Historables: Marie Ant-toinette

Historables: Marie Ant-toinette was created by Base Camp Films, LLC and aims to teach kids using historical figures in a fun, interactive way. I like the premise and play on names (they have other apps in the works with other figures like Teddy Bear Roosevelt). Price: There are three activities here, one comes free, and the other two are in-app purchases for $1.99.

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

Developmental Appropriateness: So the premise hear is that Marie Ant-toinette lives in a castle and plays on the whole "let them eat cake" thing. So the activities are the kitchen where you make a cake and decorate it (the free activity), a tunnel maze to get more ingredients, and the bedroom where you decorate and arrange the furniture. Although it's centered around the whole cake quote, there's nothing in the app explaining that to kids. If you tap on her portrait, 4 facts pop-up - and they don't leave you feeling like you know about Marie's life. Further, while they are written in a kid-friendly way, they are not read aloud - and this is the ONLY section where any history really appears! Back to the activities - the cake activity is really the only one with any slightly educational content (one could argue that the puzzles help cognition) as you must help measure out the ingredients. The amounts change each time so sometimes it's 2 cups of flour or 4 cups of flour. While this is nice to keep it changing, adding a wee bit of math - it might cause some problems for those who actually want to bake a cake. Once, I got it where you had to put 4 cups of sugar with 1 cup of flour. That would not be a good cake - and all that sugar! Overall, I like the idea and potential of where this could go, but as is - there is not enough educational content here, leaving me disappointed. Rating: 2/5 (Aim for around 5 years)

See trailer here

Balance: The features here obviously tip towards fun rather than learning. But for the most part and for what it is - it's easy to navigate with clear instructions from the Queen herself. The main menu could use some changes as it looks like you can play with the other historical figures, but they are just ads. Rating: 4/5

Sustainability: So without offering much in content on this whole historical figure aspect, this app is actually not very unique. At the risk of sounding harsh, there are better cake baking and decorating apps out there and there are better puzzle apps out there. Rating: 2/5

Parental Involvement: In terms of the activities, there's not much for parents. Again, I still think there's potential here in that these are topics that I think even adults could learn from and find interesting. But as is, it's not there yet. Rating: 3/5

Total: 11 out of 20 - 2 stars.

Classical Kids

Classical Kids was created by The Children's Group. It's a series of stories that mixes music, history, and storytelling. There's actually a students edition that initial comes free but you have to purchase each story and a teachers edition that comes with all the stories and also notes for teachers on how to incorporate the stories into their lessons. Price: The in-app story purchases are $3.99 each and the complete teachers edition is $49.99.

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

Developmental Appropriateness: In this day and age, learning about Mozart and Bach is kinda lost in our curricula. Music classes in elementary school where kids learn to play instruments are hard to come by, so learning about great composers and their life stories is practically non-existent. So Classical Kids is a great idea that can help fill a void in our education system. The original stories were written in 1988 and have sold well as recordings. The question here is, does it work better as an app? I'm afraid my answer is no. It's not that the stories aren't appropriate or that it's worse than the recordings - its just not any better. It does not take advantage of the affordances of a tablet and its interactivity. Each story is about 45 minutes and kids listen to it like a track while looking at static pictures that don't really tell a story on it's own. That's it. There's no text to follow, interactive elements relevant to the plot, animation, nothing. Again, that's fine - but when you consider the length, I'm not sure this will hold a child's attention. If you think about it, most kids' shows are around 20 minutes plus commercials, or if they are longer shows, they are broken up into many independent segments. Yes, the stories here are broken into mini tracks, but the story from beginning to end is pretty long. I think in it's original conception - kids listen, teachers ask questions - it works fine. It's just that the app version doesn't go beyond that. There was great potential to add a great visual elements and interactivity - especially since classical music probably isn't the most popular topic among children. The pictures here aren't the best. The kids look way older than their age and other things just don't match like Bach's wife died at the age of 35, but the picture shows an old woman with gray hair. Details matter, especially when there's nothing else to do but look at the pics! I'm glad to see that they've switched up the pricing a bit, cause otherwise, it may have been better to just stick with the original recordings. Rating: 3.5/5 (aim for around 8 years).

