Toddlers Learning with Apps

More and more toddlers live in the touch and swipe world. We have all seen toddlers navigate sophisticated iPhones and iPad apps. This can be one of the positive side effect of  the 'pass-back' syndrome, where we pass the iDevice back to the toddler in the car or supermarket line to keep them occupied. What if the time spent with iDevice was also beneficial and not just entertaining? Here are a couple of apps that parents can be happy to 'pass back' to their kids when the need arises.


Leo's Pad Appisode: FREE
Your child befriends 8-year-old Leonardo da Vinci. Together they go on dream-big adventures and play with adaptive learning games woven seamlessly into the story.  “Gally’s Birthday,” costars a young Galileo Galilei, who dreams of flying to the stars. Future appisodes will feature child versions of other historical characters in Leo’s band of friends, including Marie Curie.


  https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/leos-pad-appisode-1/id566773525?mt=8


Playground HD1 Lite: FREE
This "Lite" games collection contains 12 different games for kids. The developers have tried to make all games as clear and simple as possible. All games are clearly structured on the title screen so your children can quickly change the game without getting lost in the vastness of the iPad.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/playground-hd1-lite-12-games/id486698693?mt=8


Beck and Bo: $1.99 AU
Beck and Bo is a fun educational game that is sure to engage your little kids in a creative way. Beck and Bo as they go on a train trip with their beloved dog, swim in the ocean with a giant whale, go on safari and run into noisy gorillas!  Kids are invited to build beautiful, animated scenes by dragging and dropping objects,  to their proper place; and while they do that, they listen to their names and sounds!


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/beck-and-bo/id557624393?mt=8


Grammaropolis: FREE
Grammaropolis is where grammar lives! Grammaropolis uses the parts of speech as animated characters whose personalities are based on the roles they play in the sentence. From the shady pronoun to the motherly conjunction, Grammaropolis achieves the impossible: it makes learning grammar fun!


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/grammaropolis/id559851814?mt=8



Pogo Pig Savings: $0.99 AU
By learning to save money in order to get what they want through a fun and interactive game, kids learn the concept of self-control from a young age. "Pogo Pig Savings" is geared towards 2-4 years old and explores one of the fundamental success learning blocks for kids - the concept of saving.


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pogo-pig-savings/id556518678?mt=8



Prewriting: $0.99 AU
PreWriting is an educational app for children aged between 3 and 6 years. Thanks to its attractive design children are able to practice many times the same activity without getting bored and they can also internalize the strokes worked. It is an apt pedagogical tool for parents and educators, useful as a complement to the school learnings.


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/prewriting/id574143204?mt=8&%3D2


Cambug Letter Sounds: FREE
Cambugs Letter Sounds has been developed by educational psychologists and parents, working in partnership with the University of Cambridge. Cambugs Letter Sounds is targeted at pre-readers, as well as struggling older readers. It uses evidence-based techniques that research has shown helps children develop their reading skills.


https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/cambugs-letter-sounds/id574190228?mt=8


Babble Planet: $2.99 AU
For those parents with Non english speaking toddlers. Babble Planet is a fun learning game for children! Immersed in a fully English-speaking world, children find themselves in the midst of a great adventure where they will progress while practicing spoken English. Babble Planet helps him/her practice spoken English with fun mini-games.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/babble-planet-learn-to-speak/id526724091?mt=8



Sight Words - Learn to Read: FREE
Learning Sight Words has never been so much fun! Using all touch features which kids love with playful sounds and professionally recorded voiceovers, this is a complete learning experience for any child who is beginning to learn Sight Words or looking to enhance vocabulary and memory. 

Build Your Own Virtual Driving Course for Training Joystick Driving Skills


I couldn't find a free online driving game that would allow us to use a mouse or joystick mouse emulator to steer a car around streets and help a student train to drive a power chair. We wanted him to be able to practice on a computer before the real joystick was attached to his chair.
I finally decided to make my own driving course and I used Power Point to create different virtual mazes/courses that he can maneuver through. I found mounds of dirt, motocross tracks, barns, grocery stores, post offices, gas stations, student desks, start and finish signs, etc. on Google images and then created my slides of a dirt track, 4 city blocks and an intersection, a classroom with rows of desks, and more.
The key to this was using the Sonar Cursor Ring Program so we could set the cursor to be a big red ring to use to "trace" the track with the joystick around the course. You can use larger and colored cursor settings on your computer to facilitate this as well as downloading and importing cursors. I think it would be fun to add my own custom cursor, an image of a wheelchair with the head of the student photo-shopped on to make it more fun. Be creative!
Unfortunately the organization that supported and offered the Sonar Cursor Ring has closed their website but you can still get the free program as a part of Access Apps/EduApps and My Study Bar Downloads.
If you want to design your own custom cursor, making it be a wheelchair, dune buggy, etc. you can copy an image and edit it and add it to your mouse setting pointers/cursors list to choose. Here is a Youtube video for you to "geek out" on how to create a custom cursor for your computer:


We used the Penny Giles Roller II Joystick USB Mouse Emulator for the computer with interchangeable handle and soft ball tops. You can get it for $345 from Boundless Assistive Technology online.




We don't have one of these in our equipment center but fortunately we were able to use the Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP) out of Roseburg, Oregon to borrow one to trial. This is a free service to Oregonians and you pay return shipping. Whether you are an Oregon school district or a family/home you should check them out.

Here are some screen shots to give you and idea what you can create.

Basic Simple Cross Hair Practice Course (Tracing up/down, left/right):

Object to Object Navigation Course:
Classroom Desk Obstacle Course:
Dirt Track Course:

Dirt Track 2 (Made with Paint Program)

City Intersection Course:



Have fun and safe driving!
All the best to you...
Lon

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Operating Switch Adapted Toys with the iPad



I have been asked about ways to use the iPad for switch operation of something other than apps on the screen or typing/communicating. There are children using the iPad, but not for creative play due to their limitations.We have one bluetooth switch to run a speech app that step scans, but nothing to operate toys with the iPad.
I found this article on the Switchamajig that allows you to use the iPad as a controller to run RC cars and toys. It lets you use multiple switches so you can steer a toy, access multiple functions of a toy, etc. The only thing is that you will need a switch port for each function to connect to the controller. The developer designed the controller for his 2 year-old to be able to play in a more interesting and creative way. He also adapted the toys to work with it. He offers quite a few toys  that will operate with his controller if you don't know how to or don't have the time to tear open a toy and do the adapting yourself! There are some videos on Youtube that show how to adapt the toys put out by Switchamajig. There is an intro Youtube video below.
Here is the iTunes link to the free app.
Check out the site and the blog post from Adapting Creatively. There is also a $50 discount available through this blog.
All the best to you!
Lon




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