Last year, an analysis of education content on iTunes highlighted a surprising statistic: Of the "apps" in the education section of the iTunes app store, the greatest percentage of children's titles are aimed at toddlers and preschoolers. What are those apps like? Why are they so popular? Do they really deserve the label "educational" – or are they no more than eye-candy for the next generation of gamers?
A new report released last month, Learning: Is There An App for That?, takes an in-depth look at these "educational apps." Adult mobile devices, it says, are turning into temporary playgrounds for young kids because parents often pass them back to their young children while, say, driving to the store. In fact, this phenomenon now has a name – the "pass-back" effect. For this podcast, I spoke with CarlySchuler, who co-wrote the report with Cynthia Chiong, research associate at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Schuler and I talked about what makes these apps attractive to young kids, which apps show signs of being developmentally appropriate, and what teachers and parents should keep in mind when – as happens often in our house – children start asking "Mom, can I play on your phone?"
Early Ed Watch podcast – December 14, 2010
With our guest CarlySchuler, research and industry fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and the co-author of Learning: Is There An App for That?
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The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for all children, birth to age 8. While much of our focus is on pre-K up through 3rd grade, we also examine the need for high-quality infant and toddler care and better policies to support new parents.
Our forum on LinkedIn is a space for school district leaders, early childhood educators, policymakers and other interested parties to discuss their struggles, questions and achievements in creating a “before birth and up through third grade” system. It grew out of an event held at the New America Foundation on March 2, 2011.
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