First, I want you to see a YouTube video about a 2.5 year old's first encounter with an iPad. Is there any doubt that this device is meant for the newest generation?
A colleague introduced me to Dr. Seuss's ABC on an iPad. Remarkable simplicity: a friendly interactive interface that would draw a child in -- and help her or him to learn to read. The app first came out for the iPhone, and here is the video. But the video really does not do justice to the iPad experience, with the larger screen and a more 'natural' feel than the iPhone for books. At $3.99 it is worth it. Other Seuss favorites are also out, and for Earth Day there is The Lorax that teaches kids about the environment. For older kids, there is Alice (of Wonderland fame) as shown in this somewhat frenetic YouTube video for Alice.
Some are already decrying that it subtracts from a kid's imagination with the interactive paths preplanned. But I can see that many children would find Alice a lot of fun. It is wrong to rush to judgment as the iPad as a replacement for books; it should be viewed as an addendum that may well encourage reading after the interactive fun becomes old. The Game Theorist blog does a fine job of describing some other iPad apps that both children and parents would enjoy and that fall in the learning category.
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