December 29th, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Mobile devices vs. Personal Computers for educational programs

Just when we were used to educational programs on the PC, suddenly all the new educational programs for kids are going mobile. There are hundreds – no, thousands – of educational iPhone apps in the iTunes App Store. Are they any better or different from programs for the PC? Is the touch screen of an iPhone hard for kids to learn to use, in comparison to a keyboard and a mouse?

PicPocket Books always uses kids as testers for our new applications, and it is wonderful and amazing to see how intuitive the iPhone controls are even for children as young as 2 and 3 years old. Young kids are naturally curious and they don’t have the initial fear or hesitation towards a new technology device that some adults display.

The iTunes store offers a number of free apps, and free programs are available for PCs. Paid iPhone apps usually top out at $5, whereas you can easily pay close to $100 for an educational program for your PC (think Disney’s new digital library for $79, foreign language tutorials, etc.)

A strong appeal of the iPhone is that it is mobile, and perfect for entertaining kids when you are away from home and caught in an unexpected wait.

So yes, I think kids can use mobile devices like the iPhone for effective learning, and many of the available quality apps are perfect for taking advantage of times when you are caught in a wait. So pull out the iPhone to practice some math facts, foreign language vocabulary, or just to read a good picture book.

September 28th, 2009 | posted by: ela

A PicPocket Book in Action!

How can you keep a child busy and occupied while running errands, waiting in the doctor’s office, or just driving in the car?  I found my answer in Cucumber Soup, one of PicPocket Book’s newest editions for reading-on-the go.

"I like this story!"

"I like this story!"

One of the things that makes Cucumber Soup so entertaining for young children is that they can recognize all of the insects that appear on the digital pages.  Spiders, ants, and bumblebees  flutter and crawl across each page as the message of teamwork and persistence is taught to the young reader.
As I gave my iPod Touch to the young boy I was babysitting, I could hear him shout “bumblebees!” and “ladybugs!” as he enthusiastically identified the bugs and listened as the story progressed. I could tell by his excited squeals that Cucumber Soup would entertain him for the entire duration of our trip to the grocery store.

Do you have any suggestions for keep children busy and occupied during boring car rides and errands?  Do you believe children would enjoy being read to on an iPod Touch or iPhone rather than watching a DVD in the car?  Let us know what educational tools you try to provide for your children!

September 18th, 2009 | posted by: Eva

What’s the future? Children’s Lit and the Digital Age

What’s next for children’s literature? We are zooming into the digital age. Technology keeps changing, and print media is quickly going digital. Is anybody out there nervous? Could we lose something with this change?

An article in Publishers Weekly addresses these questions and more: are publishers ready? What about piracy? How will rights be handled? Will libraries become obsolete?

The article summarizes a forum held by the Children’s Book Council on “The Current State of E: Publishing in the Digital Age.”  One panelist states, “E-books add a fantastic functionality to what a book is. Adding interactivity to that experience is also very interesting. And thinking about ways they can be fun [is important], because it’s for children.”

There’s a lot of potential! What do you think?

June 22nd, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Kindle Concerns

The third version of Amazon’s Kindle will be shipping out on June 26, 2009. It is called the Kindle DX and reviewers are complaining that it is not that different from the Kindle 2 and that there is perhaps just not enough bang for your buck – or, make that your $498 bucks.

True, the DX has a bigger screen (9.7 ” diagonal compared to 6″), making the viewing area about the same as a hardcover book. This increases the weight of the device (now 18.9 oz). The storage capacity is larger, but as Rob Pegoraro points out in his Washington Post article (G1, 6/21/09), who really needs to carry 3,500 books around at one time?

Amazon is still having some issues with displaying images. Apparently a photo-negative image flashes on the screen before the real image displays, and we’re stuck with the 16 shades of gray.

I’ll admit that the Kindle Store’s 307,420 titles are impressive. Something new is that three newspapers: The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The New York Times will offer a discounted DX to their readers who subscribe to their Kindle editions. However, there is a catch; the offer is limited to customers outside of the papers’ subscription area. For instance, The Washington Post’s offer will be limited to subscribers in the Baltimore area.

