The first book I bought for my daughter, all those years ago, was an ABC book from the Brooklyn Museum. She is now a PhD candidate in Art History and lives in Brooklyn.
Probably not a direct correlation, but a nice coincidence.
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| ABC Egyptian Art from The Brooklyn Museum by Florence Cassen Mayers |
Here are 5 reasons I think the alphabet is a great structure for children's media.
1. Letters
I am very happy to spend a lot of time with 3 year olds. They are mastering the alphabet, one letter at a time, frequently starting with the letters of their name. They have favorite letters and usually it's the first letter in their name. I designed a menu that makes it easy to select any letter.
2. Animation
Let's face it, as an animator, creating the animations is one of the most fun parts for me of app development. However, it is important that the animation supports the educational goals of the project. The first version of ABC.DC only required tapping on the artwork to play the animation. This was a big hit, but letter recognition was not being reinforced. So our last update enhanced the interactivity required to trigger the animated artwork. The player is instructed to drag the small letter in the box to the big letter in the circle over the artwork. Each touch triggers the narration of the letter, reinforcing learning. Repeat taps still replay the animation but they had to work a little harder to get there.
3. Kids Love to Drag Things Around
Initially I had not appreciated how important and empowering this skill is for preschoolers. Every time I play iPad with kids, an important part of my guidance is helping them understand the intricacies of how they use touch to get results. If they are having problems, generally it's because they are pushing too hard.
We added 11 puzzles to the update to accommodate learning this task and because kids love puzzles.
4. Skill Building
Okay, this isn't just ABC apps that do this, but still important. How do I navigate my world? How do I interface with my environment (digital or not)? What do I need to remember from each experience? Will someone be there to help me? Can I help my friends?
Luckily I have an unusual arrangement for playing iPad with the 3 year olds. I am a visitor in a day care facility and I get three kids at a time. We sit at a tiny little table with one iPad and each kid takes a turn as we go around the table. I love the one-on-one guidance I can give them, while carefully trying not to jump in too fast. It's fun to see them help each other.
5. Introduction to Amazing Art
This is specific to ABC.DC: An Art Alphabet but of course not exclusively. I love to introduce kids to great world art. One of the many fun aspects of this process for me is perusing art museum online collections that are available for media projects. Finding the kid-friendly art is pure joy...there is so much of it.
Learning through observation is a great tool for developing verbal skills. When I am with the kids we talk about what's happening in each work of art. What do they see? What are the colors, shapes. I am a firm believer in the idea that children are developing a visual database that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Here is a great article about how art appreciation helps kids learn to think and express ideas.
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| Detail of Joseph Bartholomew Kidd's Yellow Warbler from the National Gallery of Art collection |
What's Your Experience?
What good alphabetical tools have your found for your kids/students? There are lots of them out there.
Has anyone else owned the Brooklyn Museum book I bought all those years ago?
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