All Content for "Families On The Go"
Lunch & a playdate sponsored by mobistories | Tablet Videos
Thoughts from our recent event meeting Philly area moms and introducing them to MobiStories:
Lunch & a playdate sponsored by mobistories | Tablet Videos.
Picture Page to Digital Book?
We at MobiStories have been creating children’s picture books digitally for a few years now, first exclusively as computer downloads and lately as both downloads for home computers and as apps for iPhones/iPads. With the glut of app development lately, especially upon the release of the iPad, much has been made of late regarding the question: “What exactly is an app?”
We had a very busy month in May, attending several key conferences on app development as well as child development/educational symposiums. App Camp, presented by Warren Buckleitner and Dust or Magic, explored all areas of app development, from educational apps, to books, to games. Sandbox Summit, held at MIT by the folks from Parents’ Choice Awards, looked at how children learn through play and through doing. Engagement was clearly the key topic at this conference. We also exhibited at the nation’s largest publishing tradeshow, Book Expo America (BEA) in New York last week. Seeing the publishing industry finally embracing digital books was inspiring. But at all events the same question was raised:
“If a book is on a screen, is it still a book?”
We’ve always known that reading/hearing/watching a digital book is a different experience than reading a traditional book, or having one read to you. When you cuddle up with a child to read them a story, you’re creating a sensory experience very different from what digital books can provide. The closeness and bonding, the “what if” questions, the imagination the child uses are unique to handling a book, turning the paper pages and the memories associated with the book being read. However, digital books allow exploration of the story and can provide educational elements one can’t get from a paper book. When reading to a child, the text doesn’t highlight so the child can follow along, even if too young to read on his/her own. When a child touches an illustration in a picture book, the picture doesn’t come to life as in an interactive book. Music can’t be heard playing in the background as the story is being read aloud, though good readers will create sound effects as they read aloud. The two scenarios offer completely different experiences.
So should they be considered the same thing? Is a book always a book? Is there another term that should be used for books that have evolved in the digital realm? Does interactivity always need to be associated with or mean “game”? Does the interactivity enhance the story, giving it a different value than its traditional counterpart? Or do you think it detracts, merely turning a story into a game? There are many opinions on the subject, and as digital books and apps are developing so quickly, it’ll be interesting to hear your thoughts and to see what the outcome is.
Share your thoughts and comments please…
Read Across America Day
March 2nd – Dr. Seuss' birthday – and Read Across America day!! To celebrate, we are giving away 25% off any and every book on our MobiStories site, through the MONTH OF MARCH!!
Just enter READ25 into the Coupon Code box at checkout to get your discount.
Read Across America is a nationwide event organized by the National Education Association to encourage kids to read. That's it. Plain and simple. And one of the best ways to get kids to read is to read with them. The purpose of this national campaign is to get adults to take a little time on at least one day to read to or with a child.
We'll make it easier for you….download a MobiStory digital kids' book, plop it onto your iPhone or Blackberry, and have a story with you at all times. Enjoy storytime with your child every day….several times a day. For them. (And for you.)
Sick of Winter? This will make you smile
Just when you think your wrists may break from all the shoveling and you swear you're moving to warmer climes ASAP, snuggle up with your little one and remember the joys of "Winter":
Coming Soon in the iTunes App Store!
Digital Screen Time Can Be Useful for Kids
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Today, individuals can watch television programs and play video games on virtually every screen that exists. The Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle are devices on which individuals can read certain novels. But, what else can be watched on digital screens?
Since MobiStories can be played on most any device with a screen, screen time becomes reading time. Having 10 –15 books on your iPod, cell phone, computer or Kindle sure makes it easy for the kids to read while mom is shopping or driving from soccer practice to ballet. MobiStories were designed to give parents some time back while providing an acceptable program for kids to watch in the palm of their hand.
For quite some time there was a digital divide, separating those that embrace new technology and those that did not. Over time, however, this divide narrowed. Ease of use and low price points were two primary reasons for crossing the digital gap.
Combine technology acceptance with the fact that instant gratification is now no longer the exclusive right of the young, and services like iTunes can reshape an entire industry. Apple recognized that if they could provide music at a perceived low price to an individual when he or she wanted it, success would be all but guaranteed. They were right. Apple has sold over 4 billion songs to over 50 million people.
MobiStories is looking to capture the same market with children’s digital books. The current top selling apps in the app store are books; children’s books specifically are doing very well. You can check out all 17 MobiStories apps here and stay tuned for more interactive ones ready for launch in a few weeks.
