App Review: Wild About Books ~by Random House

Wild About Books by Judie Sierra pictures by Marc Brown is brought to life in this app by Random House. Essentially this app is a remake of the original story into an interactive book. The story is wholesome and entertaining about a bookmobile librarian who brings the world of reading alive to the animals at the zoo. As the story unfolds, I am reminded of pop-up books. When you tilt the iPad the graphics tilt, but the actual interaction is somewhat limited in comparison to other similar products. There are not many interactibles and the ones that do exist are not easy to locate. There is no sound or movement to guide the learner where to tap. There are nature type sounds, and the book has the option of being read aloud from either the beginning of the book or where the reader last left off. Arrows at the bottom of the screen allow for movement between digital pages. As the page is being read aloud each word highlights but individual word selection was not possible. The font is smaller than I would have expected in a child's story.
Bottom line if this is one of yours or your child's favorite picture books then it is sure to be a big hit. The "hyenas shared jokes" page was my favorite. The hide and go seek frog on this page will be a big hit with the younger ages. It is a good interactive book with some engaging features, but it isn't a great interactive book and I think the $4.99 price is a bit steep.
With vocabulary such as pretentious and redundant the average 2 to 5 year old may not be quite ready for this literary treat.

Case Study: Amber

Case Study: Amber

Amber playing FIsh School HD
By: Duck Duck Moose

Meet Amber:
Amber is an observant fun-loving little girl. She likes to climb and color. Her favorite t.v. show is Diego on Nick Jr. Amber lives her with mom and her older brother. I started working with Amber about a month ago, her mom was looking for something more than daycare, but thought a structured preschool environment might be too much for this quiet little one. I must say she is a typical two year old with her ups and downs, but she is eager to learn. I first tried the iPad with this little bundle of energy about 2 weeks ago in an effort to provide a client research on which apps I felt would work best with preschoolers. When Amber was first offered the iPad she was more interested in the handle on the Griffon Standle iPad case than the actual iPad. But after 10 or 15 minutes, she started to explore the actual screen. There has been a slight learning curve for her to be able to use the iPad, having short little fingers being most of the issue. But the iPad has definitely sparked her natural curiosity. To say this is her favorite learning toy is not accurate. It is more like a toy box of her favorite educational toys. Today Amber is playing Fish School by Duck Duck Moose. With a simple tap of her finger the fish organize into ABC, numbers, and shapes. She can explore matching concepts, and colors in another mode. Her favorite mode is free play, when she double taps a fish in this mode the fish quickly swims off. Just like at the pet store. But these digital little fish grow and grow when she holds her finger on one. She giggles as she says "big...big...fishy is big". With games like this Amber has the option to play and learn in short segments perfect for her 2 year old attention span.

How it all began....

It actually started rather suddenly, but not totally unexpected. I had received a few calls from friends and clients asking what I thought about using an iPad with young children and I must admit I was skeptical... very skeptical. The iPad is still new, and I normally like to wait for a new technology to have the second version release, to work out the bugs. But never the less, when I did find myself at an Apple Store, I decided to ask what they thought about using this type of technology for the preschool age group. Dave the store manager was frank but encouraging. He even shared some of his own experiences of using the iPad with his young son. Me...well I was still hesitant, but starting to warm up to the idea more and more. So when I was asked to consult with a local non-profit about using iPads in this very manner, I was ready to explore just what these doors to knowledge might offer the young digital generation. To say I was shocked or amazed would be an understatement. My head is still spinning with all the opportunities this device has to offer in the world of early childhood education. That is when I decided I needed to blog this information to all those interested... whether educator or parent. Please join me as I share some case studies and app reviews on this remarkable doorway to the future of education... The iPad.