App idea

[sm625]

I am looking for an app that I can put on my phone that forces the user to solve a variably difficult logic or math problem. You see, kids never do anything educational when they are using one of these goddawful devices. They only use them to get stupider. So I figure there needs to be something educational that is more tightly integrated into the OS than a simple app (which you know they will never actually use of their own free will). It has to be something that forces them to do the work if they want to play the games. It should even optionally interrupt other apps every few minutes with more work.

With the galaxy S4 I know the thing can tell whether its you or a child that is using the phone so that is another avenue to be exploited, but that is not really my focus.

 

[pm]

So I have a bit of an opposite viewpoint. First, I find that children are really excited to use any kind of tablet or phone for whatever reason. So if I give my 12 year old daughter an iPad and tell her she can use the Algebra app on it, she is really interested even though it's an algebra app. Second, I don't put any games on the tablet at all or if I do, they are selective and are semi-educational like tangram puzzles (Tanzem) and the app store is locked with my password. So there are no games, but there is still excitement.

My youngest didn't like to read - but for some reason, she loves to read on the iPad, so I channeled that enthusiasm and just loaded up a bunch of books on to it, and she still loves to read on it and it helped build an enthusiasm for reading.

You might say "but they'll just watch Youtube videos" except that it's easy to get a list of apps that they have accessed (and they don't know how I do it) and so I tell them that they lose access if they don't do what they are supposed to... and so far that threat has been enough. I don't think a smartphone or tablet can only be used to "get stupider" and it's just a matter of channeling the enthusiasm that kids have for tablets into apps that children can learn from.

Just sit a kid down with a tablet that only has Google Earth, a tangram puzzle and a couple of other interesting but also semi-educational apps (like "Stack the States") and delete all of the Youtube, browser and other links that you don't want them to do... and then threaten to revoke access if they don't follow the rules... it's worked in our family anyway.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I am looking for an app that I can put on my phone that forces the user to solve a variably difficult logic or math problem. You see, kids never do anything educational when they are using one of these goddawful devices. They only use them to get stupider. So I figure there needs to be something educational that is more tightly integrated into the OS than a simple app (which you know they will never actually use of their own free will). It has to be something that forces them to do the work if they want to play the games. It should even optionally interrupt other apps every few minutes with more work.

With the galaxy S4 I know the thing can tell whether its you or a child that is using the phone so that is another avenue to be exploited, but that is not really my focus.

On android, this seems doable...but forget it on WP and iOS. The app would just have to be able to override the back and home buttons.

 

[Crono]

I set the alarm clock app on my phone to make me do math problems (simple ones) in order to disable it or for snooze. But that's more to make sure I don't oversleep...

But for what you are looking for, forcing any app seems the wrong way to go. I remember way back in K-6 in elementary school back in the early 90s we had Macs in the computer lab, and all the games on the computers were educational. We spent half the class time learning basic computer use (typing, and very simple programming on a program called LogoWriter, and later on Turtle Math) and the other half we got to play whatever games we wanted.

It's a different age now with tablets and smartphones, but it seems to me supervising your children's time on educational apps, and then allowing them to play whatever they want (you can preinstall educational games and whatever else) and just lightly monitor their play is still the way to go.