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iPhone for kids: Too many mediocre apps, not enough good ones
August 27, 2010 | 10:15 am
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By Chris Meadows
The iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad make great educational platforms for youngsters; we’ve run many stories on their potential in that respect. But Danial Donahoo from Wired’s “GeekDad” blog wonders if there may now be too much of a mediocre thing.
The iPhone app development model, Donahoo notes, has led to a kind of “gold rush” mentality, in which everyone develops obvious apps as quickly as possible hoping to be the first (or fifth, or twenty-fifth) to market and “strike it rich.”
Consequently, there are a lot of apps for kids that are not well thought through, not developmentally appropriate, or simply way too generic! And, in my professional life and personal life having reviewed and played a lot of these games I think it is time to ask developers to start focusing on quality, rather than quantity.
He points to a screenshot of “News & Noteworthy” education apps, 19 out of 20 of which teach ABCs. Do we, he asks, really need that many alphabet apps?
Donahoo lists some examples of potentially great educational apps that are sorely missing—digital building blocks, for example, or gyroscope/accelerometer-aided physics applications.
Where is the application that uses computer programming concepts and ideas I haven’t thought of yet because I am not smart enough, and creates something that becomes essential to all children’s learning and development and can only exist on the iPad?
A major basis behind the TeleRead idea is the use of mobile reading devices in education. But iPhones and iPads (and in fact mini-tablets and tablets in general) have a lot more potential for learning than just as reading devices, and Donahoo is right that a lot of this potential is being sadly neglected.
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Comments:
When kids buy iPhones then the market will change. His opinion is also just that, opinion. It’s subjective and not necessarily correct. I am sure that as the prices of these devices drops, they will be more ubiquitous and kids will have more exposure, driving developers to try harder.
“Do we, he asks, really need that many alphabet apps?” Since when is a market driven by need ? It’s about demand and competition. Do we really need all of the competing eReaders that are available right now ? or is it part of the competitive process that drives the market forward to better products.
In conclusion Mr Donahoo has an interest in an area of the market not being targeted by developers for a good reason and the only way it will change is if the market changes. It is silly to criticise the iPhone or the developers – if he really wants to change things then he needs to encourage parents to start buying more iPhones/iPads for their kiddies.
Kids may not buy iPhones, but I see a lot of iPhones in the hands of moms, and those iPhones get handed over to the kid to entertain said kid while mom and kid are waiting for something, like for older sibling’s soccer practice to end.
Making it a very hazy and difficult to measure market for developers to invest their time and money into.
I think iPod, iPhone, iPad and all the new tablets that will come out offer great potential for kids learning. The market is at its beginning and I am sure as more and more kids will be exposed to these new devices the apps market will change. Competition is a good thing and only the best one will make it. As parents we need to encourage our kids to play and learn at the same time. Educational apps offer tremendous potential to our kids. Don’t think that apps are just fun games; educational apps can be great resources. Be selective with your choice of apps and select the best educational apps that some developers have to offer. Keep your kids interest in mind and choose what is right for them.
Nathalie from http://www.funeducationalapps.com
There are a few gems for kids out there, it’s just a matter of being able to sift through all the detritus to find them. Visit LunchboxReviews.Com when you’re looking for kids apps again. We collect, organize and rate apps for toddlers, preschoolers and young kids.