Educational apps for children: What parents and educators should look for and ignore
Educational apps for children: What parents and educators should look for and ignore
Educators and parents should ignore information unrelated to educational quality, like star ratings — and instead look for benchmarks of quality when choosing an EduApp.
The article doesn't make any recommendations, but rather what to look for /avoid.
Who the authors are:
Emma Liptrot; PhD student, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University
Adam Kenneth Dubé; Associate Professor of Learning Sciences, Faculty of Education, McGill University
Relevant sections:
What to ignore
- User ratings & reviews:
Popular EduApps in Apple’s and Google’s app stores typically have very positive ratings (above four stars). Yet, experts still raise concerns about their quality and expert-approved apps do not necessarily receive the highest star ratings. Written reviews are rarely more informative. Research shows most reviews simply praise apps rather than explaining specific features. [...]
- Apple or Google rankings
Educators and parents may visit an app store’s “top charts” lists to find EduApps. Yet, how Apple’s and Google’s algorithms determine which apps “top the charts” is unclear. [...]
- Recommendations from app review websites
Educators and parents might look to external app review websites like Common Sense Media for recommendations. But research shows many of the apps recommended by these websites still need substantial improvement [...]
What to look for
- Curriculum: What apps teach
At the bare minimum, EduApps must include content that is covered in an established learning program. Yet, many EduApps are what researchers call “educational misfits” because they are only weakly related to education, if at all. Look for apps that clearly state which curriculum their content is based on (for example, a particular provincial curriculum, a supplemental curriculum for learning an Indigenous language) or detail the content (suitable for grades 1–3 math). Don’t bother with an app that doesn’t tell you what it covers.
- Learning theory: How apps teach
[...] Look for apps that describe how they teach. Choose ones using approaches that align with your needs.
- Scaffolding: How apps support learning
EduApps should include supports that help children build their understanding and accomplish learning goals. These supports (called scaffolding) can include hints or instructions when children get stuck and breaking down complex tasks into smaller chunks or adapting difficulty to match children’s abilities. [...]
- Feedback: How apps correct learning
If we want children to learn from their mistakes, feedback is essential. Look for apps that give children informative feedback so they know where they went wrong and why.
- Educational expertise: Who made the app
Many app developers are not education experts, and their priorities may not align with those of educators and parents. [...]
An older but related article:
The article is mostly useless without specifics. Expecting parents to judge how apps correct learning for instance, it's a pipe dream. Same with having a list of educators to get reviews from
Your essentially hoping parents have the time and ability to develop a network of professionals focused on apps.
You'd be far better off listing 5 top companies to offer a good educational selection.
Teaching the alternatives to closed-source software: GCompris