Happy App Friday!
Learn about animals with Where are the Animals, then learn about the five senses, food and hygiene with Healthy Kids. Plus, a study into the effects of social media on teens.
Garry Froehlich
Jellybean Tunes
Where are the Animals?
by Jani Paakala
Where are the Animals is an app for toddlers that promotes naming and recognizing animals. Kids are presented with a scene containing many animals and are asked by a narrator to find a particular animal (find the bear). Animals are divided into six areas including farm, forest and underwater, the first two of which are free and the rest require and in-app purchase. The narration and graphics are good, but there are (as of this review) no written words in the app to help with word recognition.
Healthy Kids by W5Go
by QiiQ Communications Inc.
Healthy Kids focuses on activities around the five senses, food groups, and hygiene. Animated characters discuss the topic and then provide 3D animated activities in which children can participate. The app also includes a grab bag of additional activities such as puzzles, spelling simple words, and counting. Finally, there are videos around the topics of play and bullying. The quality can be a bit uneven, but there is a lot of content in the app.
The Effects of Social Media on Teens
“The effects of social media use on teenage life satisfaction are limited and probably “tiny”, a study of 12,000 UK adolescents suggests. Family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on wellbeing, says the University of Oxford research team.”
As a parent, I too worry about the effects of technology, so it’s great to see larger studies being done.
