Digital learning materials, or “apps,” are becoming more and more popular as a way to help young kids get ready for school and build basic reading and math skills. Specifically, children’s homes and schools are now replete with apps that operate on touchscreen tablets and smartphones. For instance, school administrators have access to almost 2,500 educational apps, according to recent research on app usage in classrooms.
Similarly, parents now have to deal with an ever-growing selection of apps designed to help their kids do better academically. In Apple’s App Store, there are 200,000 reference and educational apps, up from 80,000 in 2015.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, studies and policy groups have increased their efforts to help kids of all ages learn and retain basic reading and math abilities through the use of free, easy-to-use educational applications. Learning a lot of different subjects and topics is also an option through educational apps.
What “Educational Apps” Mean?
Because of its uneven usage in the larger body of research literature, the term “educational app” has to be defined. The term “educational apps” refers to interventions in this evaluation that use information provided on smartphones, tablets, or personal computers. To enhance the literacy and arithmetic skills of children in prekindergarten through third grade. There are differenteducational apps for iPads available.
Educational apps can also focus on improving limited or unconstrained skills from preschool to third grade within the academic disciplines of arithmetic and literacy.
Educational Apps: How Effective Are They? How Well Do We Know They Work?
There is surprisingly little causal information about the usefulness of educational apps or the elements that increase or decrease their effectiveness, even though kids are using them more frequently at home and in schools. There is currently conflicting data indicating that educational applications enhance student performance.”More large-scale controlled experiments of apps are needed,” according to a narrative review of preschool-aged kids’ educational devices, even if there is some indication that these programs can aid with early-grade math proficiency.
Academics in a variety of disciplines, including cognitive psychology, educational technology, developmental paediatrics, and early education, have reviewed educational applications over the last five years.
What Are the Principal Impacts of Learning Apps on Math and Literacy Proficiencies?
Two goals drove this meta-analytic review. First, we wanted to find out if and how much educational applications improved the reading and math performance of pupils in preschool through third grade. We hypothesised that educational applications would enhance children’s performance in math and literacy. By giving them focused chances to practice and build academic abilities that support traditional instruction, especially in school and classroom settings.
2024’s Top Educational Apps for Children
Children adore screen time, but there’s good news if you’d like them to spend a little less time chasing Pokémon and a little more time learning. To make learning more interesting, interactive, and enjoyable, a lot of the apps available for kids today combine technology and education.
Many educational apps are available for your child to choose from, regardless of the abilities or subjects they are interested in. Here are the top seven educational apps for kids that both parents and kids love.
- Khan Academy is the best overall.
- Ideal for Young Children: Active Shapes
- Top Pick for Early Learners: ABCmouse.com
- Prodigy is Best for Elementary School Children
- The best for tweens is Arts and Culture on Google
- Teens’ Top Option: Quizlet
- The Best App to Teach Children to Code: Hopscotch
Conclusions
A growing body of research indicates that interactive applications could be practical and easily accessed resources to aid in the early stages of academic development. To assess educational applications’ potential to promote early learning as well as their limits, more research is required.
Co-viewing TV with parents is the greatest way for kids to learn, according to research. Also co-using applications with parents has been associated with kids’ positive engagement and effect. Researchers advise parents to be as involved as possible in their child’s screen time. And to substitute interactive educational apps for traditional screen time activities like watching cartoons, which may help foster early abilities in children.
FAQs
What are the applications of digital education?
An increasingly popular tool for fostering young children’s school preparedness as well as their foundational reading and math skills are digital educational programs, or “apps.” Specifically, children’s homes and schools are now replete with apps that operate on touchscreen tablets and smartphones.
Do educational apps help young children learn better?
We looked at the research on young children’s educational app learning in this systematic review. Numerous studies have revealed evidence that educational touchscreen apps improve learning, especially for early mathematics.
Can educational apps help young children with their early learning?
The Center for Children and Families at FIU academics have led a new study. That suggests educational applications can be beneficial in promoting early learning in young children.
Can children learn through apps?
According to this study, youngsters appear to learn more from apps than from computers or conventional classroom instruction. Paediatrics, a magazine that publishes systematic reviews, discovered that interactive applications, especially those that teach math abilities, can be beneficial for children under the age of six.
Which educational applications are the greatest for kids?
One of the greatest kids learning applications available for young learners is ABCmouse. Its purpose was to educate young children, between the ages of two and eight. It covers a wide range of subjects such as reading, numeracy, and letter recognition.
Which reading software is ideal for children?
Epic is the Best Reading App for Kids! For young readers, Epic! is an app that offers over 35,000 children’s books in its e-book library. It also has a read-to-me feature for younger readers. Our parent tester said it’s “a fantastic application to have if the kids desire screen time, yet you don’t!”