Now available on the iPad, "Base Ten Blocks Math" gives students hands-on practice with place value!  Designed with the input of several expert educators, this app provides a range of activities for students in Kindergarten - 3rd Grade. 

School Edition iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/base-ten-blocks-math-school/id864121980?ls=1&mt=8

As seen in the screenshots above (and videos below), the app is segmented into the following 5 categories:

1. Blank Workspace
2. Representing Numbers (up to 5,000)
3. Determining Value (up to 5,000)
4. Addition (up to 3digit + 3digit)
5. Subtraction (up to 3digit - 3digit)

By adjusting the following settings the teacher (or parent) can modify the learning experience according to their learning objectives. 

1. Type of blocks (different colors or uniform color) 
   
2. Number of blocks shown (show tens and ones, hundreds, thousands) 
   
3. Equation layout (vertical and horizontal) 
   
4. Number of questions per level (10, 25 or unlimited practice) 
   
5. Regrouping also known as 'carrying' and 'borrowing' (on or off)
   
6. Place value chart (on or off) 
   
7. Reward games (on or off) 

I'm happy to introduce one of our primary authors Mary Beth Spann. Mary Beth Spann is a longtime teacher, writer and puppeteer. To date, she has authored dozens of teacher resource books and children's readers for publishers such as Scholastic and Time for Kids. Mary Beth is also a very experienced educator. She is a New York State-Certified N-6 Elementary School Teacher with 14+ years of classroom teaching experience.

Mary Beth is currently authoring a series of early readers for Tapfun. These will be released in the coming months. Below you will see the cover for "Lots of Dots" an early Short O reader.

As is her practice, each of her Tapfun readers begins with an engaging story with characters kids can relate to. According to Mary Beth,"So many early readers sacrifice story for the sake of skills and concepts. That's always a big mistake. It's the story that speaks to the mind and heart of the child, and so the story must come first; attention to skills and concepts can easily springboard from a meaningful story premise."
 
On behalf of Tapfun, thank you Mary Beth for all your great writing!

We regularly bring on co-op students to help build Tapfun. One of the programs that we work with is the Cooperative Education program run by the TDSB. Griffin Nikkel is a grade 12 student in the Cyber Arts program at Don Mills Collegiate. As he is wrapping up his co-op placement, Griffin discusses his experience and future plans.

Take us through your day – what do you actually do?

Well it depends on what stage of a project we are on.  If it is near the beginning of a new project I usually will start off by sketching out ideas and concepts for the app in my sketchbook.  Then once I have my ideas down I will bring them to Jordy and we will discuss together what we like and don’t like.  Once we agree on a direction for the app I then take pictures of my sketches that I later bring into Adobe Illustrator where I start to create the graphics for the game.  If we are in the middle of a project or near the end I will usually just conference with Jordy, figure out what aspects of the game we still need and what needs changing and then work to implement those changes.  

Describe your creative process?            

Usually if I can’t already imagine what I want to do clearly in my head, I will start to sketch out various ideas in my sketchbook and just play around until I get something I like.  Then I will re-work it over and over until I am completely satisfied with the concept.  Then I take a picture of the sketch with my phone and email the picture to myself instead of spending time scanning.  I take that image and import it into Adobe Illustrator to use as a reference when creating the graphics.  The style I used was very vector-like and mainly consists of using the pen tool to create different shapes and layer them to create the image of the character or environment. 

Can you share a few images from the projects you've worked on?

The images here are just a few of the many characters that I created during my placement at Tapfun.

What is your favourite part about the Tapfun office (located in the Ryerson Digital Media Zone)?

My favourite part of the office is the space itself.  It’s a very well equipped office with plenty of workspace and all the tools that you’d ever need.  The Digital Media Zone is also great because of the people involved.  The space is full of nice people willing to help and there is a lot of creativity going on.

What skill do you think is most important to have as an illustrator / animator?

