Helping Teachers, Parents, and Librarians Find Interactive Media Since 1993 May 2016 Volume 24, No. 5, Issue 194 Credos About Children, p. 2 LittleClickers: Action Cams, p. 3 16 “Nice Touches” When Applying Technology to Language & Literacy, p. 4 The Infinite Arcade Children’s Technology Review The the cover: imagesMay 2016 from the well designed by Tinybop, reviewed on page 9 Fisher-Price Soothing Motions Seat, NumberShapes Whiteboard*, p. 13 p. 8 Quasi's Quest, p. 13 Volume 24, No. 5, Issue 194 FurReal Friends Torch My Blazin' Sago Mini Robot Party*, p. 14 Dragon, p. 8 This is My Spacecraft - Rocket Science A Montessori Approach to Math, p. 5 Iconia One 10, p. 8 for Kids, p. 14 And So To Bed - Educational Bedtime Infinite Arcade, The by Tinybop*, p. 9 Time Drop - The Colorful Time Travel, Routine App for Children, p. 5 IQ Safari MATH, p. 9 p. 14 Annie's Picking Apples 2: Learning Labo Paper Plate, p. 9 Veggie Bottoms Kitchen, Games, p. 5 LightUp Edison Kit, p. 10 p. 15 Brainventures, p. 6 MarcoPolo Arctic, p. 10 View-Master Captain McFinn's Swim & Play*, p. 6 Miaomiao’s Chinese New Year, p. 10 Virtual* Denotes Reality Dr. Panda School*, p. 6 MLB The Show 16, p. 11 Viewer“Editor’s 2.0, Monopoly Ultimate Banking, p. 11 p. 15 DYI Gamer Kit, p. 7 Choice.” ExplorArt Klee - The Art of Paul Klee, Montessori Numbers: Learn to Count for Kids*, p. 7 from 1 to 1000*, p. 12 Find Adventure,Our Alfie 12,160th Atkins, Reviewp. 7 • Multiply $60/year With Me,• http://childrenstech.com p. 12 • @childtech Night of the Living Debt, p. 13 May 16 News and Trends in Children’s Techology Honor and Respect Children. Three Points of View. Children’s Technology Review May 2016 Editor 1.I recently The Early stumbled Childhood upon Educator three credos Point related of View to raising children that are worth not- ing, especially when thinking about how to best use technology in their day-to-day Editorial Coordinator & Circulation Manager Volume 21, No. 5, Issue 194 care. Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D., From childcare pioneer Bettye LittleClickers([email protected]) Editor [WB] Caldwell, who died at age 91 on April 17th, in St. Louis. Caldwell was a former Director of Publishing President“They need of toNAEYC. be loved. This They quote need was topart be of spoken her New to, Yorkall the Times time. obituary, They need online opportu- at BookkeepingSarah McDougall [SOM] http://nyti.ms/qGCaLcnities to explore. They need to be safe and to feel safe. They need stable figures in ([email protected]) their lives. They need new experiences they enjoy.” ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONSMegan Billitti Matthew DiMatteo [MD] 2. A Publisher’s Point of View Andrea Aronow are $60 forChildren’s 12 By Garry and Caroline Myers, Technologymonthly issues, Review™ 52 weekly issues plus online database access. Weekly issues are sent at Founders of Highlights for Children, Inc. This quote is on display in the Myers’ rural 8:30 AM on Wednesdays EST. Site Pennsylvania“To help children farmhouse. grow in basic skills and knowledge, in creativeness, in ability to subscriptions are available. Contact think and reason, in sensitivity to others, in high ideals and worthy ways of living -- PRODUCT SUBMISSIONS., 120 Main Street, 3.for The children Parent’s are thePoint world’s of View most important people.” Flemington, NJ 08822 or call 800-993-9499. Visit www.childrenstech.com to learn more.) Editorial Coordinator 120 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822 (Phone:Send one 908-284- product or 0404).download code with release information to Sarah McDougall ([email protected] "We expect and trust that our son will be in a safe, supportive, welcoming and posi- OUR RULES tive learning environment. This is an environment that: CTR • Lifts his self-esteem by building on his strengths by providing many appropriate successes. No ads, gimmicks or politics; we • Gives him a community of peers, and a chance for collaboration. work for the benefit of children. follows From• Is sensitive a slide called to our "Honor son's needs and Respect as a learner Children" and bya developing Daren Carstens person. during the annual editorial guidelines at Dust• Is free or Magic of inappropriate Summit on Languageexpectations, and misguided Literacy last judgements week. Daren and was unnecessary asked by his (http://childrenstech.com/editorial- guidelines/). Highlights include: son’sstumbling school blocks. to write an “expectations statement.” • In no way causes harm to our son's amazing spirit.” • We don’t sell or profit from the products we review. LittleClickers: Action Cams • We don’t distribute, sell or leverage sub- scriber information. • Contributors are required to disclose bias. • There is no