Educational apps : Disney Imagicademy

Disney Imagicademy

https://disneyimagicademy.com/

Disney Imagicademy aims to expose three to eight-year-old children to core educational concepts with a portfolio of learning apps

Last Thursday, December 4, Disney Publishing Worldwide unveiled a technology-driven learning initiative called Disney Imagicademy. The digital learning initiative Imagicademy will be launched next week, on December 11.

Mickey's Music Maker

http://imagicademy.disney.com/

It’s a suite of mobile learning apps for kids, along with an app where parents can follow along, give their kids a virtual high five, and see recommended physical activities that complement that in-app lessons.

Disney said is "the outgrowth of our work with experts" who specialize in early childhood education and believe that social skills are as important as the "1,2,3,4,5 things" when it comes to learning.

screenshot Donald's Number Launcher

http://imagicademy.disney.com/

Aims:

It aims to expose three to eight-year-old children to core educational concepts via a curriculum developed in conjunction with academic and education experts.

It's done with a very compelling curriculum-based approach, and it's "based on characters and mythologies that kids love."

screenshot Michey's Magical Math World

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/

The product launch begins with Mickey's Magical Math World, an iPad-exclusive app focused on math-based activities such as counting, shapes, logic and sorting that features five math-focused activities :

• Mickey's Super Rocket Shapes 

• Donald's Number Launcher

• Minnie's Robot Count-Along 

• Goofy's Silly Sorting.

• Daisy's Bedtime Countdown and 

Each app aims to hone early math skills such as counting forward and backward, sorting and classifying, skip counting, number and shapes recognition, reason and logic.

Mickey's Magical Arts

http://imagicademy.disney.com/

The second range of digital apps is Mickey's Magical Arts World, focused on creative arts, available on the Apple App Store for download in January.

If your child loved exploring Mickey's Magical Math world, it's time to unleash their creativity with Disney Imagicademy's latest world of creative play:

· Explore 5 worlds of imaginative play that help children develop early creative arts skills!

· Create your own characters and have them star in Disney cartoons alongside Mickey and Friends!

· Join Mickey and friends as you make music, design buildings and craft the silliest toys!

· Create your own characters, style them up any way you like, add your own voice and then watch them star in Disney cartoons alongside Mickey Mouse and friends

Mickey's Super Rocket Shapes

http://imagicademy.disney.com/

"Discover how much fun numbers, shapes, and problem solving can be!"

It aims families with children aged 3 to 8.  Developed with a team of educational experts, Imagicademy will include more than 30 app-based “experiences” centered on various subjects:

Frozen: Early Science

http://imagicademy.disney.com/

• math

• science

• creative arts

• language arts 

• emotional and social skills

The first app to launch will be Mickey’s Magical Math World on iPad, as well as the companion app for parents.

Disney will also sell related books and interactive toys. “Smart” stuffed animals, for instance, will be able to talk to Imagicademy users, responding to app activity and encouraging them to complete lessons.

"As you can see, it’s so much more than a set of digital apps - it’s about a brand,” (...)  “It’s a comprehensive suite of connected experiences, all of which have been created with quality, attention to detail, and, yes, magic.”

Andrew Sugarman, Disney

Here’s a demo video of Mickey’s Magical Math World :

Bob Chapek, president of Disney Consumer Products, said the company interviewed parents about existing learning apps, “Parents told us they are confused and that they want a quality product from a name they trust,” noting that Imagicademy is designed for parents to keep tabs on their children’s progress.

Parents

https://disneyimagicademy.com/

During the presentation, last Thursday, Jeff Sellinger, senior vice president of Disney Learning, gave quick demos of the math app, as well as Mickey’s Magical World of Arts. 

Both of them actually include five different games - for example, there’s a game focused on helping kids learn about three-dimensional shapes by assembling rockets.

screenshot Mickey's Super Rocket Shapes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/

Levels : 

• Preschool; 

• Primary (1st and 2nd grades)

Target:

The target age group for these initial apps is three to five. 

Over time, there will be apps for six- to eight-year-olds, and they might start incorporating other Disney characters and brands, like Star Wars and Marvel.

Price:

The apps will be free at first and offer a “pretty deep” experience. Now there are different prices for dofferent apps.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/

Education:

“Curriculum is not an easy thing to do it really well, particularly when you’re driving towards imagination and creativity.” 

Early childhood education focuses on children's learning through play, based on the research and philosophy of Jean Piaget. This belief is centered on the "power of play". 

Children learn more efficiently and gain more knowledge through play-based activities such as dramatic play, art, and social games. A great number of pedagogical experiences proove that.

The theory of play stems from children's natural curiosity and imagination, allowing topic lessons to occur. 

Jean Piaget, theory

So this new line of learning tools designed to help parents encourage kids 3 to 8 to learn outside of school is based on this theory.

The importance of early math learning is recognized. Kids will learn in a playful approach. Not only math of course. But for the moment we are describing a math app.

