Listen Edition provides a curated collection of wonderful national public radio stories targeted for middle and high school students and organized around academic topics and Common Core skills. Parents and teachers can upgrade to track their stories and use custom lesson plans that include key points covered, discussion questions, class activities, homework, and links to additional resources and related topics. All stories include a transcript so students with weaker listening skills can read along while listening to the text. Almost all public radio stories are well-narrated, interesting, and provide an emotional element so that all ages and backgrounds can find the content interesting and relatable. However, the stories were originally created for a primarily adult audience so students may be exposed to some violence and disturbing topics if they are left to explore on their own. They also may have trouble with some of the contextual references and vocabulary and need adult supervision to help them understand. Overall, Listen Edition provides a good alternative approach to engage students in real world issues, but the use of materials originally intended for an adult audience may require parents to pre-screen materials for some students.

• Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
• Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
• Presents educational concepts accurately
• Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
• Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
• Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
• Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

• Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
• Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
• Visually appealing to children in the target age range
• Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
• Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
• Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
• Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

• Has a free or trial version
• Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
• Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
• Student should be able to use independently after first use
• Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
• Multiple users can save a profile
• Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
• Can play without sound and not distract others
• Students can save work between sessions
• Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
• Requires registration before using the first time
• Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
• Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
• Overall - Easy to use

• Anxiety
• Themes that might disturb sensitive students (death, blood, slime)
• Organization
• Students might need support with navigation
• Self-regulation
• Shows advertisements
• Promotes purchases or upgrades to students
• Themes that might disturb sensitive students (death, blood, slime)
• Vocabulary
• Assumes specific knowledge or vocabulary without "look-up" options