I think the most important skill to have is creativity.  Creativity is a tricky thing because sometimes the ideas flow great and other times it can be a struggle to come up with something cool and new.  At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter how good of an animator / illustrator you are if the things you are creating aren’t interesting in their own way.

What are your plans post-Tapfun?

Starting in September I am attending George Brown College to start my study of game design.  I hope to one-day work on big game franchises for consoles like the PlayStation.  Before that though, my plans are to find a job so I can pay for my college tuition.

If you are interested in working for Tapfun as a co-op student, please contact us at coop@tapfun.com

Check out this great report (available in English and French) by Thierry Karsenti and Aurélien Fievez: The iPad in Education: uses, benefits, and challenges.

This report provides insight on the advantages and drawbacks of integrating the iPad in education, and provides recommendations for a successful integration, to maximize the benefits of this educational tool. This report explores the educational use of the iPad as it is a new scholastic trend increasing its presence in classrooms. The adoption of the iPad in education is described as “a necessary risk for schools” as this technology possesses incredible cognitive potential for students in this digital age. 

Research on the uses of the iPad in education is very scarce due to the iPad’s recent 2011 emergence into classrooms. However, the article has consulted several publications on the use of touchpads in education. The collected early research seems to indicate that touchpads in education have a positive impact on learning as it provides “limitless opportunities for formal and informal learning”. Some researchers included in the article, believe that it is a vehicle for improving academic performance though others have remarked that little is known about effective pedagogical uses that have actually impacted academic performance. The research notes that young people are not necessarily using technologies for learning, but primarily for amusement through gaming or texting. Educating with technologies consequently lies in how they are used, where responsibility falls onto teachers to realize the full pedagogical potential of the educational technologies.    
Research was conducted on 6,057 students from Grade 6 to 10 and 302 teachers of varying subjects in schools across Quebec that were commencing programs to provide students with an iPad in fall 2012. This was done in an attempt to better understand the effects and uses of the iPad in the classroom. Below are some interesting findings: 

• 53.6% of students reported to not having any prior experience working with an iPad compared to 70.2% for teachers.
  
  
• The main task performed on the iPad in the classroom was devoted to “doing schoolwork” according to 5,072 respondents. Students said they enjoyed the freedom to decide how to search for the answers they needed.
  
  
• A significant 2,301 students reported to using the device for “gaming” in class, most often occurring when they had completed their work. Some teachers used the games to reward and encourage hard work.
  
  
• Only 372 of respondents said they used the device for reading. This is in part because teachers did not adapt reading assignments to allow the integration of the iPad. Many schools still required the hard copy of a book although the ebook version was at their disposition for free.
  
  
• 76% of time on the iPad outside of the classroom was for recreational and social uses only after completing homework claimed students; 5,980 of students used it outside of class for social networking and texting
  
  
• 5,739 said they used it to do homework when outside of class
  
  
• Major Benefits: access to information, portability, better quality of presentations, creativity, greater collaboration between peers and with the teacher
  
  
• Major Challenges: source of distraction, difficulty writing with the iPad, difficulty organizing work
  
  
• 757 students and 14 teachers reported that the iPad lowered the students’ academic performance although overall, the average student was “very or extremely satisfied” and the average teacher was “moderately satisfied” in response to using the iPad in class.
  

Whether you are an educator debating the value of implementing a similar iPad project in your classroom, or a parent looking for deeper understanding of the involvement of technology in your child’s education, check out this great report http://karsenti.ca/ipad/ 

What has your experience been in integrating iPads in your classroom? Let us know! 

We tried an experiment and used Animoto to create a promotional video of our apps. What do you think? We tried to place them in a classroom context.

We've created an infographic about our upcoming iPad app - 'Base Ten Blocks Math - School Edition.' What do you think? How would you change this? pinterest.com/tapfun

We are opening up registration for early access to 'Base Ten Math Blocks'. This is the only iPad math app with full manipulatives support. To register for a free evaluation copy for your school, please click on the link below. This app will be available on the app store in early May.

