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Ask HN: what do you think of these flash cards I made for young kids?

13 points by epi0Bauqu 17y ago

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
Works best full screen (F11 on Win). My son (4mo) and his cousin (14mo) really like these. However, I'd love to get some feedback from a wider audience before I start making a bunch more.
- michael_dorfman 17y ago
  Nice! How about adding a spoken version of the animal name, for pre-readers?
nico 17y ago
They look really nice, good job! Maybe it's my connection, but the cards are going by a little fast, it skips to the next card before the image has finished loading. You could add a speed option and/or a pause button.
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  Yeah, once they load once, they should be cached thereafter. I've seen this issue too though. A pause would certainly be good. I'll put that on the list--thanks!
tokenadult 17y ago
What is the rationale for making flash cards at all? (This is a serious question; I've never seen a need for flash cards, in my youth or in my children's youth.)
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  A few reasons. First and foremost, I want to offer my children the opportunity to learn as much as possible, up to their interest and abilities. Studies show kids learn best via repetition and pick up language faster the more you talk to them (surprise surprise). Flash cards address both those learning modes by both repeating words and giving you prompts to expound about them, i.e. "a beaver swims in the water." Quite simply, by using them I find I talk to my son more and in a more directed (learning appropriate) way. Second, as a stay-at-home dad who also works on startups, I am searching for good (educationally-oriented) ways to entertain and occupy my son. I have a two-28"-monitor setup. I found I could put these up on one and still get some casual things done, e.g. reading email, on the other monitor. Third, I really like big full screen images, and haven't seen any flash cards to date that use them effectively.
  - jacobolus 17y ago
    Why don't you buy some good children’s books with images of animals in them? A story is significantly more interesting than a flash card.
    - epi0Bauqu 17y ago
      I already have tons of them :). It is a completely different mode of entertainment/learning. What you think is "significantly more interesting" isn't necessarily such to a baby.
  - tokenadult 17y ago
    Studies show kids learn best via repetition and pick up language faster the more you talk to them (surprise surprise). Do those studies specifically compare flash cards to the children's books (which I like a great deal) already mentioned to you in another reply? Do they use an experimental rather than correlational study design? http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html What are the citations for the studies you have in mind?
    - epi0Bauqu 17y ago
      I see from your profile that you too take care of your kids all day long. I've found that my son doesn't want to do the same thing for very long. So we read books, we play with toys, we take walks, etc. etc. This is one of a variety of activities that is done for only a few minutes each day. In other words, I don't understand the presumption that books and flash cards are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, I think that they are complementary. I look for things that are educational that hold my sons interest for some amount of time. This activity is one of those things. If kids don't like it, by all means they shouldn't use it. It is meant to be fun.
      - tokenadult 17y ago
        My concern about flashcards is that they are a very nonholistic way to present isolated facts. In my childhood experience, it was the DUMB kids in class who used flashcards a lot, while the smart kids did without them entirely. (I vividly recall an incident in fourth grade when some of my classmates were flipping through a set of geography flashcards, which was just old enough to show some African countries as still colonies of European countries, even though by that year those countries were independent. I knew the countries were independent because I read books and the daily newspaper.)
rawr 17y ago
Things kids are forced to do (flashcards) they will hate. Things kids are allowed to do (watch National Geographic) they will enjoy. Do you really want your kids to hate nature?
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  Wow, my son and every kid I've shared these with loves them. Do you have kids? If so, please try it out and let me know. Maybe flash cards is the wrong word to use? The idea is not to make them memorize anything, i.e. not fun. The idea is to show them pictures of stuff they like, i.e. fun. The vocab building is just a by-product of the activity.
- nollidge 17y ago
  Who said anything about force?
- foulmouthboy 17y ago
  Kids hate flashcards?
markcmyers 17y ago
Very nice. I'm guessing little kids will love it. I found some of the labels hard to read because there was too little contrast with the pic. To me the robin didn't look like a robin.
Adrenalist 17y ago
I have a 3 kids between the ages of 2 years and 11 years. My youngest would definitely enjoy these and I think it's a good start. It's a very simple idea, so I think you'll need to add some features (pause button, music, more card sets, etc.) to encourage parents to visit often. Also, I love the domain name and can see that this project was created while scratching your own itch (which is a great way to stay motivated).
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  Thanks. Yeah, I have about 20 ideas for new card sets--if you or anyone else has any I'll add them to my list.
m_eiman 17y ago
Tiny tips for a better user experience: load the pictures in the background and display a spinner while they're loading; load the next/prev images while the user is looking at an image to minimize waiting.
PostOnce 17y ago
The images don't need to be that big, I think. Or you could possibly have a resolution option (small/med/large). Depending on your monitor, 30" flash cards?
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  You can resize the window to your liking. However, the bigness was sort of the point--attracts and keeps my 4mo old's attention. Have you tried it big vs small with your young kids? I'd be very interested to know what happens.
alex_c 17y ago
Should be "caterpillar"? Don't want to teach kids the wrong spelling ;)
- epi0Bauqu 17y ago
  Absolutely, will switch :). It should also be 'opossum' I've realized.
ujjwalg 17y ago
I think if you can add colors, numbers, alphabets with spoken versions will be great. You should check out the apps on iPhone for kids. Some of them are just off the hook.

