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Top Educational Apps Are Mostly All Stuck in the Stone Age

35 points by e15ctr0n 11y ago

educationcto 11y ago
There is a lot of junk in the various app stores (just as there is on the Internet generally) but the overall quality and quantity of incredible educational apps is growing- quickly. When used effectively, we have seen students using iPads double their learning outcomes in a single school year. The issue is that the evaluation sustems are in their infancy- the review sites cited in the article are pretty useless because they rarely go more than skin deep. My company, eSpark, evaluates and curates the best tablet apps for use in schools, and we apply rigorous review to make sure they work. I've been really impressed by how much the ecosystem has changed in the last few years and can't wait for more classrooms to catch up.
smelendez 11y ago
Sounds like a lot of these apps are simple games to give kids practice recognizing letters and how groups of letters work together. But I'm not sure why that's a problem--as the article says, kids have been learning to read this way since the Stone Age. And if parents are downloading the apps, do they really need expert guidance on what age or developmental stage they're suited for? Can't they just say, "oh, we were singing the ABC song with Johnny today--let's download a couple of alphabet games and see how he likes them?"
knicholes 11y ago
I wish this article suggested ways for these apps to improve. Sure, run studies, list your curriculum, whatever, but if it's so stone-aged to just regurgitate the "correct" answer, what do modern education leaders recommend?
- brudgers 11y ago
  Forbes' forte is not software design or analysis.
baldfat 11y ago
I run a STEM Lab for 3-5 year olds. I have hunted and looked for good apps for education and it is a desert! We use a program for literacy and it is "Computer Adaptive" to the children AKA if you know your letters they move you up. PROBLEMS: 1) Glorified Work Sheets. Just give them printed sheets of your stupid boring activities. To improve them give the kids crayons and scissors and have them draw on the blank side of that sheet of paper! 2) Computer Adaptive to learn letters SHOULD be learn the letters in your name NEVER START WITH A otherwise. A is a vowel and it extreemly different rules in terms of name and sound. 3) The FONTS are STUPID for a. Instead of the easy to write circle and line a it is the type writer a. My dream is to get educational apps and programs created that are actually Developmentally Appropriate and actually better because they are on the computer not just digital analogies of real world things AKA don't show a maraca and have the kids shake the tablet just give the kids the real thing. My firends who could invest believe the market is saturated with ABC Mouse and company. There must be a way. My favorite app for kids: Alien Assignment from the Fred Rogers Foundation https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-assignment/id531359578?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-assignment/id531359578... it appears to be abandoned wear and shows its age but the principle of the app is great. The children follow directions to and take pictures to the directions of something round or blue or that holds water and then give the tablet to an adult to check your work.
- tom_wilde 11y ago
  Out of interest, are there any other Apps/Websites you'd recommend? I have a 4 y/o sponge who'd eat it up... :D
personjerry 11y ago
This would be a lot more helpful if they showed specific apps and what makes them bad, as examples. If anyone is interested in a good language learning system, I've been using Duolingo on the web to learn French and it's been far more interesting than learning it in school in Canada. It's free with no ads so I recommend others try it. Furthermore I downloaded Duolingo's app the other day and they apparently have classroom integration! I am not an educator but if an educator could try or evaluate it, I would be interested in how it is, as I'm thinking of recommending it to my old high school teacher. Disclosure: I am not affiliated with Duolingo in anyway.

35 points by e15ctr0n 11y ago

There is a lot of junk in the various app stores (just as there is on the Internet generally) but the overall quality and quantity of incredible educational apps is growing- quickly. When used effectively, we have seen students using iPads double their learning outcomes in a single school year. The issue is that the evaluation sustems are in their infancy- the review sites cited in the article are pretty useless because they rarely go more than skin deep. My company, eSpark, evaluates and curates the best tablet apps for use in schools, and we apply rigorous review to make sure they work. I've been really impressed by how much the ecosystem has changed in the last few years and can't wait for more classrooms to catch up.

smelendez 11y ago

Sounds like a lot of these apps are simple games to give kids practice recognizing letters and how groups of letters work together. But I'm not sure why that's a problem--as the article says, kids have been learning to read this way since the Stone Age. And if parents are downloading the apps, do they really need expert guidance on what age or developmental stage they're suited for? Can't they just say, "oh, we were singing the ABC song with Johnny today--let's download a couple of alphabet games and see how he likes them?"

knicholes 11y ago

I wish this article suggested ways for these apps to improve. Sure, run studies, list your curriculum, whatever, but if it's so stone-aged to just regurgitate the "correct" answer, what do modern education leaders recommend?

brudgers 11y ago
Forbes' forte is not software design or analysis.

baldfat 11y ago

I run a STEM Lab for 3-5 year olds. I have hunted and looked for good apps for education and it is a desert! We use a program for literacy and it is "Computer Adaptive" to the children AKA if you know your letters they move you up. PROBLEMS: 1) Glorified Work Sheets. Just give them printed sheets of your stupid boring activities. To improve them give the kids crayons and scissors and have them draw on the blank side of that sheet of paper! 2) Computer Adaptive to learn letters SHOULD be learn the letters in your name NEVER START WITH A otherwise. A is a vowel and it extreemly different rules in terms of name and sound. 3) The FONTS are STUPID for a. Instead of the easy to write circle and line a it is the type writer a. My dream is to get educational apps and programs created that are actually Developmentally Appropriate and actually better because they are on the computer not just digital analogies of real world things AKA don't show a maraca and have the kids shake the tablet just give the kids the real thing. My firends who could invest believe the market is saturated with ABC Mouse and company. There must be a way. My favorite app for kids: Alien Assignment from the Fred Rogers Foundation https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-assignment/id531359578?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-assignment/id531359578... it appears to be abandoned wear and shows its age but the principle of the app is great. The children follow directions to and take pictures to the directions of something round or blue or that holds water and then give the tablet to an adult to check your work.

tom_wilde 11y ago
Out of interest, are there any other Apps/Websites you'd recommend? I have a 4 y/o sponge who'd eat it up... :D

personjerry 11y ago

This would be a lot more helpful if they showed specific apps and what makes them bad, as examples. If anyone is interested in a good language learning system, I've been using Duolingo on the web to learn French and it's been far more interesting than learning it in school in Canada. It's free with no ads so I recommend others try it. Furthermore I downloaded Duolingo's app the other day and they apparently have classroom integration! I am not an educator but if an educator could try or evaluate it, I would be interested in how it is, as I'm thinking of recommending it to my old high school teacher. Disclosure: I am not affiliated with Duolingo in anyway.