Technology is making the world a better place and more inclusive, and is gradually disrupting every industry, including parenting. There a number of technology platforms and tools that contribute to making parenting and nurturing children a tad easier.
There are a couple of platforms and tools for the 21st-century parent, and this infographic breaks down the platforms and tools used for general learning, learning a new language, social media for kids and a safe search engine platforms for kids as well.
These were culled from a discussion with Reena Efua Ametorwo and Roslyn Naadu Laryea, both from SeekApor Ghana.Â
Learning Tools
BlackboardÂ
Blackboard is dedicated to helping you solve your most critical challenges in today’s ever-changing environment to increase your students’ success.
Visit website here: www.blackboard.com
Duolingo
Duolingo is a platform that includes a language-learning website and app, as well as a digital language proficiency assessment exam. The app and the website are free, although Duolingo also offers a premium service for a fee.
Visit website here: www.duolingo.com
ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a classroom communication app used to share reports between parents and teachers. It connects parents and teachers on a student’s conduct and performance through real-time reports as well as a feed for photos and videos during the school day.
Visit website here: www.classdojo.com
YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids is a video app developed by YouTube. The app provides a version of the service-oriented towards children, with curated selections of content, parental control features, and filtering of videos deemed inappropriate viewing by kids 12 and under.
Visit website here: www.youtube.com/kids
SeekaporÂ
The Seekapor Educational Information platform gives students, teachers, parents and schools free access and connection to a series of online-based tools. This makes it easier for them to perform tasks conveniently.
Visit website here: www.seekapor.com
Science360
Science360 Video Library immerses visitors in the latest wonders of science, engineering, technology and math.
Visit website here: https://science360.gov
Flow Free
Flow Free is a puzzle game for iOS and Android released by American studio Big Duck Games in June 2012. The game presents Numberlink puzzles: each puzzle has a grid of squares with colored dots occupying some of the squares.
Visit website here: www.bigduckgames.com/flowfree
Encarta Kids
Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia by Microsoft. There was a more complete version called Encarta Premium made in 2008. It had more than 62,000 articles and many photographs and illustrations. There was also music clips, videos, maps and timelines with some activity games.
Visit website here: kids.kiddle.co/Encarta
Language tools
Penyo PalÂ
Penyo Pal is re-imagining the way people learn language. At Penyo Pal, we combine learning with play, and take advantage of new mediums and research in education to create immersive learning games — we call it edu-play-tion! Penyo Pal makes language learning an engaging, personalized, and self-driven process.
Visit website here: www.penyopal.com
Duolingo
Duolingo is a platform that includes a language-learning website and app, as well as a digital language proficiency assessment exam. The app and the website are free, although Duolingo also offers a premium service for a fee.
Visit website here: www.duolingo.com
Brainscape
Brainscape is a web and mobile education platform that allows students to study adaptive flashcards. The website and mobile application allow students, teachers, and corporate trainers to create electronic flashcards, and to find flashcards created by other users and publishers around the world.
Visit website here: www.brainscape.com
Search Engines for kidsÂ
Kidtopia
Kidtopia is a Google custom student safe search engine for preschool and elementary students, indexing only educator approved web sites.
Visit website here: www.kidtopia.info
DuckDuckGoÂ
DuckDuckGo is an internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers’ privacy and avoiding the filter bubble of personalized search results. DuckDuckGo distinguishes itself from other search engines by not profiling its users and by showing all users the same search results for a given search term.
Visit website here: duckduckgo.com
KidRex
KidRex.org is a child-safe search engine powered by Google Custom Search. The site utilizes Google SafeSearch and maintains its own database of inappropriate websites and keywords. The site has a colorful hand-drawn crayon and colored marker design.
Visit website here: www.alarms.org/kidrex
Social Media for kids
YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids is a video app developed by YouTube. The app provides a version of the service-oriented towards children, with curated selections of content, parental control features, and filtering of videos deemed inappropriate viewing by kids 12 and under.
Visit website here: www.youtube.com/kids
Club Penguin
Club Penguin was a massively multiplayer online game, involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive. Players used cartoon penguin-avatars and played in a winter-set virtual world.
Visit website here: cponline.pw
Grom SocialÂ
By kids, for kids. Grom Social is the new one-stop multimedia app! Share videos and message friends around the world. Make new friends, watch exclusive shows, meet famous people, and much more. It’s time for kids to have their own social media.
Yoursphere
Yoursphere is a free online social network that is centred around safe and fun rewards-based interactive content and activities for children and young people up to the age of 18. … It is the only youth social network that is approved by Privacy Vaults Online Safe Harbor of the US Federal Trade Commission.
Read more about Yoursphere here
Listen to the podcast on tech tools for parents on Citi Trends with Philip Ashon where he interviewed a team from Seekapor.