Balance: There were some attempts made to incorporate some extra features. But those too fall short. First, there's a quiz, but it's really like a fill in the blank worksheet meant for teachers to print out. Kids cannot actually fill in the answers on the device. There's a metronome, but no instrument to play. There's a recording, but again, not music to make. Yes, obviously, it's meant to be used in class with real instruments. But why not both? What's the point of putting it on an iPad then? Rating: 2/5

Sustainability: I would love to see kids more interested in composers. Does this app make that happen? I'm not sure. The stories themselves are nice - they are told in a very conversational way and make a great audio book (which honestly, is what I basically ended up using it as) - but I'm reviewing this as an app, not as the original audiobook. I think kids now have a certain expectation for an app and the iPad. And this does not fulfill it. Unless kids have been assigned to listen to the story as homework, I don't see kids returning to this one on their own, given their other app options. Rating: 2/5

Parental Involvement: The teacher notes is great. It breaks each story down and gives plenty of discussion questions. However, it only comes with the teacher's edition, which is quite pricey. Improvements to the quiz section would also make this better for parents, especially those who may not have the time to carry out a "lesson." Rating: 4/5

Total: 11.5 out of 20 = 2 stars

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

RondomTali London

RondomTali London was created by RondomTali Travel CC. The goal of this app is to help parents talk to their kids about an upcoming vacation - in this case, to London. It shows famous landmarks and people and also a sports activity, which is fitting for the upcoming Olympics (but is London otherwise known for it's sports?). Kinda a neat idea - Price: $0.99.

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

Developmental Appropriateness: I really had no idea what to expect from this app, but I did think this was a very timely app, given the Olympics. Kids follow Tali on her trip to four destinations. On each page, it shows you the landmark, like Big Ben and the Buckingham Palace, labels it, and there are some interactive elements like you can "tickle" Big Ben or see fireworks around the London Eye. The most relevant interactive feature is kids can put the appropriate hat on characters on the Buckingham Palace page - like the tall black hats on the guards. But upon closer look, it's not all exactly accurate like the crown goes on Tali instead of the queen and there's a unicorn and lion, who gets a crown as well. There's also a sports page where it shows a bunch of different sport icons, labels it, and then it does a quick demonstration of that sport. And that's about it. So I guess although I didn't know what to expect, I guess I expected more. I don't think this has all that much content or really makes you excited to go to London. There's no fun facts or reasons for why kids might want to see these places. I guess it's still a good conversation starter for parents to use, but parents will definitely have to fill in a lot of the blanks. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 6 years).


Balance: As you probably already picked up, many of the interactive features are not relevant to visiting London. Parents may even have to tell their kids that they will not be seeing a lion in front of the palace! For the purpose of this app, I really don't see why it was necessary to include a unicorn or a ticklish Big Ben. I think it should set realistic expectations for the upcoming trip. Rating: 2.5/5


Sustainability: Again, there's not much here to keep kids coming back at all. And, this is only specific to London (looks like they will be releasing other cities). Rating: 2.5/5


Parental Involvement: Although I see parents using this with their child, and having conversations about their upcoming trip, it's not because the app offers any role to the parent. There are no prompts or suggested activities and topics. Actually, I think parents need to be involved because the app doesn't offer enough info on its own. Rating: 3/5


Total: 11 out of 20 - 2 stars


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

Happipets

Happipets was created by Happi and is considered a spelling app. But this is no straightforward spelling app - it requires a lot of imagination as the task is to take the letters of an animal, say, lion, and use those letters to form a lion (see pic and video). Can you find the letters in the lion to the left? Price: $1.99

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


Developmental Appropriateness: OK - first let me say, that as an adult, I think this app is kinda cool. It's amazing to see what people can think of and to see how someone thought to make these animals out of letters. Now that being said, I don't think this app is all that beneficial to learning letters or how to spell animal names. Keep in mind that I rate apps with more of an educational content perspective. Kids have trouble seeing two things at once. You know those pictures that can look like both a duck and a rabbit? Well, kids can't see both. So here, they are suppose to see the letters AND the animal - I'm pretty sure the letters will get lost, especially as they rotate and change the size, etc. I did a study using the Curious George book where the letters are shaped like animals and objects. Super cute. I personally really like the book. But the results were that 3 and 4 year-olds could not recognize these animals and objects as letters even when we pointed it out. Some 5 year-olds could, but it wasn't until 6 that they could consistently recognize them. So same thing here. I guess maybe this is meant for kids who may already know their letters, but are learning to spell. I definitely would not recommend this for teaching preschoolers letters. Still, for older kids, the task is about making the animal shapes, and that's probably what they will focus on. The letters could be anything. I think this app would work better if it wasn't about letters and spelling at all! There are nice little facts about each animal - it doesn't read aloud, so this app would definitely be for a reader. Maybe it should presented as just an app about animals and creativity. But it's not, so.... Rating: 2/5 (aim for around 7 years).