sponsored or advertising con- tent of any variety. • Complete transparency. We make every Want to jump out of an airplane or take a ride on an eagle’s back? Thanks to a new A Rubric that Mixes General App Quality with Ethics PUBLISHEReffort to INFORMATION disclose review Children’scriteria and generation of cheap, rugged digital cameras, plus video sharing services (like Technologysources Review of potential bias. YouTube),In our April it’s issue easy weto find introduced some amazing a new views.Quality See Attribute our links (QA) on page to help 3. you think • We don’t skim from other reviewers. about how ethical a particular interactive experience is, when it comes to selling or promoting commercial content. This is a big issue these days, as more and Children’s Technology Review™ more publishers struggle to make money. This month, we’re putting that attrib- ™ (ISSN 1555-242X) isUse pub of - lished monthly (12 issues) by Active Learning ute inside our generic evaluation instrument. This is handy for considering the this publication for any commercial publish- ingAs so activity ci ates, Inc. without Send addressprior written changes permission or new growing number of apps that have some sort of IAP (In-App Purchase). The issubscriptions strictly prohibited. to , rubric is called “Contains IAP.” Here’s the link: 120 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822. http://reviews.childrenstech.com/ctr/flexrubric.php?id=&rubric=Contains+IAP Contents © 2016 by ActiveReaders Learning are subject to Associates,the TERMS OFInc. USE found at http://children- stech.com/disclaimer All Rights Reserved. Your Subscription is Your Key to Over 12,000 Archived Reviews CTR CTREX hildren’sYour Technology paid $20 or Review $60 subscription to includes exclusive password2 access to the database — a collection of reviews going back to 1985. If you’ve lost or forgotten your password, please call 800-993-9499 between 9-3 PM EST. C , May 2016 5 (or so) sites & 10 videos is made possible by LittleClickers is brought to you by Computer Explorers, who offer camps on Action Cameras programming. Visit www.computerexplorers.com to learn more. The web-based (html) version of this page is at http://www.littleclickers.com with live links, plus a place to report any errors. Note that CTR and COMPUTER EXPLOR- ERS do not have commercial interests in the sites listed on this page. Librarians www.littleclickers.com/actioncameras and teachers are permitted to copy this page for non-profit use. To suggest a future topic, or to report a bad link, please contact the editor, Warren Buckleitner Read this column online, with links, at [WB] [email protected] or call 908-284-0404 (9 - 3 PM, EST). Want to see what it looks like when you jump out of an airplane? Thanks 1.to Whoa new invented generation the of GoPro? cheap, rugged digital cameras it’s easy to find some amazing views, including the view from the back of a bird. Let’s learn these cameras, and watch some amazing videos. 2. Can you put your action cameraMeet Nick inside Woodman, a washing a surfer in machine? search of a better way to capture his rides. He tells the story that led to his invention at http://bit.ly/1pozQHB. You bet! They have no moving parts and 3.waterproof How far cancases. an We Action found Camera more crazy fall, anduses still for survive?action cams, including the view from a hula hoop, at http://bit.ly/213Nqy4 4. How muchAt https://youtu.be/aU-KvtA20v8 does an Action Camera cost? you can see what happens when a camera falls out of an air- plane. Kidizoom Action Cam Here are two options that vary in price. Both save their videos on tiny micro SD cards that cost about $20 for 64 GB (about 2 hours of HD video). 1. The GoPro Hero 4 Silver($50, VTech) comes with a waterproof container. You won’t get HD footage, but you won’t pay as much either. See http://bitly.com/1W2yVLb 2. ($350, GoPro) is the most famous action camera. Most of the videos you see on YouTube were captured with Megan’s Action Camthis Videos camera http://bitly.com/1TqWdV2. Here’s a set of hand picked Action Cam videos from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcBVHzUUEKwlfalNd1nku5RcDM-1GvfzS 3 hildren’s Technology Review C , May 2016 16 “Nice Touches” When Applying Technology to Language & Literacy Development The chart was called “Nice Touch” and it remained within reach of any discussion or demo during the recent three-day language and literacy retreat at the Highlights Foundation. For a recap of the event, see Jayne Clare’s post on Teachers With Apps, at http://www.teacherswithapps.com/highlights-retreat-2016/). Whenever an app was demonstrated or discussed, a participant could jotNICE down TOUCHES an example WITHIN of a “nice APPS touch” and add3 it to the list.