Posts Tagged ‘Literacy’

Help Us Spread the the Literacy Love

Posted by ruckusholly on March 15th, 2012

Children Discovering ReadingDo you know any elementary, preschool or reading teachers? Or moms with great practical ideas for helping kids love to read? Or do you, yourself, have awesome tips to share – certain times of the day when you get your kids reading or strategies to inspire their love of reading?  We want to feature your tips with our fans!

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.

An Award for My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day

Posted by ruckusholly on March 8th, 2012

Mom's Choice Award

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.

A Celebration of Reading

Posted by ruckusholly on February 29th, 2012

There are two celebrations of reading worth mentioning, and honoring, this week.

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.

 

 

Twitter Party Wrap-Up: A Conversation with David A. Carter

Posted by ruckusholly on June 9th, 2011

 

by Holly Rosen Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Consultant

June 9th, 2011

Spot the DotOur recent Twitter party was a bit of an experiment.  We asked the brilliant artist and creator of our latest Spot the Dot app, David A. Carter (@PopArt123), to join us in a conversation with our followers.  It was unlike anything we had done on Twitter before, and we didn’t know how it would turn out.  Needless to say, not only us, but everyone who came to the party, really seemed to enjoy being in a room with one of our app creators and loved having the opportunity to ask him everything – about his work, his career, Spot the Dot and for advice on breaking into the app business.  We talked about the development of Spot the Dot, the creativity and technology behind the app, as well as Carter’s inspirations.  It was a night to remember for many of us.  We’ve included just a few of our favorite comments in this short wrap-up for your perusal.

 

Q1 – David, how did you transition from paper engineer to app designer?  How did you bring pop art to life?  Everyone, are the concepts David introduced (i.e. counting, colors, shapes) important to you?

PopArt123: Creating an app is similar in that both are interactive. I try to integrate the interactivity into the concept.

FamiGo: Interactivity is definitely what takes a book app beyond a regular paper&ink book, +great for making reading fun 4 kids too!

PopArt123: I work mostly from drawings the straight to Illustrator.

mamagames: Concepts like counting, colors, shapes are important not just to my 4 yo but to 8 yo working on creating & appreciating art.

 

Q2 – David, can you talk about the process of creating an app?  How does working digitally compare to developing a physical book?

PopArt123: We start with an idea then work with the developer to make it happen.

DSloanandco: @popart123says Bruno Munari has influenced his work. Here’s a link to some Munari artwork: http://goo.gl/UhHqa.

PopArt123: The editor Marc Cheshire and I designed the interactivity.

A4CWSN: If it is a Story, it has to be a good Story, otherwise people will forget it.

PopArt123: es I use the computer along with traditional methods for my print work.

moglueDOTcom: I agree, a story has to be a good story that people don’t forget it!

ostmega: I like it when an app (or digital book of any kind) highlights the words as their read. Helps with recognition.

brooks_jones: Randomization is key for re-play value–plus it adds interest for the adults too.

hoppingfun: Emotional immersion. Optimal use of video, text, audio, interaction to achieve it.

teachermomoftwo:  I think digital literacy appeals to the millenials as well as the younger generation. Much more interactive.

 

Q3: David, let’s talk about the special effects behind Spot the Dot.  How do you hit on such great ideas to share with such young children?  How important is sound?

A4CWSN: Agame or interactive anything will become boring over time, this is fact, it has to be a good Story or theme.

PopArt123: I think about ideas a lot, I fill notebooks with ideas and I am very influenced by the Montessori classroom.

brooks_jones: High-quality sound files essential–and they must be appropriate to the story or action.

ipad_storytime: Sound is increasingly vital to an app book’s market success, but personally I like to turn off & read.

brooks_jones: I fear that my app will be outdated and trumped by better tech as soon as it appears in the app store!