13 points by epi0Bauqu 17y ago

Works best full screen (F11 on Win). My son (4mo) and his cousin (14mo) really like these. However, I'd love to get some feedback from a wider audience before I start making a bunch more.

michael_dorfman 17y ago
Nice! How about adding a spoken version of the animal name, for pre-readers?

nico 17y ago

They look really nice, good job! Maybe it's my connection, but the cards are going by a little fast, it skips to the next card before the image has finished loading. You could add a speed option and/or a pause button.

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
Yeah, once they load once, they should be cached thereafter. I've seen this issue too though. A pause would certainly be good. I'll put that on the list--thanks!

tokenadult 17y ago

What is the rationale for making flash cards at all? (This is a serious question; I've never seen a need for flash cards, in my youth or in my children's youth.)

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
A few reasons. First and foremost, I want to offer my children the opportunity to learn as much as possible, up to their interest and abilities. Studies show kids learn best via repetition and pick up language faster the more you talk to them (surprise surprise). Flash cards address both those learning modes by both repeating words and giving you prompts to expound about them, i.e. "a beaver swims in the water." Quite simply, by using them I find I talk to my son more and in a more directed (learning appropriate) way. Second, as a stay-at-home dad who also works on startups, I am searching for good (educationally-oriented) ways to entertain and occupy my son. I have a two-28"-monitor setup. I found I could put these up on one and still get some casual things done, e.g. reading email, on the other monitor. Third, I really like big full screen images, and haven't seen any flash cards to date that use them effectively.
- jacobolus 17y ago
  Why don't you buy some good children’s books with images of animals in them? A story is significantly more interesting than a flash card.
  - epi0Bauqu 17y ago
    I already have tons of them :). It is a completely different mode of entertainment/learning. What you think is "significantly more interesting" isn't necessarily such to a baby.
- tokenadult 17y ago
  Studies show kids learn best via repetition and pick up language faster the more you talk to them (surprise surprise). Do those studies specifically compare flash cards to the children's books (which I like a great deal) already mentioned to you in another reply? Do they use an experimental rather than correlational study design? http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html What are the citations for the studies you have in mind?
  - epi0Bauqu 17y ago
    I see from your profile that you too take care of your kids all day long. I've found that my son doesn't want to do the same thing for very long. So we read books, we play with toys, we take walks, etc. etc. This is one of a variety of activities that is done for only a few minutes each day. In other words, I don't understand the presumption that books and flash cards are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, I think that they are complementary. I look for things that are educational that hold my sons interest for some amount of time. This activity is one of those things. If kids don't like it, by all means they shouldn't use it. It is meant to be fun.
    - tokenadult 17y ago
      My concern about flashcards is that they are a very nonholistic way to present isolated facts. In my childhood experience, it was the DUMB kids in class who used flashcards a lot, while the smart kids did without them entirely. (I vividly recall an incident in fourth grade when some of my classmates were flipping through a set of geography flashcards, which was just old enough to show some African countries as still colonies of European countries, even though by that year those countries were independent. I knew the countries were independent because I read books and the daily newspaper.)

rawr 17y ago

Things kids are forced to do (flashcards) they will hate. Things kids are allowed to do (watch National Geographic) they will enjoy. Do you really want your kids to hate nature?

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
Wow, my son and every kid I've shared these with loves them. Do you have kids? If so, please try it out and let me know. Maybe flash cards is the wrong word to use? The idea is not to make them memorize anything, i.e. not fun. The idea is to show them pictures of stuff they like, i.e. fun. The vocab building is just a by-product of the activity.
nollidge 17y ago
Who said anything about force?
foulmouthboy 17y ago
Kids hate flashcards?

markcmyers 17y ago

Very nice. I'm guessing little kids will love it. I found some of the labels hard to read because there was too little contrast with the pic. To me the robin didn't look like a robin.

Adrenalist 17y ago

I have a 3 kids between the ages of 2 years and 11 years. My youngest would definitely enjoy these and I think it's a good start. It's a very simple idea, so I think you'll need to add some features (pause button, music, more card sets, etc.) to encourage parents to visit often. Also, I love the domain name and can see that this project was created while scratching your own itch (which is a great way to stay motivated).

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
Thanks. Yeah, I have about 20 ideas for new card sets--if you or anyone else has any I'll add them to my list.

m_eiman 17y ago

Tiny tips for a better user experience: load the pictures in the background and display a spinner while they're loading; load the next/prev images while the user is looking at an image to minimize waiting.

PostOnce 17y ago

The images don't need to be that big, I think. Or you could possibly have a resolution option (small/med/large). Depending on your monitor, 30" flash cards?

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
You can resize the window to your liking. However, the bigness was sort of the point--attracts and keeps my 4mo old's attention. Have you tried it big vs small with your young kids? I'd be very interested to know what happens.

alex_c 17y ago

Should be "caterpillar"? Don't want to teach kids the wrong spelling ;)

epi0Bauqu 17y ago
Absolutely, will switch :). It should also be 'opossum' I've realized.

ujjwalg 17y ago

I think if you can add colors, numbers, alphabets with spoken versions will be great. You should check out the apps on iPhone for kids. Some of them are just off the hook.