First-of-its-kind
collaboration will deliver new DINOSAUR TRAIN math apps to Head Start
centers and other community-based organizations at no cost, increasing
access to educational kids’ mobile content in
underserved communities
In
a first-of-its-kind collaboration, PBS and the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB) are providing free educational apps to Head Start
centers, local PBS stations, and other organizations in underserved
communities nationwide. The apps will be downloaded onto devices that
families have access to in local Head Start centers and other community
organizations. This unique outreach effort is a service of the Ready To
Learn Initiative, an early learning effort
led by PBS and CPB with funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
Recent research
has shown that access to computers, smartphones and tablets is much
less prevalent in lower-income households, limiting children’s exposure
to educational apps. Through this program, PBS, CPB and Head Start are
working to help bridge this “app gap,” increasing
access to educational mobile content for children from low-income
families at the community organizations that serve them and are equipped
with mobile and tablet devices.
“A
growing body of research shows that educational apps can open up
learning opportunities for kids, so we are committed to extending the
reach of our apps to more and more of America’s children,” said Lesli
Rotenberg,
Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS. “Through this new
initiative with Head Start, we are taking a step towards helping bridge
the achievement gap by offering access to the latest educational media
content to kids in underserved communities across
the country.”
The apps, All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! for iPad
and Dinosaur Train Camera Catch! for iPhone,
launched today
on the App Store. Based on the popular DINOSAUR TRAIN series produced
by The Jim Henson Company, the apps are designed to help kids ages 3 to 5
build critical math skills.
“Public
media’s mission is to serve un-served and underserved audiences,
especially children,” said Debra Sanchez, Senior Vice President,
Education and Children’s Content at CPB. “This unique partnership with
PBS and Head Start gives children a new way to engage with trusted
public media content through mobile devices – one of the most popular
technologies in their lives today.”
From
now through September, PBS and CPB will work with Head Start centers and
PBS stations nationwide to distribute app codes at no cost. The codes
will be used to download the two apps onto devices that serve
children in Head Start centers, Title I schools, and other
community-based organizations in low-income areas. Educators and
families in these communities will be able to obtain codes for use on
their professional or at-home devices.
“Head
Start teachers are always looking for ways to bring new educational
content, especially in math and science, into their classrooms,” said
Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start
Association.
“We are excited for this opportunity to make PBS KIDS’ educational apps
available to Head Start programs.”
In
addition to this special distribution in underserved communities, both
of the DINOSAUR TRAIN apps are also available to everyone in the App
Store.
About the Apps:
Dinosaur Train Camera Catch! (for iPhone)
The
latest PBS KIDS app to utilize virtual reality, this app challenges
players to snap photos of flying dinosaurs by moving their iPhone
around. Kids “catch” the dinosaurs with their phone’s camera function in
a designated pattern, building patterning skills. Dinosaur photos will
be stored in a child’s private gallery. The Dinosaur Train Camera Catch!
App is available for $1.99 from the App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! (for iPad)
The
Dinosaur Train is getting ready to leave and needs passengers! The
problem is that dinosaurs come in different sizes, so children need to
match the passengers with the right train cars, challenging them to
problem-solve by estimating dinosaur sizes and comparing them with the
train cars’ capacity. The two-player mode lets kids play with a friend,
sibling or caregiver. All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! is available for
$1.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
Developed in partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of the
Ready To Learn Initiative,
All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! and Dinosaur Train Camera Catch! are
part of a suite of DINOSAUR TRAIN games
available on the PBS KIDS Lab website (PBSKIDS.org/lab).
Combined with online and interactive whiteboard games, these new apps
help build a learning experience for kids that takes place across
platforms, all with the goal of accelerating learning.
With
15 apps available on the App Store, PBS KIDS continues to develop
content across media platforms to both engage and educate America’s
children, reaching increasingly more kids and families on-air, online,
on mobile, and beyond.
