PBS releases children's iPad app, interesting usage stats
Last week PBS released its free PBS KIDS Video for iPad app. The app features more than 1000 videos from over a dozen PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! series, including Sesame Street, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, and Super WHY! The app itself was purposefully designed so that young kids could easily navigate it. Videos can be watched anywhere in the US with a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, and the app also features local PBS station TV schedules, a TV series' intended age and learning goals, and social network sharing.
The app is sure to be a hit with kids and parents alike, but what I found most interesting about PBS KIDS Video for iPad were the usage stats in the associated press release. A recent PBS survey about how kids and parents interact with the iPad revealed that 70 percent of parents reported allowing their children to use their iPad. Each iPad, on average, contained eight apps specifically downloaded for their kids. Furthermore, 40 percent of the parents surveyed said their children played on the iPad at least once a day, but their children's daily iPad "playing" wasn't only for entertainment apps. A full 90 percent of parents said that "educational value" was the most important criteria when choosing an app for their kids.