So while screens are able to play content in many forms they should not always be the default for our attention. There is a certain “feeling” associated with books, magazines and newspapers and a screen will never replace that. However as time marches on our digital natives will lose touch with these tactile means of communication for a more convenient method, just as email has helped reduce the time spent standing in line at the Post Office.
We strongly encourage cuddling up with your child several times a day to read with your child and when she wants to “read” a book – MobiStories is a great example of how technology can integrate into your family’s everyday life.
By Rick Toone, Creative Director of MobiStories
Should a 4-year-old have an iPhone?
(Monday, 24 August 2009) – Contributed by Marc Prensky – Last Updated (Tuesday, 25 August 2009)
"For our twenty-first century kids, technology is their birthright"
When I recently upgraded my iPhone 3G to the 3Gs (after almost 1 year, so I got the discount) I had to decide what to do with the old one. My 4-year-old son was clamoring for it, and I said OK. But then I thought about it. It’s a pretty expensive, complex, breakable, adult device. Should a 4-year-old really have an iPhone?
My answer, after only a couple of months, is absolutely—with only a few caveats. The first is that I bought him a nice bright red safety case, so that he could find the iPhone easily, differentiate it from mine, and hopefully not break it if he dropped it (although as far as I know, that hasn’t actually happened.) Second, I disabled the phone function, so he can’t make or receive calls. Although he would no doubt enjoy calling his friends and relatives, given ATT’s rates, it makes sense for him not to be randomly calling around the world, (Whether they would like hearing from him with the frequency he might choose is another matter.)
So actually he has an iTouch, rather than an iPhone, with the latest phone OS. He is, though, connected quite robustly to the Internet via our home Wi-Fi, and he/we will certainly try some VoIP apps in the future.
What He Does
What has he used his iPhone for (almost entirely without my guidance)? His favorite thing is voice recording. He sings, he makes up conversations, he runs his imaginary taxi business. He records in a couple of ways. Sometimes he uses the recording app which is part of the 3.0 software. At other times he uses the recorder built into his “Wheels on the Bus” app.
I downloaded The Wheels on the Bus for him the other night, along with a couple of matching games and some writing/reading programs (i.e. forming letters, recognizing words) from the App store. He was excited to wake up and find all the new icons on the screen. I was about to suggest he start with The Wheels on the Bus , but he went straight there without me (good icon!) He has since started up and used on his own all the apps I downloaded.
iPod? He uses it often. His favorite song is Michael Jackson’s ABC, which, somehow, he again found without me.
Camera? He uses it all the time. I did have to teach him that photographing his private parts was not such a good idea, even though he was SOO proud of himself for doing it.
Internet? He’s explored, but the absence of Flash is so far the biggest disappointment, as he can’t play Curious George and his other favorite games. But according to Gear Live, that’s “just around the corner.” Webkinz and Club Penguin will probably come as soon as it does.
Writing? He does lots of it, using the on-screen keyboard. And while it looks like gibberish to me, he knows exactly what it says and to whom it is addressed (Also part of the taxi business, I think.).
Reading? We’ve begun to read simple words and stories together. Reading on the iPhone is great!
Oh yes, plenty of drawing, coloring and stamping. He also regularly checks the date, the weather around the world, and the maps when we travel.
The most interesting thing to me was that he asked the other day if there were any games I could get him. I said “You have lots of educational games.” His answer: I don’t want educational games, I want fun games like on the DS.” Well here they come, with a motion sensor!
So should you give your 4-year-old an iPhone (or at least an iTouch)? My answer is that, if you can afford it, why would you deprive them? And if you can’t, there ought to be public subsidies. In fact, every kid in school—especially primary school—should have one.
So watch out computer, watch out DS, watch out educators. The kids are coming to claim their birthright, and the world will never be the same.
About the Author
Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed thought leader, speaker, writer, consultant, and game designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of Digital Game-Based Learning (McGraw Hill, 2001) and Don’t
Bother Me, Mom, I’m Learning (Paragon House, 2006). Marc is the founder and CEO of Games2train, a game-based learning company, whose clients include IBM, Bank of America, Pfizer , the U.S. Department of Defense and the LA and Florida Virtual Schools. He is also the creator of the sites www.SocialImpactGames.com , and www.GamesParentsTeachers.com . Marc holds an MBA from Harvard and a Masters in Teaching from Yale. More of his writings can be found at www.marcprensky.com/writing/default.asp . Marc can be contacted at marc@games2train.com.