Each app aims to hone early math skills such as : counting forward and backward, sorting and classifying, skip counting, number and shapes recognition, reason and logic.

With Parents app, they can ask their kids, “What did you learn in school today?” and getting a shrug in response — because those parents can now open their companion app and see for themselves.

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/

The companion app for parents lets grown-ups follow along with what their kids are doing even if they are using a separate mobile device. 

It also suggests a bevy of offline activities, such as creating "rocket racers" using toilet paper tubes, duct tape and balloons, or making a colorful "quilt" out of tissue paper to learn shapes.

All these creates deeper and more engaging experiences for kids and families. As teachers, we know the importance of engaged parents in school education.

screenshot Minnie's Robot count-along

https://disneyimagicademy.com/

And there is more. It's interesting to watch Minnie Mouse building a robot (no more limits on specific skills for boys and girls). 

A Study finds that girls are interested in STEM and aspire to STEM careers, but need further exposure and education about what STEM careers can offer, and how STEM can help girls make a difference in the world.

Generation STEM

All the initiatives trying to open new paths are welcome. An teachers have an important role on it. 

You can begin by talking about women in science, math, astronomy, technology in your lessons exploring great women to motivate girls and young women.

Another important point is kids and mobiles devices. The proliferation of mobile devices and as more parents grow comfortable letting their kids use them, at least with limits in place, don't forget.

The American Association of Pediatrics estimates that children spend an average of seven hours a day on "entertainment media" that includes TVs, computers, phones and other electronic devices. 

It recommends no more than two hours a day spent consuming and engaging with "high-quality content."

"Only education is capable of saving our societies from possibel collapse, wether violent, or gradual."

Jean Piaget

G-Souto

07.10.2014

update: 14.10.2017

Copyright © 2014G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Educational apps Disney Imagicademy by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Apps at school : Learning Spanish, foreign language

screenshot 4 ipad

Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a4.mzstatic.com/

After PhotoMath app, published on October, or Words app on August, here I am writing about apps in Education and much more along the years. 

Today let's talk about Learn Spanish by MindSnacks, an app to teach and learn a foreign language on phones or tablets. 

screenshot Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a1.mzstatic.com/

Tired of boring Spanish classes and lifeless language apps? You want teach or learn to speak and read Spanish as foreign language at school? You can do it all by playing games forgetting the old-fashioned repetitious lessons. 

Aims:

• Learn Spanish by MindSnacks' app is crammed with nine rich and engaging games designed to build vocabulary, boost conversation skills and prevent students becoming a flashcard flipping zombie.

• Instead, they will transform into a Spanish speaking savant with lessons that go beyond memorization and teach things like word gender, pronoun usage and the conjugation of -AR, -ER and -IR verbs. 

• And since everyone learns at their own pace, the unique algorithm personalizes the experience by selectively repeating content with which students have struggled. 

• What’s more, spoken audio clips will help add that extra bit of panache to their pronunciation.

Education:

The app teaches words, phrases and grammar making lessons fun. Learn Spanish by MindSnacks with 9 addictive games designed for essential vocabulary and conversation skills.

MindSnacks' Spanish app is perfect for young students and kids. Easy building vocabulary and conversation skills: a set of flashcard lessons with about 1000 words and phrases, 9 minigames + extras.

screenshot 4 ipad 

Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a2.mzstatic.com/

MindSnacks’ app has different games meant to help students learn the language. In one game, for example, they click the word on the screen to match the Spanish word they have just heard. Students play against the clock while water is draining out of an on-screen fish tank. Think quickly: Is “ocho” eight or 18? That fish is going to die if you get it wrong! 

screenshot 4 iphone 
Learn Spanish by MindSnacks

http://a4.mzstatic.com/

Features: 

• 9 addictive and unique games;

• 1000+ Spanish words & phrases to study and master;

• Spoken audio clips provided by a native Spanish speaker to help with pronunciation;

• Hand-illustrated image library to help memorize words;

• 50 Spanish lessons designed by Ivy League instructors (upgrade required);

• Personalized learning algorithms to maximize memorization, retention & contextual usage;

• Enhanced review mode lets you replay previously mastered lessons;

• Additional quests & challenges will keep you motivated;

• Not a single tedious, boring, mind-numbing or snooze-inducing quiz, class or lesson allowed.

Education Level:

Primary grades

Language: 

English

Prize:

It's a free app

Devices:

This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad

Video games at school

http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/

Some thoughts:

"MindSnacks believes learning should be delicious. I agree special in early age. When education excites kids, they devour knowledge; but when it doesn’t, that information may as well be cafetaria food. It may be packed full of vitamins and minerals, but it’s gosh-darn hard to swallow."

MindSnacks

Educational games and apps have been offered as one good solution, a solution that applies to both the traditional classroom as well as the informal learning.

Some of us used to think of educational games as either a time-filler or, at best, a supplement to traditional course materials. 