 

Q4: David,what is your advice for other story creators who want to break into the story app world?

kishizuka: In SLJ’s app advisory, educators were concerned abt how to use apps in a classrm/library. Any thoughts as the creator(s)?

popart123: Like a book, you should have a good idea or story and then make sure you work with talented people.

popart123: Interactivity is #1.

mamagames: Spot the Dot encourages adults 2 sit with the young player(s) and offer another level of engagement.

mamagames: Having an app that adults enjoy right along with the kids is very important to me.

bctripletmom: Everyone, Spot the Dot in particular encourages adults 2 sit with the young player(s) and offer another level of engagement.

ostmega: Sometimes the interaction is a little too close. Almost had a fight break out here today over Spotting the Dot!

 

Q5: David, who are some of your inspirations and favorite storytellers in the digital space? Everyone, how about you?

popart123:  I like Mike Austin’s A Present for Milo, Ben Roberts’ Alice for iPad, Sesame Street’s The Monster at the End of.

letsgochipper: Roald Dahl! Danny the Champion of the World a fav.

brooks_jones: Pretty fond of the Loud Crow, Touchoo and Auyrn story apps [and Ruckus, of course].

thedomesticexec: I love all the Christmas digital stories my kids even read them in the summer:-)

ipad_storytime: I think my personal favorite is The Fine Musician.

aaallain: Ansel’s Africa is a new and upcoming interactive story app.

SimpleLeigh: My kids love digital work that goes with paper books, like Search for Wand-La app.

A4CWSN: Special needs books and apps are the future:) I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but it is true!

PopArt123: Watching my children grow and spending time in the classroom has inspired many ideas.

 

You can get the full script by going to Twitter and look at hashtag #ruckusspotdot.

Thanks to David and to everyone who came.  See you at our next Twitter Party next month about our new Hasbro-branded apps.  Details coming soon.

Twitter Party Wrap-Up: Apps and Literacy

Posted by ruckusholly on January 12th, 2011

by Holly Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Specialist

01/12/2011

Last night we gathered with our friends, both new and old, on Twitter for a lively discussion about two of our favorite topics: Apps and Literacy.  Based on the amount of people who came, we aren’t the only ones who care passionately that apps and literacy go hand in hand.   Everyone at the party agreed that it’s the story that rules and that story apps are very good for teaching literacy skills and that schools are slowly but surely bringing them into the classrooms.

Here are some highlights of the night’s conversation:

 

Q1: Do you think that apps can improve reading skills and increase reading comprehension? 

@FunAppsForKids I might start by suggesting that in general, story apps, book apps, reading, writing apps- are simply good for literacy!

@PaulWHankins App could work as in-road to differentiation. Good readers interact with print in way technology has not imagined.

@katmeis  My son’s middle school is looking into engaging kids in reading through social reading apps.

@SavvyMomNYC An interactive tool helps a young reader focus and creates an enjoyable fun experience.

@winanci  definitely, tried it with my daughter, we’re non-native english speakers, but apps can help us.

 

Q2: What questions should be asked when figuring out whether one app or another is the best possible selection for that child sitting on your lap?

@iPodsibilities Can they record themselves reading and play back to improve fluency?

@theiPhonemomability to integrate other skills in the app – counting, colors, etc. through interactivity and games.

@aaallain I think age, reading level, and interest are important.

@harmonicmama  I always like to find out if it’s dynamic enough to hold their attention.

@SavvyMomNYC Is it quality literature? Age appropriate? Is it leveled for a struggling reader.

@PaulWHankins  Can the app connect the reader to further works of interest?

 

Q3: Are there specific ways to integrate ebook apps in the learning environment to create meaningful educational experiences?  

@SavvyMomNYC  iPads could support center small group learning while the teacher works with other students.

@iPodsibilities Combine w/ older mentor 2 model good reading, play Pass the iPad 4 roundtable reading, independent reading centers.

@SavvyMomNYC iPads could support center learning in small groups while the teacher works with other students.

@aaallain I still have parent-child interaction using apps! It just provides a different venue for learning.

