Encyclopedia Britannica Kids has developed a series of applications for the iPhone and iPad to educate children about a variety of topics. The latest app, Britannica Kids: Dinosaurs, is all about the extinct species that once ruled the Earth. With a ton of information and interactive games, it’s a great app for teaching children about dinosaurs.
The app includes several different sections. There are some basic articles that discuss dinosaurs in general. You also can browse through each dinosaur, in alphabetical order, to get the specifics such as height, weight and diet. Each article has an accompanying photo. There is a section for photos and videos, but I was only able to find one video in the large selection of photos. This is definitely an area in need of improvement. Kids, especially, would much rather watch short video clips of animated dinosaurs instead of pictures.
In addition to the informative sections of the app, there are also several games that children can play, such as jigsaw puzzles, magic square games and memory matches. One of the more interactive activities is “Brush-Off,” in which children have to use their fingers to brush the dirt away to reveal the fossil underneath. Then, they have to name it by selecting from a list. There is also a dinosaur quiz with 50 multiple-choice questions.
Navigation through each section is accomplished by spinning a wheel at the bottom of the screen. In Landscape mode, this wheel is positioned off center. Being made for the iPhone first; this might be a minor bug that could be easily adjusted in an update. Other than that, the app runs very well, and really does provide a great deal of information. There is, however, one feature I think would be necessary to make it a viable classroom supplement. Support for VGA output to an external monitor would allow all the students in a classroom to view the app’s information on a TV or projector.
The price tag might seem a bit high for a dinosaur app, but for educational purposes, I think it’s worth it.
