Just in
time for holiday shopping—some educational materials to help children learn
more about their brains and brain fitness.
I believe
that children should be taught, at an appropriate level with engaging media, to
understand important concepts about their brains and learning. If you are a
parent, educator, or therapist who wants to teach children information that will
allow them to better understand themselves and empower their thinking (how they
can control and modify their minds and behavior; a Growth Mindset), it is nice to know that a
variety of groups have recently developed engaging books, videos and apps
regarding the human brain and brain training or plasticity. I recently discovered two sources of material
that are worth attention.
The Adventures
of Ned the Neuron is a free
iPad app. This well constructed app is 34
full color pages of material.
- Read to Me function with voice over and soundtrack
- Interactive educational diagrams
- Three mini-games
- Over 30 neuroscience concepts introduced
The
original version crashed on original generation one iPads, but that has now
been fixed and it works without a hitch on my iPad (generation one). A brief introductory
video is available for viewing.
Additional information regarding this free app can be found at the Kizoom website. The app can be found at the iTunes App Store
link at the Kizoom website. Below are a
few select screen shots (the last being a collage of all screens).
[Click on images to enlarge]
Your
Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It,
Shape It is
a multimedia resource by the DEAK Group. It includes an app, a book, posters, and
other education related resources. These
materials are not free, but the costs are minimal and, in my opinion, are good
investments in the education of children. My only complaint is that the app frequently
crashed when I tried to navigate from one page to a different section of the
program. I am using a generation one
iPad, so I don’t know the extent to which this generalizes to later iPads. Visit the link above to learn more and to find
a link to the iTunes App Store.
The book
is also available at Amazon.com. A brief introductory video is available for
viewing at the web site or on YouTube.
A few
select screen shots from the app are below.
