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.
Animal Sounds was developed by Synthcomm sp. z o.o. It should come as no surprise that in general, kids love animals. Animal names and sounds are some of the first words and sounds babies make. It makes sense then that animals is the subject matter of many apps. Do these apps, specifically, Animal Sounds, capture what makes animals so appealing to kids? Price: $1.99
Device Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
Developmental Appropriateness: From the research world, we know that kids, even babies, attend to animals more than inanimate objects. For example, babies under 1-year would watch realistic videos of animals more than they would watch videos of inanimate objects moving. What is it about animals that make them so interesting? I'm sure experts in biophilia have studied and can say more about factors like face and the movement of animals that make us attend to animals. So before I digress too much more, my point is that I think these factors should be taken into consideration when looking at an app about animals. You might be thinking that maybe I'm taking this too far - an animal app is just a fun, simple app for kids. True. But I do think that consideration of realistic photos or videos and the movement and characteristics of the animals can separate an ok animal app from a great animal app.
So Animal Sounds - The animals are pretty cartoonish, with many of them dressed in clothing. Again, young kids have an easier time generalizing from what they see in a book to the real world when the images look more realistic. I'm not saying that they have to be photographs only, but the images here are really not realistic. With each image, there is a female voice saying, "The cow goes moo." The voice is animated and kid-friendly. While this might simulate a parent reading with their child, the animal sounds are not at all realistic. Finally, if you tap on the picture, it moves up and down, but not in any motion that an animal would make. So while this may be a fun app for parents to use with their child and make some animal sounds together, this app does not really capture what may make animals so interesting to kids. Rating: 3/5 (aim for around 3 years).
Balance - In order to choose what animal to look at, there's a kinda wheel on the side that you would spin. While I like this feature, a 2 year old may have some trouble spinning it. I'm not sure how the animals are organized within this wheel, so it might take a little effort to figure out where the favorites might be. The written label is provided at the bottom of the screen but it doesn't highlight or it doesn't repeat so kids can hear the label again. Only the animal sound is repeated if you tap on the picture. Also, I rarely mention in-app purchases or links as I like to just focus on the content, but there's a pretty attractive and distinctive icon of a super hero in the top corner that leads you to access other apps by the developers. This icon is not just on like the main menu page, but is present throughout the app. I can see kids easily tapping on this icon and accidentally exiting out of the app. Rating: 3/5
Sustainability - There are 44 animals - which is a good amount. But again, since this app does not really capture the essence of the animals, I'm not sure to what extent kids will keep coming back to it. Rating: 3/5
Parental Involvement - Animals are an easy topic for parents to talk about with their kids. This app seems to be one where parents should play along. Rating: 3/5
