allow to see others kids who are playing, discuss with them.) could be added to educational apps in a way that help kids to learn even more effectively. _Abel: _I currently wondering how social features (i.e. _Donahoo: _What do you see as the future for children's educational apps? This way, it allows the child to experiment with different spelling and build the correct spelling in any case ( of course the child can ask for some hints if he can't find the correct spelling). Actually the app will go automatically to next word only once the correct answer is entered. So there is no "OK" button available to let the child tell the app that he thinks that it is the correct spelling.
An interesting example is the quizzes that we provide in Word Wizard (parents can create quiz list with the words they want) : for us it is important that the child enters the right spelling every time, and not wait for the end of the quiz to know if it is right or wrong. The child must take over concepts and for that he needs to play with them (and make errors). _Abel: _It is based on our belief that kids learn better when they can experiment and play (and it's not only our belief because it has been shown in numerous publications). _Donahoo: _How important is it to not just provide apps that have a selection of answers to choose from, but rather ask the child to develop and build their own answer from the tools you provide? And once we're happy with the result, we release the app. We do a lot of prototyping and short iterations (at least 30) to test the app with our kids and their friends, and get some feedback from Montessori teachers and others parents. too much animations or sound may distract the child sometimes).
The "Facilitator" features have always a highest priority, and we think carefully about what the app should do -and should not do- to help the child to learn efficiently (e.g. when the child touches a number, the app says its name). "Facilitator" features are the most important, and the ones that add some smart behaviors to the app so that they help kids to learn more efficiently (e.g. "Pure fun" is to simply to make the app appealing for kids (e.g. The magic can be split in two categories : the "pure fun" features and the "facilitator" features. Then, we think how we can add adapt this activity for touch screens, and add some magic thanks the iPad/iPhone. It is important to note that we start from a "proven" activity that has demonstrated educational values. We start by choosing a non-digital learning activity that one of our kid loves - and up to now,it is a Montessori activity because we've got a lot of Montessori materials at home. How much thought do you put into this and what is the process?Ībel: It is an iterative process that usually takes 4 to 6 months. _Donahoo:_Your apps deliver purposeful interactivity that is aligned to learning in that it actively requires children to create and build their knowledge and learning. It is also highly exciting to design educational apps, and imagine how we can use the latest technologies to make learning fun and effective. So our goal is to create this kind of apps on iPad and iPhone. As a homeschooling family, we are looking for learning activities that our kids loves, because we believe that kids learn better when they play and have fun. Pierre Abel: Our kids! We (my wife and I) started creating apps for our homeschooled kids when the iPad was introduced, with the belief that the iPad could be a great tool for learning and creativity. Please read on and learn more about the approach and purpose of this great children's app development team.ĭaniel Donahoo: What is it that drives L'Escapadou to create apps for children?
His answers are both from the heart and enlightening. In the meantime, I had the chance to ask Pierre Abel who runs the show at L'Escapadou a few questions.
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