Kindergarten
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iTrace offers kid-friendly stroke-ordered handwriting tutorial
Last week, the TUAW back room got into an incredibly extended debate regarding the merits of iTrace (US$3.99), a kid-centric app that teaches kids basic letter-writing skills. In the end, I pinged the developer and requested a promo code to give the app a try. I'm glad I did, because even though the app centers around finger-drawing, it offers a good learning tool for new writers. Dotted animations guide the student through each stroke, enabling them to learn to shape each letter. The app is brightly illustrated and well designed, certain to appeal to young students. Meant for the core 3-7 age group, kids can learn to trace uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers. A series of adult-targeted settings are hidden behind a math-based CAPTCHA system (although I suppose in this case, CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) should really be CAPTKAA (distinguishing Kids and Adults). There, you can choose between left-handed and right-handed drawing, optional letter customization (although not the two-strokes-down "v" that I grew up using -- iTrace only does down then up), control background music and sound effects, and reach an adults-only tutorial that explains the app in more detail. The app was built for educational environments. It automatically tracks each user, so parents and teachers can view milestones; see daily, weekly, and monthly usage; and see how much effort each child is investing. The interface is easy to understand, use and fun to play with. Although the $4 price tag may strike some as premium, I found the app well worth the cost. If you're an early education teacher or a parent to young children, I think you'll find this a good tutorial. I do, however, suggest that children try using a stylus while playing with the app instead of using it exclusively with fingers. A developer-supplied promo video follows below:
Study: iPads improve Kindergarten literacy scores
Apple is pushing for iPad use in education, and several schools have taken up the charge. Now, a study of kindergarteners in Auburn, Maine has shown that students who use iPads score better in every literacy test than those who don't. The study focused on 266 children whose instruction featured the iPad. Those who used the device scored higher on the literacy tests, were more interested in learning and excited to be there. There are caveats to these results. Many schools don't have the budget to distribute iPads to all of their students (Apple has education programs, however, and third-party programs are getting better all the time). Additionally, the students' excitement could be attributed to access to an iPad. When I was a kid, our school boasted brand new Apple IIes, which fostered a lifetime's worth of interest in computers, technology, and the written word for me. But that's likely because they played Oregon Trail and Prince of Persia. Still, the iPad can be a powerful tool for learning and comprehension, especially for literacy. Interactivity can make for a very engaging experience, definitely at a young age. It's reat to see these kindergarteners doing better in school no matter what the reason, and hopefully we'll hear more stories of Apple's technology benefiting students.
Kindergarten iPad 2 program causes rift between parents and school officials in Maine
Recently, the school board in Auburn, Maine decided to launch a pilot program which would place an iPad 2 in the hands of the district's 300 kindergarten students. While school officials hail this program as "a revolution in education," some parents are questioning this decision. Spearheaded by Tracey Levesque of Auburn, the Auburn Citizens for Responsible Education are mounting an opposition to the school board's iPad 2 program. The group questions the effect of handing iPads to children who are not ready for the technology and objects to the use of taxpayer money to fund this experimental program. Read on for more information about the objections to a program some think is the future of education.
The coolest kindergarten ever: iPad 2s for everyone
In a move that just assured kids everywhere will view Auburn, Maine's kindergartens as the coolest in the country, the local school board there has purchased iPad 2s for every kindergartner in the district. At a total cost of $200,000, including 285 iPad 2s, insurance for the devices and educational software, the Auburn program will begin as a pilot this May, with a complete rollout expected in September. The idea came to the local school board after teachers noticed an improvement in schoolchildren who used educational software on the iPad to learn the alphabet. Auburn's board hopes the iPads, which are cheaper than buying the kindergartners laptops, will help raise the literacy rate over a number of years. Interestingly, though probably unrelated, Apple's first iPad 2 commercial showed an app that allows children to trace the outline of numbers and letters in an attempt to help them learn. Let's just hope that Auburn's children don't start lower-casing their pronoun I's. [via MacNN]
The DS Life: Dear Santa 2: Judgment Day
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.As every successful endeavor requires an unexceptionable sequel, we've created just that with this installment of The DS Life! We're revisiting last week's theme of "Dear Santa" notes, promising a production packed with more laughs, more special effects, and most importantly, more letters. We actually can't guarantee those first two points, but we're almost absolutely sure we'll deliver on that third one!To streamline the gift-wishing process, the kindergarteners at Buckeye Valley North Elementary were provided with crayons and a simple form to illustrate their hearts' desires. What follows are a few of the results from the school's "Dear Santa" project.
