We rallied up some of our favorite bloggers to tell us how they feel about the digital tide entering our children’s education systems.   We asked them if they’ve witnessed the change yet at home or have seen an impact in their learning experience.  Lastly, we were curious how they, themselves, feel about the changes.  Most are enthusiastic, some are cautious.  Read on.

Gone are the days when I used to fact check everything in my encyclopedia, but that does not mean that we are not on top of our game these days. The immediate response the internet brings us, means knowledge is but a click, swipe and tap away. The other day I chastised my kids for not sitting straight while eating their breakfast, telling them about how important it is for allowing food to head to the digestive systems easily. This piqued their interest and my 6 year old asked if we could Google “digestive system” so she could see some pictures of it on the iPad. Then my 4 year old asked if we could get a video on YouTube to see how food goes down the digestive system. Needless to say, I happily complied and I can assure you those visuals digested well as I have had to make very few reminders about sitting properly while eating these days. 

Niri Jaganath, MommyNiri.com

A couple years ago, Max was one of the first kids in his school to get an iPad. His speech therapist was trialing a new speech communication app, the Proloquo2Go, and she thought Max would be into it because he is psyched about all things tech. From the very first second Max used it to tell me he loved the color purple, I knew it was going to be a game changer. And it has been. Max has cerebral palsy, and speech is a major challenge for him. Although I understand the words he’s speaking, many people can’t. The speech app says the words for him. At school and at home, he’s been using it for everything from learning math to reading. It’s opened up his world—but it’s also let his teachers, family and friends into it, too. That is, when his sister’s not swiping it to play Angry Birds.

Ellen Siedman, LoveThatMax.com

The digital experience is a huge enhancement to the learning environment of my home. As a homeschooler, I leverage the digital world to help my children get a more solid footing in the pen and paper world. A great example has happened just this month.

My two oldest children finished their math books and the next step is pre-algebra. I found 3 assessment tests online to help me make sure they didn’t have any holes before moving on and of course they did;). Both of them faltered when it came to percentages (as did I at their age). Utilizing the digital world I found free worksheets that I have printed off and they work with pencil and paper. I have also found online games that give percentages a fun slant. I have even found great youtube videos that illustrate the process in ways I would have never thought of! 

The digital experience isn’t something to be feared but embraced! It can not only help to teach but do it in a fun and successful way! At least it does in my Nerd Family!

Jacqueline Cromwell, NerdFamilyThings.com

At home, we keep our kids away from computers and iToys as much as possible.  At their preschool, they are taught Spanish by a native speaker who also uses some apps on an iPad to enhance their learning.  It’s not a crutch so much as a tool, so I’m comfortable with its use.  And because they don’t get to use an iPad at home, it’s very exciting for them to see it in action at school.

I remember when I first learned to read. I remember when the words to my very favorite children’s book, Clotilda,  started to becomes clearer and sounding them out started to become easier.

I think about my childhood often as my oldest daughter, who at three-and-a-half, is starting to remind me of myself at that age. She has learned to write the letters in her name and while she struggles with the ‘Y’ every time, when she finally does get it, the proud look on her face warms my heart. Her interest in books is getting more and more profound. She asks me every day if today is “library day” and points out the Library when we drive through town.

(c) Cass Just Curious Photography

Where do parents begin to teach their kids to read? I think it starts with building a love for books and stories. Town libraries offer free, weekly story-times, some for babies as young as 6-months. We’ve read books before bed nearly every single night since my kids were infants (I’m a bit of a stickler for a routine). If there was ever a night that they didn’t want to read a book (rare!), my oldest would ask us to tell her a story. If we started with anything other than, ‘Once upon a time’ and ended with anything other than ‘Happily Ever After’, we were instantly corrected.


Where does new technology come in? An app is a great way to learn to read. And it’s a guilt-free excuse to let the kids use the iPad! When learning to read books, kids are dependent upon their index finger pointing to words and saying them aloud simultaneously. In most apps, this is done automatically with words highlighting or being underlined while spoken by a narrator. There are also options to turn the narration off so that your child can read alone. Other ways to introduce a love for words and letters is stenciling. Tracing is not only important for recognition, but also for muscle-memory and small-motor control.

