive features!

2) The distraction of the interactive features is not due to inexperience/comfort level with e-books. I think that we will see differences in how parents read e-books as the popularity of e-books continues to grow. Parents may become more comfortable with the format and elaborate more on the content. Parents and kids may become more used to the interactive features and parents may spend less time saying things like, "Don't touch that yet." Still, I think the effect on children's comprehension will remain. In this current study, we factored in parent's prior experience and comfort level with iPads and e-books to the analyses, and there was still a significant difference in story recall. Further, as I've discussed before, in one of the pop-up book studies, the parents actually elaborated more on the concepts with the pop-up book than the plain book. Yet, the children still learned more from the plain than pop-up book.

This all being said, I cannot stress enough that this is not evidence that we should not have just-for-fun interactive features. As I've discussed before, it's really all about balance. So I hope that the findings have convinced you of the importance of finding a balance of features within an e-book that will engage children, yet not distract them too much from the content.

Questions about the research? Let me know!