Enhance creativity in young learners with these educator-selected apps
Encouraging expression and creativity has never been easier, in an age where mobile devices let us combine music, art, and learning with the touch (or is that a tap?) of a button.
There are concerns, though, from fears that young children cannot distinguish what they are seeing from reality to eye strain and over stimulation, writes [1] educator and mobile learning trainer Jonathan Nalder on the website Appitic.com. “But as new interactive screens in the form of iPads have entered many homes, the conventional wisdom around some of these has begun to change,” he continues, with new research diving into their positive benefits as well.
APPitic.com [2], an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, offers a number of apps for young learners that differ from passive watching and dive into content creation and exploration.
Here, we’ve gathered a handful of those apps and you can access more on the APPitic site. All of these apps were originally curated by Apple Distinguished Educators.
1. Kids Musician [3]
Kids Musician allows young children to play different instruments while learning more about music. Kids Musician is so easy to use and
features real instrument sounds, including pan flute, piano, and drums.
2. paintone [4]
This app lets kids draw a picture and add a short sound clip to it for playback. Photos can be layered into creations as well.
Next page: Apps for music videos, coloring, and more
3. RokLienz [5]
Direct a music video featuring outer space aliens and a variety of songs in this free-to-play app that lets kids choose characters, settings, and accessories.
4. Color Me !! [6]
A coloring booklet for children at the age of 2-6 years. Diverse pictures and color palette will trigger the development of a child’s imagination and shape his/her senses.
5. PBS KIDS Photo Factory [7]
Put students in a photo with a favorite PBS Kids character in three simple steps, and share it with others.
6. Pic Collage [8]
Combine photos, videos, fun fonts, stickers, and cute cutouts and arrange them by frames to create custom collages.
7. Thumpies Zero [9]
Thumpies is a rhythm based music game for players of all ages. By correctly matching the beat of bouncing Thumpies, the player progresses through a song. If the player hits the targets in time, their Thump’o’meter slowly rises, but if the player misses or hits out of time, the meter falls.
8. Singing Fingers [10]
Singing Fingers lets you fingerpaint with sound. Just touch the screen while you make a sound, and colorful paint appears. Touch the paint to play back the sound again.