Using the iPad as a learning tool not only allows parents to continue the use of a device that has gained popularity with their kids, but it also helps children gain necessary life skills. Reading along with the ponies from My Little Pony or the trucks like Chuck from Chuck & Friends, and reading classic books like Velveteen Rabbit and Thumbelina – these are brands that win with kids and story lines that contain popular, important messages.

Apps today make it easy to build a love of words and stories with your kids. To visit the full library of Ruckus Media Apps, please click here.

We’re sure that  you (or people you know) have some tricks up your sleeve to help kids and families fall in love with reading — or practice reading basics without making it feel like work (or homework!).  Tips can be for emerging, beginning or independent readers — or feel free to send suggestions for all three!  They should be short and sweet (100-300) words and the more practical, the better.

Here are a few examples of the kinds of tips we’re looking for:

Introduce children to reading by showing them words that are important to them, such as their names. Encourage them to find the letters in their names whenever they encounter print—on a sign, in a book, and so on. After your kids are familiar with their own names, introduce the names of other members of your family.

Encourage tactile learners by having children practice writing letters in shaving cream on the table. Or try writing in sand, rice, or pasta. Get creative! What do you have around the house that your child could write in?

Help your child practice rhyming by inviting them to make up new verses to nursery rhymes or their favorite songs.  This could also help kids learn to match syllables to fit within the rhythm of a well-known song.

Even if your child cannot yet read, encourage them to become an active participant in the reading process by looking at the pictures and telling the story based upon what they see.  While your child is telling the story, ask questions to gauge understanding of key details in the story.

Email your creative reading tip and photograph to TeacherTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com or ParentTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com (whichever is applicable), if selected, we will credit the submission with your name and image, and post a link directly to your site or school if you’d like. Plus, you’ll also be eligible to receive a $10 iTunes gift card to select your choice of stories from the Ruckus library.  All the rules are featured here.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to get exposure, an iTunes gift card and to share your love of reading with us and our community.

To celebrate all its success, we have FOUR official Bronies tee-shirts to give away!

Here’s what we have to give away:

I’m a Dragon (size medium, pictured on left)

BroHoof (size medium, black, two ponies flying in air, touching hooves)

Pinkie Pie Express (size medium, grey color, pictured below)

Two Bronies Floating in the Air (size medium, black)

To enter, comment in the comment section below, Friend us on Facebook and let us know which shirt you want. Open to everyone everywhere, who enter by Saturday, March 16th at 11:59 AM EST. Winners will have 24 hours to claim their prizes, or we will have them offer it to the runner-ups.  There will be four winners, one for each shirt.

BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each:

• Subscribe to Ruckus Media Group feed in a reader or by email, leave a comment telling us which way you subscribed.
• Stumble the post, submit to Digg, delicious, Mixx, Reddit, Propellor, or other social bookmarking sites. Leave the URL in your comment.
• Follow us on Pinterest.
• Follow us on Google Plus.
• Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with the URL.
• Follow The Ruckus Media on Twitter  and tweet this link: Win a Bronies Tee-Shirt from @RuckusMedia  http://bit.ly/z17YmN #giveaway

Good luck and happy entering!

My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day continues to surprise and amaze us.

Last month we were thrilled to learn that it achieved a huge milestone when it reached one million user sessions. That means that one million of you, or your child, have opened up the My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day app, produced with our partner, Hasbro.

And now we are proud to announce that our very own My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day has won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award® for Best In Family-Friendly Products (or Services)!  It joins three of our other apps in receiving this prestigious award – Chuck & Friends: Friend for the Long Haul, A Present for Milo and Spot the Dot.

The Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA) is an awards program that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services.  Parents, educators, librarians and retailers rely on MCA evaluations when selecting quality materials forchildren and families.  The Mom’s Choice Awards® seal helps families and educators navigate the vast array of products and services and make informed decisions.

We knew that we had a terrific app with My Little Pony, but it’s nice to know that everyone else agrees. Available for any I.O.S device, a child can learn and play at the same time while enjoying a brand they know and love.  They can tap and tilt the screen in fun activities that move the action forward—learning new words, playing activities and watching videos.  The app is an engaging way to learn to read, packed full with rich, educational entertainment for beginning readers.

