The iPad is often touted for its great potential as a learning device for toddlers – if you don’t mind the smudgy fingerprints on the screen, of course.
A newly updated app by GoodieWorld is aimed specifically at that sort of early education. The GoodieWords app is geared toward toddlers who are in their “What is it?” stage, but it explains words that parents might otherwise find difficult to define, like fingerprint, shadow, time, and dream.
The multi-sensory app has great animations as well as a read-aloud section offering a definition and explanation of the item or concept. Each word also has a number of interactive games to help foster better understanding.
Rainbow, for example, is defined as something that occurs following a rainstorm; its colors are noted; and then the child can tap the animated cloud to make it rain. Wiping away the rain from the screen makes a rainbow appear. And the rainbow can be played like a piano. These games make the app engaging, but also help place the new vocabulary word in a real-world sort of context.
GoodieWords is created with the help of educational consultants from Stanford University and New York City’s The Dalton School. “GoodieWords is designed with several goals in mind: to teach more difficult words to preschoolers, to challenge young minds to learn those words and concepts at an earlier age, and to help children build confidence as they learn,” says GoodieWorld founder and CEO Adam Gittlin.
Touchscreen devices also offer a great opportunity for toddlers to practice their fine motor skills, and there are plenty of examples of very young children picking up these devices for the first time and grasping how to swipe and “click.” Indeed, one of the very earliest reviews we wrote about the iPad here at ReadWriteWeb was written by Sarah Perez, who called it the “first real family computer” as she watched all ages enjoy it at a family gathering.
A beta version of the GoodieWord iPad app was introduced last fall, but only came with 3 words. The new version, available in the App Store today, works across multiple platforms (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, that is), and for $4.99 includes 15 vocabulary words.
The first 15 ReadWriteWeb readers that retweet this post and mention @goodieworld will be eligible for a free download code. (GoodieWorld will DM you with details, so you’ll have to follow the Twitter account in order to get “the goods.”)