Price: free (was 2.99$)
Overall Score: 88/100
version reviewed: 1.0.2
reviewed:
What it is and what you do with it: a set of educational activities (puzzles, interactive stickers) with the ocean life/exploration theme.
5 scenes: Coral Reef, Marine Mammals, Fish, Boat, Submersible.
What we liked: the concept. Good variety of topics covered. Many interactive features. Ease of use. Narration and spoken instructions. Sounds and sound backgrounds.
What we didn't like: some scenes offer more engagement, interactivity and in-depth info than others. The activities can quickly get repetitive. We wish there was more contextual information/more facts.
Appysmarts
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
Price: 1.99$
May contain `more apps` links
Overall Score: 86/100
version reviewed: 1.1
reviewed:
What it is: a mini-encyclopedia with about 60 entries.
What you do with it: 'navigate' through the earth, oceans, skies and space. Tap the objects to display pop-up windows with facts, trivia and pictures.
What we liked: the concept (interactive map). Ease of use. 7 language versions included in the app.
What we didn't like: the information could be presented in a more kid-friendly way (e.g. too many numerical info, some of the subjects may be too abstract). We wish there were more entries. The descriptions are not read out by the narrator.
Appysmarts
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
Price: free
May contain `more apps` links
Overall Score: 86/100
version reviewed: 1.30
reviewed:
What it is: an educational book (about 15 pages long) about the life of an alligator and her young.
What you do with it: three modes of 'reading' the book: listen to the narration and follow the text, read the book yourself (or have the story read to you by a parent) and autoplay. Touch the objects on pages and their name will be displayed and read out.
What we liked: good educational value, quality artwork, excellent reading options (words are highlighted when read, you can touch a word to have it read out, tap twice to repeat a paragraph, picture-word associations), professional narration, sounds and sound backgrounds.
What we didn't like: the pages are very static, there are no interactive elements (apart from the read-out features).
Note about ads: the app has an option to display news and ads from the publisher but this option can be turned off in the settings menu.
Appysmarts
Android
Android
Android
Android
Price: 2.99$
May contain `more apps` links
Overall Score: 86/100
version reviewed: 2.1
reviewed:
What it is: an educational book (about 15 pages long) about the life of an alligator and her young.
What you do with it: three modes of 'reading' the book: listen to the narration and follow the text, read the book yourself (or have the story read to you by a parent) and autoplay. Touch the objects on pages and their name will be displayed and read out.
What we liked: good educational value, quality artwork, excellent reading options (words are highlighted when read, you can touch a word to have it read out, tap twice to repeat a paragraph, picture-word associations), professional narration, sounds and sound backgrounds.
What we didn't like: the pages are very static, there are no interactive elements (apart from the read-out features).
Note about ads: the app has an option to display news and ads from the publisher but this option can be turned off in the settings menu.
Appysmarts
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
Price: 0.99$
Overall Score: 84/100
version reviewed: 1.2
reviewed:
What it is: a picture book with the narration (eco/recycling theme, 17 pages long).
What you do with it: read the book or listen to the narration.
What we liked: the story, lively illustrations, professional narration, ease of use.
What we didn't like: no animations. No interactive elements. Limited reading options (words are not highlighted etc).
Appysmarts
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
Price: 1.99$
Overall Score: 82/100
version reviewed: 1.1
reviewed:
What it is: an app teaching about butterflies and their lifecycle.
What you do with it: start by 'arranging' the lifecycle of a butterfly. Explore the available sections (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly): view diagrams, photos and related videos, read the text (or have it read out to you by the narrator). You can also take the quiz (answer questions related to the subjects, 3 levels of difficulty) to test your knowledge of the subject.
What we liked: the concept, good educational content with many small 'extras' (e.g. all photos are captioned, there are some short interesting 'facts' thrown in etc.) , simple operation.
What we didn't like: little interactivity, especially in 'diagrams' (think of the app as a more sophisticated 'viewer' for texts, photos and videos). Navigation could be more consistent. The 'quiz' activity is very simple. No narration in videos.
For younger (or poorly reading) kids this app should be considered as a 'teacher/parent tool', not an app your child will engage in by himself/herself.
Bottom line: a simple but well put together educational app with lots of interesting content.
Appysmarts
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPhone
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
iPad