So, head over to the iTunes store to pick up a copy of our award-winning My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day and wish everyone included in its creation and development a heart felt congratulations in the comments below.

With this stat in mind, last night we gathered with dozens of amazing women on Twitter to talk about MOMS and TECH.  We were curious about the gadgets they’re using, how they’re using tech and how they’re balancing their usage, as well as their kids.

We also gathered four tech bloggers to moderate and guide us as we talk about two topics close to their hearts and professional lives.  They were:  Beckie Mostello from Tech Talk for Moms, Heidi Leder from Coast 2 Coast Mom, Jacqueline Cromwell from Nerd Family Blogs and Grace Duffy from Formerly Gracie.

What did we find out?  That moms are tech geeks.  They’re using iPads, iPhones, Mac Computers, Androids, Roku, HP Laptops, Apple TV, nooks and more.  When asked what gadgets they’re currently using, they had a lot to say:

Tracyparral: I use my desktop, laptop, iPad, and Samsung tablet, and on occasion my phone.

Graceduffy: I have an obscene number of tablets in my house.

CoziFamily:  I’m such an Apple geek: Macbook, iPad, iPhone are my main gadgets.

These tech savvy moms are online often but they balance their time when the kids are around.

C2C Mom: We’re always connected!

hippie_mom: Phones are to easy for mulit-tasking so always.

nikki2kids: too many hours, but I”m always connected to the internet.

techtalkformoms: most of the day, I try to turn off when kids get home from school.

ophelan83: My kid is a techbaby. I dont ever stop him from using it because its just part of his generation

There are lots of social media moms.  Women use it to connect to other moms, they use it for work, as well as pleasure, but are definitely more careful of their use of venting on social media.  There is also a clear love for Pinterest among women, as most at our party last night expressed their love for the new, extremely popular tool.

lilstylefile: Social Media is a creative outlet for us! We use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram on a daily basis!

IrishRed02: Yes! Its a sounding board for many facets of life: advice, questions, rants.

Women choose gadgets for functionality, not design.  They use apps to manage their busy lives, particularly calling out to Google Calendar, Cozi, Stickie Notes, Drop Box and Evernote.

And moms love educational apps. They had a lot to say about their importance:

secretskri_jail: educational apps are very important. that is what we try and find. educational yet fun

techtalkformoms: ebooks are another mode to help a struggling reader learn to read

CoziFamily:  Agree! Book apps, educational apps. I’ll let my kids spend way more time on that than just games

techtalkformoms: I think book apps r great, what ever it takes to get children reading!

@iPad_storytime: if I focus on the quality of tech use by my kid, it’s easier 2 set limits on quantity.

ophelan83: Super important! Education is our first priority in my home.

We couldn’t have enjoyed our discussion more and thank everyone for coming to our Moms & Tech Twitter Party.  We also send our congratulations to all the prize winners and thanks to our wonderful prize sponsors: Cozi, FashionPlaytes, The Digital Mom Handbook,Blue Sky Planners, Discovery Bay Games and My Little Pony.

It’s a wrap!

In the UK and Ireland on March 1st, it’s WORLD BOOK DAY, and people will come together from around the world to celebrate the importance of reading and literacy.  It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. It’s actually the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.

NEA’s READ ACROSS AMERICA is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2nd.  The program also provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.

So, what are we doing here at Ruckus to celebrate?  We will be giving away apps on our Facebook page over the next two days.  Just head over to our page throughout the day to answer questions and you might win an app of your choice from our library.

We are also calling all teachers, reading specialists and literacy professional to provide reading tips to stimulate children’s love of reading, both inside and outside the classroom. Who better to write those tips than you, our expert advisers? We’re sure that  you have some tricks up your sleeve to help kids and families fall in love with reading — or practice reading basics without making it feel like work (or homework!).  Tips can be for emerging, beginning or independent readers — or feel free to send suggestions for all three!

Email your creative reading tip and photograph to TeacherTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com  or ParentTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com (whichever is applicable), if selected, we will credit the submission with your name and image, and post a link directly to your site or school if you’d like. Plus, you’ll also be eligible to receive a $10 iTunes gift card to select your choice of stories from the Ruckus library.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to get exposure, an iTunes gift card and to share your love of reading with us and our community.

