Category Archives: Gadgets

Jul 28 2011

Apps for Kids – Part 2

By: Manna Navai | Category: Children, Gadgets | Leave a Comment

After spending a whole month with the iPad, I think I’ve decided that I can live without one. Don’t get me wrong – it was useful as a kid-distractor/babysitter – and as a means to check email and access the Internet occasionally while on the go. But in general, I don’t think the iPad is for me. I don’t like typing on it, it is awkward to hold, and the glare on the screen is frustrating.

I think my kids used it more than I did – which was great for the purposes of our trip.  Out of all of the apps we downloaded and tried (a total of 15), there were a few that my kids asked for continuously, and never seemed to get bored of:

For my 4 year old son:

For my 2 year old daughter:

The one app that they both loved and asked for the most:

The tasks were simple, fun and satisfying to complete, and the graphics and sound effects were appealing to them (and to me!). I am definitely going to check out what other games this company has to offer!

 

Jul 6 2011

Apps for Kids

By: Manna Navai | Category: Children, Gadgets | 1 Comment

So, it’s my turn to take the company iPad for a spin for a few weeks, and fortunately, it happens to be during the same time I’m going on holiday with my little family. I’ll be taking a 4.5hr flight across the country alone, with my two young kids (4 yrs & 2 yrs) and I’m TERRIFIED! Not so worried about my eldest, but the 2 year old is going to be a handful. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that I would have the iPad with me on my trip! I feel somewhat relieved about the possibility that the iPad may do some of the babysitting on the long flight. But now the challenge is to find engaging, fun, entertaining apps for my kids to play with on the iPad. In my quick internet search I found two really helpful websites that helped narrow down the thousands of kids apps out there down to a just a few:

http://www.lunchboxreviews.com/

http://www.bestkidsapps.com/

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

What I like about these sites:

-       you can sort by age, rating, and other useful categories like educational, creative, etc…

-       you can read reviews written by other parents and sometimes even other kids

-       each of them have strong databases of apps – you can find pretty much any app out there on at least one (if not all) of them.

I’ve narrowed my search down to about 4 or 5 apps which I think look like fun, and get great reviews, but the true test will be on Saturday, when I’m sitting on the plane with two squirmy little kids, trying to keep them quiet and entertained and happy. Stay tuned for the results in a few weeks! And wish me luck!

 

Sep 3 2010

Visual Recording on the iPad

By: Steven LeMay | Category: Gadgets | Leave a Comment

Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about the iPad and how it might fit in with our practice. We have also been exploring ways we might invigorate the activities and deliverables in the planning and discovery phases of our projects.

And then something like this comes along and hits these two themes smack in the middle.

See the full post on Rachael Smith’s blog, Ninmah Meets the World. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Jul 8 2010

Why the iPad is not for me…

By: Shannah Segal | Category: Gadgets | 2 Comments

UM is the proud owner of an iPad, so we’ve been taking turns getting to know it. Last weekend was my turn. We had a dilapidated and rather encrusted ‘kitchen laptop’ that in actuality was the most used of the numerous computers in the house. Kitchen Laptop had been declining steadily, so we thought maybe an iPad could fill the inevitable void. Thinking “nothing better than a test drive!” I carefully packaged up the iPad and transported it to my house – much to the delight of my family…

Saturday before breakfast the iPad is discovered by the children: “Wow, is that an iPad? Let me see, let me see! Is it ours? Where are the games?”

Scramble to figure out how to download games. Scrutinize small hands for grubbiness.

“It’s my turn. No it isn’t. Yes it is! No it isn’t… MOM!!!”

Time outs.

“OK, now it’s really my turn…”

Running from room to room with iPad clutched to small chest, sibling in hot pursuit, parents with visions of iPad shattered into a million fragments on the kitchen floor.

Luckily it’s time for everyone to leave for gymnastics. Dad takes the iPad along for amusement while the children turn somersaults.

In the parent area at the gym:
“Wow, is that an iPad?”
“Can I see it?”
“Do you like it?”
“Can I try it?”
Dad stands by while the iPad is passed from parent to parent for an hour.

Saturday afternoon is spent in carefully monitored turns on the iPad, regulated by oven timer, while sitting on a rug, after rigorous handwashing.

I can’t say what I thought of the functionality and usability of the iPad since I barely got my hands on it. My 8- and 5-year old children seemed to immediately understand how to navigate the screens and play the games. Its similarity to the other hand-helds in the house (iTouch, DSi) made it appealing as a toy. Its size was definitely a deterrent to little hands. No stylus or keys meant it was thoroughly smeared in moments. Getting stuff on the iPad while being barraged with a continual stream of demands for game-ready status was less than pleasant.

Sunday we became the proud owners of a netbook.