When it comes to your child’s learning, technology doesn’t have all the answers. A simple puzzle can teach logic, a stuffed bear is enough to broaden the imagination, and there’s still no better literacy substitute than a full and diverse bookcase.
Having said that, shop shelves (and app stores) are filled with more tech toys than ever before. Even if they don’t work for every kid, connected games and gadgets can change the way our children play and enrich their learning. So, although it’s not time to put Ted into retirement just yet, we’ve rounded up five of the best educational toys making good use of smart technology.
5 tech toys that help children learn;
1. TinkerBots
We’ve made no secret of the fact that we quite like robots at GoExplore, but they’re not just for childish adults like us to enjoy, but actual children too. Who’d have guessed it?
What’s especially good about TinkerBots is that it’s up to kids themselves to do the building, getting their brains around a variety of modular blocks that snap together like Lego. No wires, no programming, just motors, pivots and ‘power cubes’ that children as young as five can piece together to make the snake or tractor of their dreams. Kids like tractors, right? We’ve been ensured that you can build other stuff too.
2. CogniToys
Friendly dinosaurs with creepy voices are always a big hit with kids – just ask Barney. This one is a robot as well, so it’s bound to be a winner.
The internet-connected T-Rex is activated at the touch of its tummy, satisfying your child’s inquisitive mind by answering their questions. It can even ask questions of its own to test your tot’s mental skills, as well as sharing stories and telling jokes of varying quality. It does all this with the help of IBM’s artificially intelligent supercomputer, Watson, and the smart dino was brought to life with help from its Kickstarter backers.
3. Ubooly
The clever, creepy-voiced tech toys just keep coming. What’s smart about Ubooly though, is that it’s actually a form of recycling disguised as a toy, helping you to entertain and educate your kids while saving the world in the process. Neat.
How does it do that? By making use of your old smartphones, of which there are millions abandoned, replaced, and left lying in sock drawers every year. It might not be the latest model, but even a five year-old smartphone has enough computing power to still pack a punch, and Ubooly feeds on these devices and uses them for its brains. Once plugged-in and powered-up, Ubooly is like a smarter, more helpful Furby, able to talk to your child, tell stories (again, of questionable quality) and even teach math.
Oh, and if you like the idea of recycling your smartphone but you’re too old for Ubooly, then we’ve got five more suggestions for making use of your old device.
4. Ringo
Not all robo-pets can be born beautiful, but what Ringo here lacks in the looks department it more than makes up for in smarts.
Ringo – which looks like an odd, metallic beetle or an inside-out plug – is equipped with features including an accelerometer, gyroscope, RGB LEDs and a music chirper, and your child can bring them all to life by learning some very basic programming. Sure, Tamagotchis were easier to play with, but Ringo won’t start beeping at you when its hungry. Besides, if it does start kicking up a fuss you can always just program it not to.
5. Hackaball
Sometimes a product has a name that’s so good that it does our job for us, to the point that describing it seems almost pointless. Just in case you’ve not worked it out already, Hackaball is a ball that you can hack. It’s a hackable ball. It’s a Hackaball.
What came first – the toy, or the pun? We’re not sure in this case, but we’re glad that both exist. Kids can change the function of the ball through a dedicated app, choosing from a variety of games and creating their own by writing simple lines of code. Enclosed in the shock-proof outer casing are a small computer, lights, an accelerometer, a sound chip, a microphone, and a vibrator for haptic cues, making the possibilities for new games as wide as the child’s imagination.
Source:
By: Kyle Ellison
http://www.goexplore.net/future-tech/tech-toys-best-for-learning/
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