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Measure Time and Length

Mindprint Rating

Tags

Elementary School iOS App

Skills

Visual Discrimination

Mindprint Expert Review

Pros

  • The app has limited distractions to enable students to focus.
  • The objects in the Length section are child-friendly such as a dolphin and a car in bright colors.

Considerations

  • Students may be confused with 24 hour clock times such as "00:40".
  • The objects in the Length section are not aligned with the ruler or the grid paper so students must be very precise.
  • In the Length section incorrect answers receive a big red WRONG!, and in the Time section there is no help for incorrect answers.

Mindprint Expert Review

This is a poor app intended to teach length and analog time to elementary school students. In both sections, the app has a clean design that will enable students to focus, three levels to choose from, and no timer that could make students nervous. However, the negative attributes overpower the positive. Even the in easiest level of the Length section is challenging, with objects placed in the middle of the ruler. It is not obvious that the student must move the ruler to accurately measure each object, which is fixed in place. The measurements on the ruler are not accurate and should not be used to teach the length of standard units of measurement. The app uses graph paper to help students more easily read the ruler, but neither the object nor the ruler is aligned with the lines of the graph paper making it confusing. When students make a mistake they are greeted with a big red "WRONG!" and are not visually shown the correct answer on the ruler. The Time section uses a 24 hour clock which will confuse early learners asked to find the time "00:50". The clock hands move independently and are not coordinated as they would be on a real clock. In this section, incorrect answers do not receive any help; instead the hands spin to a new location and the student must keep trying until they answer correctly or quit the game. The app offers no incentives for students to keep playing and could very easily frustrate students with the poor design so will not be a good choice for most students.

Academic Benefits

Improves academic skills

  • 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)

Fun

Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range

  • 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

Easy to Use

Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range

  • 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)
  • 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

Cognitive Concerns

May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs

  • Anxiety
    • Gives negative feedback (red X's, buzzer)
  • Fine Motor Skills
    • Requires challenging finger movements, motor precision or physical manipulation
  • Spatial Perception
  • Visual Discrimination
    • Promotes purchases or upgrades to students
    • Visually distracting with too many pictures, problems or moving objects

Manufacturer Description

★ Learn to Measure Time and Distance! ★

This app introduces basic concepts of measurement such as time and length.
Measurement has been developed based on National and California Standards.

This app comes with two activities, which teach a measurement concept each.

★ FEATURES ★
✔ Extremely interactive interface.
✔ Engaging, Easy to Use and Educational

★ SYLLABUS COVERED ★
‣ Time & Clock: See and calculate the time.
‣ Time & Clock: Input the correct time requested in the analog clock.
‣ Length & Scale: Measure familiar virtual objects with a centimeter and inches scale.