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My Thoughts:
Savannah
is a huge Dinosaur Train fan. With Easter around the corner, she has
been playing the Dinosaur train Egg , That was until I downloaded and
showed her these two apps recently released by PBS Kids. In Camera Catch!,
your iPhone screen become a camera lens for your child to look through
and capture photos of different dinosaurs, in order to complete
patterns/sequences. This is a great app to help teach pattern
recognition skills to young children. And, if they are huge fans of
dinosaurs or PBS Kids' hit television show, Dinosaur Train, then
they will have a blast snapping photos and looking at the beautiful
scenery similar to the show. Children complete patterns by moving the
iPhone around, in order to bring a dinosaur into the shot, and then tap
the screen to take the photo. Once they complete a pattern sequence,
they are able to see pictures they took. Savannah was a little young to
comprehend the pattern sequences, but loved moving the iPhone around,
and seeing the different dinosaurs on the screen. She was amazed at how
you were able to take photos right from the camera, and then see them
again at the end of the game. This app will definitely come in handy as
she gets older and I begin to teach her about pattern recognition.
As for the second app, All Aboard the Dinosaur Train, which is for use with the iPad, children need to match up dinosaurs and their appropriate train cars, based on their size. Children will need to use problem-solving skills to estimate the size of both the dinosaurs and the train cars, in order to make sure all the dinosaurs fit into the right cars. As the game progresses, challenges become more difficult, and more dinosaurs are introduced to the mix. This app will surely provide hours of entertainment for little ones, as they play this fun match up game.
I especially love the multi-player capabilities of this game, as it makes for a great game to share with siblings or friends.
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About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for children, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs.
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for children, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community-based programs.
About CPB
CPB,
a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the
steward of the federal government’s
investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operation of
more than 1,300 locally-owned and operated public television and radio
stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for
research, technology, and program development
for public radio, television and related online services.
About The Ready To Learn Initiative
The Ready To Learn Initiative is a grant program managed by the U.S. Department of Education's
Office of Innovation and Improvement.
It supports the development of innovative educational television
and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school
children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early
learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching
low-income children. In addition to creating television
and other media products, the program supports activities intended to
promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational
uses of the programming, community-based outreach, and research on
educational effectiveness.
About Head Start and the National Head Start Association
Head Start is the nation’s leading investment in early childhood education and provides a window of opportunity to our nation’s most vulnerable children during the key developmental years from birth through age five. Head Start and Early Head Start’s comprehensive set of education, health, and family support services have benefited 27 million at-risk children since 1965. The National Head Start Association is a non-profit organization representing more than 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 2,200 Head Start programs in the United States. www.nhsa.org
Head Start is the nation’s leading investment in early childhood education and provides a window of opportunity to our nation’s most vulnerable children during the key developmental years from birth through age five. Head Start and Early Head Start’s comprehensive set of education, health, and family support services have benefited 27 million at-risk children since 1965. The National Head Start Association is a non-profit organization representing more than 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 2,200 Head Start programs in the United States. www.nhsa.org
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated "Sid the Science Kid," and "DINOSAUR TRAIN" as well as "Wilson & Ditch: Digging America" and "Pajanimals." Features include "The Dark Crystal," "Labyrinth," "MirrorMask," and "Unstable Fables" and television productions include "Fraggle Rock" and the sci-fi cult series "Farscape."
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated "Sid the Science Kid," and "DINOSAUR TRAIN" as well as "Wilson & Ditch: Digging America" and "Pajanimals." Features include "The Dark Crystal," "Labyrinth," "MirrorMask," and "Unstable Fables" and television productions include "Fraggle Rock" and the sci-fi cult series "Farscape."
With
additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is
headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot,
complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities.
Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder
Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, a
pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with
international film, television and advertising clients,
as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry's top
recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art
and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand has
recently launched the national tour of "Stuffed
and Unstrung," a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top
10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by
Entertainment Weekly. www.henson.com;
www.facebook.com/
The
contents of this release were developed under a grant from the
Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily
represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not
assume
endorsement by the Federal Government.
The
project is funded by a Ready To Learn grant (PR/AWARD No. U295A100025,
CFDA No. 84.295A) provided by the Department of Education to the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Disclosure: I was sent codes to download these apps, in order to write up an honest review. The views above are mine and mine alone.
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