@eBookNoir phonics, early readers vocab, variety of ways.

 

Q4: Do you think animated story apps can benefit reluctant readers?

@soulfliesfree  yes i think the illustrations are a great incentive to read and uses another part of your brain.

@theiPhonemom Curious to see! My toddler is growing up w/apps. Shall see how her vocab develops compared to my older kids.

@VectoringMomma Definitely, gives them characters and stories in a cool way!

@iPodsibilities Coolness factor is important 2 note in world of SpEd- it isn’t only the young ones that r learning 2 read.

@cwilson82985Apps def increase vocabulary. It helped my son.

@StrollerBallet Animation = engagement! Of course we must acknowledge that aspect!

@aallain As much as I promote technology, I do believe in a balance between hands-on on tech-driven education.

@lovelimes I think they can benefit reluctant readers by making reading fun and interesting.

 

Q5 Have you ever used a read and record feature on an app? How was the experience?

@katmeisJust thinking I might use record function so that when I travel I can still read to my daughter. Cool!

@iPodsibilities Love to hear how families are recording stories to share with loved ones when they can’t be there.

@cwilson82985  We recorded my brother reading a story. He is leaving for Afghanistan.

@HeiddiZWe used to have this same discussion in undergrad about using calculators in math.

@PaulWHankins Concern–reluctant readers might become passive patrons. Books become Digital Domino’s (delivery only).

@lovelimesI love it for that option. I also love that you can have Grandma (or someone else) record the story!

 

Q6: Do you support apps used as a tool to aid special education students? Bilingual students?

@iPodsibilities Apps can be crucial tools for students with disabilities! Providing adaptive tech in an acceptable way.

@aaallain Yes! Apps are a great way to engage learners and provide an alternative learning environment.

@Arianah_00 I think it would be a great tool for bilingual students…or to learn another language.

@katmeisMany spec. ed students can’t hold pencils. Drawing apps=amazing tools. I’d love to see this merged w/ a reading app.

@PaulWHankins Not only a tool, but as an element of their Individualized Education Plan.  If it helps, employ the tool.

@CarrieWChildrenYes! My 6mo DD has #downsyndromeand I’ve read raving reviews about apps for them!

@katmeismany spec. ed students can’t hold pencils. Drawing apps=amazing tools. I’d love to see this merged w/ a reading app.

Stay tuned for another Ruckus Media Twitter Party in February. The topic will be “Apps and Autism”.

Join Us for a Twitter Party to Talk About Apps and Literacy on Tuesday, January 11th, 10pm ET

Posted by ruckusholly on January 7th, 2011

by Holly Fink, Ruckus Media Staff Marketing Specialist

01/07/2011

We had a blast at our first Twitter Party last month when we gathered to talk about Apps and Travel.  Many of you dished with us about entertaining the kiddos during our long distance travels and the apps we all love.  The consensus was that apps are useful, handy tools that most of us don’t feel guilty about passing to our kids.  If you haven’t read our wrap-up, read it here.

At our next Twitter party, we’ll be chatting about Apps and Literacy.  You may be obsessed with your iPhone or iPad, but did you know that it provides creative outlets for teaching children how to read?  There are apps to teach kids basic reading skills, improve critical thinking and teach new vocabulary words.  We’ll chat about how by using apps, children can improve reading comprehension, readiness and competency.  We’ll also explore how apps might serve as aids in the classroom, improving writing and spelling skills via pictures, interactivity and multi-sensory touch screens.  We’d also love your suggestions on how apps can work even further to encourage and further literacy, albeit in the classroom or at home and across all types of education (special ed, ESL, etc.).

Join us from 10-11pm EST on Tuesday, January 11th at hashtag #ruckusliteracyapps on Twitter (or on TweetGrid, TweetDeck or TweetChat, whichever platform you prefer) for this discussion   As usual, we’ll have great giveaways.

If you’re not already following us, we’re @RuckusMedia and please RSVP by email to Allyson Kane.