They were rarely seen as integral to the learning process. Attitudes changed, though, as educators discovered an increasing number of empirical studies or teachers' experiments that suggested game-based learning and educational games improve academic performance. 

Perfect for beginning and intermediate learners of Latin American Spanish, MindSnacks is like their own personal Spanish teacher they can take just about anywhere on phone or tablet, in the classroom or at home.

Students will quickly become less reliant on that Spanish dictionary and learn the grammar and vocab needed for talking or travelling to Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries. 

Badges and scores add to the experience, and the app changes the formula enough to keep students interest.

Give your young students/children the chance to learn all the letters a foreign language in an easy and fun way, with Learn Spanish by MindSnacks 

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."

Nelson Mandela

Note:  The educational digital resources and tools published on my blog are my own choices. I don't do advertising.

G-Souto

03.11.2014
Copyright © 2014G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Apps at School : Learning Spanish, foreign language by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Educational Apps : Words (languages)

Educational Games Words

http://cdn.marketplaceimages.windowsphone.com/

Claro que se lembram de Math4you, a aplicação didáctica de jogos matemáticos lançada em Julho último.

Agora é vez de Words, uma aplicação didáctica para apoiar o ensino da Língua Portuguesa (ensino primário).

Science4you, de novo, em paceria com a Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, lança Educational Game Words.

screenshot Words 

http://thumbs.sapo.pt/

Nivel ensino : Educação Primária

Currículos : Língua Portuguesa (materna, segunda língua)

Objectivos:

Especialmente concebida para os alunos do ensino primário, a aplicação (app) Words conta com quatro jogos que permitem conhecer as letras do alfabeto  e a Língua Portuguesa  de uma forma fácil e divertida. 

A aplicação Words foi desenvolvida através de mecânicas de ensino criadas por professores e especialistas na área curricular que visam "estimular as capacidades de aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento e reforço das diversas capacidades cognitivas".

Jogos :

• Desenha a Letra, 
• Descobre a Letra, 
• Letras Perdidas 
• Jogo dos Pares

Com a aplicação educativa e gratuita Educational Games Words, os mais novos poderão desfrutar de momentos de diversão e aprendizagem e desenvolver capacidades cognitivas como a habilidade manual, capacidade de concentração e memória, leitura, e capacidade verbal.

Disponível : Dispositivos móveis 

Ipod touch ; iPad touch ; iPhone ; Android ; Windows 8, 8.1

Download:

iTunes ; Google Play ; Windows phone .

Aplicação, (app) : Gratuita.

Línguas : Português ; Inglês ; Espanhol (Windows phone)

Words, Google Play

https://lh3.ggpht.com/

After Mathd4you, published last July, a new app is there. Educational Games Words is the latest educational game in the line of free educational mobile app from Science4You.

screenshot Words iOS

http://a4.mzstatic.com/

Give your young students/children the chance to learn all the letters in the alphabet in an easy and fun way, with the educational games Words (app).

Words is a new educational app for Portuguese language. This didactic app was specially developed by educational experts and Portuguese educators (Languages) in collaboration of the Faculty of Sciences, Unversidade de Lisboa.

Aims:

The Educational Games Words  was designed for all kids that are giving their first steps in learning the ABC’s of Portuguese Language.



Words was specially developed by teachers, specialists and parents, aiming to encourage learning capabilities of children, regarding learning letters, reading and writing words.












screenshot Words iOS

http://a3.mzstatic.com/



Games : 

Words has four fun educational games. The educational games will help your little students/chldren all the letters, from A to Z, and write words from Ant to Zebra. 



screenshot Words iOS

http://a5.mzstatic.com/


Draw the Letter: this Educational Game teaches children how to draw all letters in the alphabet correctly, from vowels to consonants, according to the selected difficulty level.


Missing Letters: this game will challenge children to discover the missing letter. As the game level increases, so does the difficulty and the number of letters to identify.


Find the Letter: this game will challenge children to discover the missing letter, with the help of a fun illustrative image. There is a ranking system for each level so you can track chidren's progress and they can show their friends. The game is  fun and helps children learn the letters as well as develop their reading/writing skills, thus helping to reinforce the child's ability to correctly identify the letters of the alphabet by correctly completing all the words.


Matching Pairs: this game will challenge kids to discover the matching pair of each image. It’s an images association game for children.

All the games include three levels of difficult.

Level : Primary School education; Preschool education.

Devices  iPad ; iPhone ; iPod touch ; Android ; Windows phone 8, 8.1

Download : iTunes ; Google Play ; Windows phone .

Languages : Portuguese ; English ; Spanish (only Windows phone)

App : Free 

No need to write about the importance of games and educational apps in School education. 

Games and apps are captivating tools to include in your lessons. You will be happy with the pedagogical results of your little students.

Note:  The educational digital resources and tools published on this blog are my own choices. I don't do endorsements or advertising.

G-Souto

20.08.2014

Copyright © 2014G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Educational Apps : Games Words by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.