We at Ruckus Media Group, creator of award-winning interactive storybooks for children, are looking for reading tips to stimulate children’s love of reading, both inside and outside the classroom. Who better to write those tips than you, the expert? We know that you work with children day in and day out to find that “just-right” way for each child to develop a love of reading, whether they are your own children or your students.

Please email your creative reading tip and photograph to TeacherTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com (if you are a specialist) or ParentTips@RuckusMediaGroup.com (if you are a parent). If your tip is chosen, we’ll credit the submission with your name and image, and post a link directly to your site or school. And, you’ll also be eligible to receive a $10 iTunes gift card to select your choice of stories from our library.

Here are the rules, terms and conditions (make sure you read the fine print before entering):

• You must be at least 18 years old to enter.
• Photos (high-resolution jpegs at a maximum size of 100 KB) must accompany all submissions, and should include your name, title, school (if applicable), city and state. If you would like us to link to your blog or website, please send us your URL.
• Reading tip minimum word count: 25 words.
• Only authors of tips selected by Ruckus Media Group will receive a $10 iTunes card.
• All submitted reading tips will be reviewed by an education adviser appointed by Ruckus Media Group.
• If selected, you must fill out a consent form (to be provided by Ruckus Media Group) certifying that you are the individual in the photos, that you are the individual identified by the submitted name and contact information, that all submitted information is true and accurate and that you own the copyright interest in all submitted materials and have the right to consent to Ruckus Media’s Group’s use of such materials.  You also agree to indemnify RMG against any and all liability to third-parties arising from RMG’s use of your submission as described below.
• You grant Ruckus Media Group permission to use the submitted: tip, photo, name, school name and location information for any and all promotional purposes related to Ruckus Media Group.
• Ruckus Media Group reserves the right to end this campaign at any time and to refuse acceptance of further submissions without notice.

We can’t wait to work together to continue our mission to create experiences through mobile devices that educate children and stimulate literacy.

Start sending your tips (you can send as many as you like) today and let’s motivate the world to read!

Joining us will be four tech bloggers who will moderate and guide us as we talk about two topics close to their hearts and professional lives.  They are:  Beckie Mostello from Tech Talk for Moms, Heidi Leder from Coast 2 Coast Mom, Jacqueline Cromwell from Nerd Family Blogs and Grace Duffy from Formerly Gracie.

We are fully aware that moms are power users of technology and social media.  Whether they’re programming their own web sites, using tech to stay organized, using Facebook and Twitter, writing blogs or thesis papers on their iPads or Macs, or using tech to help educate their children or balance their careers and family lives, moms and tech go together.  We’ll talk about all of these issues and more by chatting with the experts.

RSVP and join the party for a chance to win one of these prizes:

• 6 FREE Months of the Premium version of Cozi, the #1 online calendar and organizing app for web and mobile.
• $25 gift card to FashionPlaytes, the fun design your own clothes destination for ages 5-12.
• Two copies of The Digital Mom Handbook, from the founders of ClassyMommy.com and MomGenerations.com, the ultimate guide to helping moms build successful careers at home by doing what they already do online – just better.
• Blue Sky Planners, functional and stylish calendars.
• Duo Pop and Duo Plink—the two newest iPad game accessories from Discovery Bay Games, created to unite traditional board game play with digital gaming for heads-up together time, $20 Apple Gift Card to purchase apps for game accessories, Highlights Magazines, and PopChips.
• Ruckus Media Group app giveaways galore.
• And more prizes soon to be announced!

1. RSVP at twtvite: http://twtvite.com/RuckusMomsTech

2. Follow our moderators on Twitter (optional): @TechTalkforMoms @NerdMom @C2CMom @GraceDuffy

3. Sign up for the Ruckus Media Newsletter (optional): http://bit.ly/r2AOiN

4. Follow us on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ruckusmedia/ (optional)

5. Follow us on Facebook (optional): http://www.facebook.com/RuckusMediaGroup

6. Tweet this and follow us on Twitter (optional): Join @RuckusMedia for a twitter party about Moms and Tech on 3/1 at 9pm EST http://bit.ly/Ap61qc #RuckusMoms

“See” you all soon!