Balance: All the letter manipulation distracts from the letters themselves. The letters are initially presented in order, but once you start moving them around, that's it. So the spelling of the animal name is not very present. Ok - so let's say this isn't even about letters. Making the animal shapes requires a lot of imagination! I didn't even know where to begin. There is a help function that shows you the end result, but maybe some more step by step help would be better. I don't want to know just the end product - some hints to help get me started would be nice too. Rating: 2/5


Sustainability: I think a very small set of kids may like this app. But mostly, I think kids may just get frustrated at not knowing how to make these animals. There's a more free play mode, that some may enjoy more. Rating: 3/5


Parental Involvement: I think this may even be difficult for parents. Ok, I guess there's a little common sense, like a round letter would probably be the head or something like that, but it does take a specific kind of eye to figure out how these letters make the animals. So I'm not sure how much parents can help. But maybe they might enjoy figuring it out along with their child. Rating 3/5


Total: 10 out of 20 - 2 stars


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

Alien Buddies

Alien Buddies was created by Artgig Studio and consists of matching, connect the dots, and puzzle games for preschool and kindergarteners. Aliens help your child to learn to match letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. Price: $1.99

Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.2 or later

Developmental Appropriateness: Ok, let's start with the matching games. Here, you have to put the alien who is a specific letter, number, color, or shape to the matching alien ship. The aliens are funny, and they give appropriate feedback. Is it a successful matching game? Yes. Although it does not actually say that this is a game about learning numbers, letters, shapes, or colors, one would assume that that is the intent. Is this an effective game for learning this material? Probably not. There are two stages - one where you see the target, let's stick with number, on the ship and the numbers on the aliens. You can then tap on the ship and aliens, and they will say the corresponding number. So you both see and hear the number on both what you have to choose and where you have to put it. In the second stage, they take the visual cue off the ship, so now you can hear the target number, and then see AND hear the numbers on the aliens. A little harder, but still, you don't have to actually know your numbers to play this game - you can still match them by hearing it. Sure, I think maybe this game might help kids who are already learning this material and this is just making it all more familiar, but I don't think this game can stand alone. Plus, I would hope that a kindergartener, and even older preschooler would be able to match in this way, making this app too easy for them. Why not go the extra step? The next level could simply be that you hear the number on the ship, and see the numbers on the aliens - only. That would be ""identification," a very real and frequently used task in preschools. 

With the connect the dots game, the numbers are always in order. Given that you can choose the difficulty with many aspects of this app, why not have a level where the numbers are mixed, to truly challenge a child to learn the sequence of numbers? As is, you're really just going in a circle.


The puzzles are regular jigsaw puzzles. The aliens characters are cute, making these puzzles appealing. Finally, the stickers activity, is not really a task or anything - it's where you get all your sticker rewards from the other activities and make pictures with them. Yes, you can get a little creative, but "creative free play", "fine motor skills" and "builds learning confidence" is overselling it a bit, isn't it? Rating: 2/5 (aim for around 3 years)


Balance: I think the aliens provide a good balance of silliness and appropriate feedback without being distracting. The connect the dots game has small numbers, thus may require "fine motor skills" so the younger kids may need a little help. Rating: 4/5


Sustainability: Again, I like the aliens and I think kids will too. However, at least the matching and connect the dot activities are too easy for the target age group so I don't think they will keep coming back for long once they've gotten a enough stickers. Rating: 3/5


Parental Involvement: There's not much for parents to do here. What more prompting could they possibly provide that the game hasn't already? Rating: 2.5/5


Total: 11.5 out of 20: 2 stars




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

Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL Videos

Signing Numbers and Colors with ASL videos was created by Spirit-led Designs and is available through the library app, Interactive Touch Books. It aims to teach the numbers 1-20, and colors in general and also in American sign language. Signing can be a great tool for parents to communicate with their young children who are just learning to talk, especially if their child might be a "late bloomer" verbally. Price: $1.99

The Interactive Touch Books app that is needed is free and device requirements are: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Developmental Appropriateness: I think the intentions of the app are great, but I don't think it quite accomplishes its goals. From the title at least, it seems like the star of the app should be the ASL videos. The videos are very short and goes through each sign once. I know, you can simply hit play again, but in general, a lot of what goes into teaching young kids is repetition, especially with something new. So I'd expect to see something like - the sign demonstrated in real time, then maybe in slow motion with audio step by step direction on the movements that go into making the signs, and then repeated again in regular speed. Some of the movements are more subtle than others and some signs more complicated than others. It would be difficult for a young child to pick up how to make the signs by just watching a quick demonstration. As for learning the numbers, each page of the book presents a number with a corresponding number of animals or insects or objects, etc. You can tap on each of them and some animation will happen. I'm really surprised that the objects don't count out numbers as you tap them! This would go a long way to make sure that the child sees the correspondence of the number of objects on the page to the number presented on the page and that he or she is not just tapping away on everything they see. 