Cost is my main grumble about the Kindle. For a device that does just one thing, that’s pretty expensive. Downloads of books for the Kindle don’t represent any significant savings (most are about $10) over buying print copies. And while it is certainly convenient for Amazon that readers cannot loan or resell a book, I personally would find that a drawback.

I am much more intrigued by Apple’s iTunes model. On the App Store, not only can you find games, music, podcasts, and other applications as well as books, most apps are under $5. And the iPhone itself is a fraction of the cost of the Kindle!

In conclusion, before I would spend close to $500 on a digital device to read books, I’d want to be able to use it for other things as well. I guess I am not convinced yet.

June 5th, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Choices for Book Formats

When I was a kid, if I wanted to read a book, I’d ask my mom to take me to the library. There, I’d browse or look for something specific, and I remember being quite pleased with the variety of stories available. It wasn’t until I was in college that I began to frequent the large chain bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble, with their shiny, swanky stores, large selections of books, CDs, DVDs and gourmet coffee and tea. Now I’ve heard that Borders may be failing, unable to keep up with the online ordering options from sites like Amazon. 

A visit to Amazon’s website to search for a title reveals a truly awesome number of choices. You can buy a new or used copy of the book with various binding options (hardcover, paperback, library binding, etc.), you can purchase a download and see the book on your Kindle in less than 60 seconds, and audio and DVD versions of the book are also available.

I find it curious that the consumer market would demand so many choices for something so simple as a book. I think it all points to the fact that we want what we want, where and when we want it. The digital age delivers that pretty well.

June 3rd, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

Kids' Opinions on Digital Entertainment

Today I asked a group of kids, ranging in age from 9-12 years, about their user habits and preferences with digital entertainment. The first on the list was gaming platforms, specifically Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Wii (favorite games are snowboarding and Mario). Prices on the PlayStation range from around $100 to $500, depending on the  model, while the Wii is $249 and the Wii Fit is $339. The kids preferred the Wii because it is wireless, and because you can create your own characters.

Other digital devices these kids use for entertainment include computer/ internet (Facebook, MySpace, chat, Garage Band, games), TV and movies, cell phones and iPods. They all covet the iPod Touch (Three out of four would rather have their own iPod Touch than anything else, including the Wii.) The reasons they gave for this choice are:

1. It is a personal device

2. It is completely portable

3. Internet connectvity (there is so much you can do with it)

4. It has “super games”

The kids are well aware of the iPod Touch’s price tag ($220), and a couple of them are saving up their lawnmowing money to buy an iPod Touch.

At first I was surprised that they would choose the iPod Touch over the other gaming platforms that are available, but after hearing their reasoning, it did make sense. The device is so handy, versatile and “cool-looking,” and with thousands of applications and counting on Apple’s AppStore, the choices are virtually infinite.

June 2nd, 2009 | posted by: Lynette

A Digital Toy for the Very Young

New digital products are flooding the marketplace, and it is no surprise that these products are targeted at a younger and younger consumer base.

Today, I ran a search for digital toys for three year-olds and the first product to come up was Fisher Price’s Kid Tough Digital Camera. Yes, Fisher Price recommends the Kid Tough Digital Camera for 3-6 year-olds, although some reviewers think that it is suitable for two year olds.

The camera sells for $49-$70 and gets pretty good reviews (4/5 stars) overall. The main points of concern for the reviews are price, quality/functionality, and durability.

If you’re going to be paying up to $70 for a toy for a two year old, of course you want it to survice being thrown across the room in a temper tantrum. Additionally, if the pictures are really poor quality, what’s the point? However, it does seem that the Kid Tough is capable of taking respectable pictures, even if the quality is not quite up to that of “real” cameras. In a blind contest between several kid’s cameras on the market, Fisher Price’s product performed well.

There are games and add-ons for the Fisher Price camera, including cute borders and funny hats for the pictures. I haven’t figured out the games. I wonder what kind of games a three year old plays with her digital camera.

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