Lastly, a child who needs to learn the numbers 1-20 and basic colors is super young - probably around 3. A child who would be able to learn the signs in the videos correctly without further direct instruction would be much older. Rating: 2.5/5 (based on topic, aim for around 4 years)


Balance: As mentioned, rather than or in addition to the hotspots on each page when counting the objects, I'd add a verbal and visual counting cue. Also, the later pages start to double up the numbers (# 13 and #14 are on the same page), so it starts looking a little cluttered and the number of objects increase. Rating: 3/5


Sustainability:  I usually don't comment on the production quality, but I did notice a gap between the nice pictures and hotspots and the lower quality in voice over and ASL videos. I think this will make kids concentrate more on the hotspots (which they love already) rather than wanting to see the video. There's nothing really that ties the rest of the book in with the videos, so what would lead kids to play the videos that don't look as cool as the rest of the page? So although kids might want to continue tapping on the hotspots, I don't know if they will watch the videos enough to learn the signs - which I feel is the goal of the app. Rating: 2/5


Parental Involvement: The ASL videos could be a conversation starter and would definitely need some attention and reinforcement from parents. Rating: 3.5/5


Total: 11 out of 20 = 2 stars




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

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox was developed by THUP Games and is a series of 7 games that cover colors, matching, counting, letters, puzzle, spot the difference, and shape. The premise is that we're trying to pack the monkey's lunchbox, so all the items involve fruit. Sounds cute. Price: $0.99 on iTunes, $1.99 on Android market

Device Requirements: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad; 
Requires iOS 3.0 or later; Android 2.0 and up

Developmental Appropriateness: Two of the major questions I ask when it comes to developmental appropriateness are "Is it right for the targeted age group?" and" What skill is it trying to target?". At first glance, Monkey Preschool Lunchbox seems to be a solid app for preschoolers - the games cover topics that are appropriate for preschoolers. But the more I played it, the less I thought of the app. With the first question, the app says it targets 2-5 year-olds. This is certainly true. But like I've said before, this is a wide age range and a lot happens during these early years. Some of the games like color and spot the difference are fit for the really young ones, 2 to 3-year-olds, while other games like the puzzles and matching are more for the older kids, like 5-year-olds. You do not have the option of choosing which games to play, it's all part of one game. So 5-year-olds will be bored with some items, and 2-year-olds will find some items too difficult.

For the second question, I really question what the counting and letter tasks are measuring. First with counting - there is a lot to understand about numbers and it is often difficult to assess exactly what a child understands about numbers. Just because they can count to 10 doesn't mean they understand those numbers. In this task, the Monkey asks for x amount of fruit and you have to tap on that amount of fruit. So what is trying to measure? Verbal counting? No. The app counts for you. Enumeration (*see below for definitions) or one-to-one correspondence? Maybe, but not quite. The task only presents the number that is asked for - so when it wants 4 apples, there are only 4 apples on the screen. How do we know the child is not just tapping on everything that's on the screen? Cardinality**? No - again, we really don't know what the child is doing. Does the child really know that he or she just put 4 apples in the basket or did he or she just tap on everything on the screen?


*Enumeration: The process of saying the proper number words in sequence while assigning one and only one number word to each object. 
**Cardinality: Knowing that the last counting word provides the numerical value of the whole set of objects. For example, after a child counts "1 2 3 4 5" he then can say, "There are five apples."
Definitions are from: http://mathcgm.org/index.php


With the letter task, you are asked to select the fruit that begins with a certain letter. It shows a picture of the fruit and the word for the fruit. All the options are color coded (see picture in the video above). When it asks for the letter, it also shows the letter, and in the same color as the correct answer. So is it really measuring letter identification, or color and or letter matching? The target letter also never separates or is highlighted from the word. So you might hear A apple, but you never see it. Some of the fruits are also big words - like "cantaloupe." These longer words are hard for kids, especially those just learning their letters.


Numbers and letters may seem like they are easy things to learn, but they are not. They are very complicated symbols. Rating: 2/5 (aim for around 3 years)


Balance: The game is pretty simple. There are no extra hotspots or anything like that. The Monkey will do some flips when you get the right answer or shake it's head when you get it wrong, providing some cute feedback. The Monkey also makes noises, which after while, for me at least, got a little annoying, especially when you do the counting task really fast. But all in all, I think the graphics are cute and nothing too distracting. Rating: 4.5/5


Sustainability: After a few items, you get to pick a sticker. It never ceases to amaze me how much kids like stickers. There's a nice variety of stickers to choose from, but it's a little disappointing because you can't do anything with them. You can't even move them around once you've placed it on your sticker scroll. Furthermore, there's really only one level. The items never get harder - they just repeat over and over. Rating: 2/5


Parental Involvement: Other than to help the younger ones figure out what to do, I don't really see much of a role for parents here. Parents cannot see what progress is being are on the different types of items, and the items are simple enough that there is not much prompting to do in terms of strategy. Rating: 3/5 


Total: 11.5 out of 20 = 2 stars