The goal of this app is to provide base ten blocks in a format that allows for independent play and group work for Kindergarten through Grade 3. As seen below the app is segmented into 5 categories -- blank workspace, represent numbers, determine value, addition and subtraction. By adjusting the settings the teacher (or parent) can modify the experience of the app according to their learning objectives. A few screenshots are included below to give you a better sense for the app. We look forward to sharing the app with you and hearing your feedback.

7 levels including multiple options: equation layout, with regrouping, place value chart, number of questions.

7 levels including multiple options: equation layout, with regrouping, place value chart, number of questions.

This week i'll be doing something for the first time in my life: teaching aspiring game developers through a course run by Every1Games. Here are some of the reasons that i'm so excited:

1) We're in a golden age of game development

Everyone on the planet will soon have access to an internet connected touch device. Everyone, that's right, everyone on the planet. It may take 4 years. It may take 6 years. Whatever the exact date, soon everyone will have a touch device.

If you can build something interesting the impact you can have is unparalleled. By getting young game developers excited about the opportunities in the field, I hope to excite them about the impact they can have in the world. 

2) The best way to solidify understanding is to teach

If you want to truly understand something, try to teach it to others. Something I discovered in University was how much I learned when tutoring students. Over the past several years I've learnt a great deal about game design and development - by teaching I hope to solidify my understanding even more.

3) Building your own games is even more fun than playing games

As a kid I loved to play games. I'll never forget staying up all night playing my friend's commodore 64 River Raid. I'll never forget being introduced to Castle Wolfenstein on our Apple II by my oldest brother. The rush of playing a great game is amazing. It draws you in and holds you. But i've found something even more powerful - making the games yourself. I've played games on my phone that only i've played, in the whole world. Games i've made, games i've crafted, games i've polished. And guess what, that feeling is even better than playing the games made by others. 

If nothing else, I hope to inspire these young game developers to find that feeling. To feel that rush. Make something no one else in the world has ever seen, and then share it with the world.

After building dozens of educational iPad apps, I thought i'd take a moment to reflect on my design process. Everything begins with an app concept. The concept should clearly answer two questions: what curriculum will the app support and how will it function. Developing concepts merits a discussion in and of itself and I will return to it in a future post.

After settling on the concept I begin to sketch. Initial sketching is one of the most important steps in my app design process. I always sketch on paper that is roughly the same size as the target device for the application. Lately this has been the iPad. Touch interfaces require a clear understanding of physical spacing - components should feel in balance and the eye should be drawn to the right areas of the screen. Further, younger children have smaller fingers but don't have the same level of control and this must be accounted for in all touch input spaces and/or buttons. 

The initial sketch points the design and layout in a clear direction. The primary interaction models should be articulated as well outside of the screen. This helps to assess the early design in the context of functional interaction - put another way, how will the app function?

There are always too many details to include on the initial sketch including: 

• will navigation be 'single touch' or 'touch and release'
• will answers need to be submitted by a secondary button
• how will correct and incorrect answers be displayed
• how much scaffolding will be included on the primary screen

Below is an initial sketch. Notice the interaction models which are called out - "draw anywhere", "tap", "answer".

Once I am happy with a sketch, I move to prototyping. At this stage I do not work on the visuals to any extent but rather focus on the primary interactions. Prototyping raises many questions that must be answered beyond the initial sketch.

My goal when prototyping is to always get a basic version of the app functioning and settle on the primary interaction models and structures. How will feedback be given? How will scaffolding be included and to what extent? What are the consequences of a wrong answer? All of these questions are raised and must be answered in the prototype. At this stage it's important to test the prototype with educators and students and solicit feedback. What doesn't work? What needs to change? What needs to be refined?

Below is a snapshot from an early functional prototype for a Math Word Problems app.

The work between early prototype and final product is one of refinement and craftsmanship. Discoveries are always made and new questions are always posed. How should audio be incorporated if at all? How should feedback be incorporated on all levels (from button-touch to getting the right answer). How should states be saved or cleared when the app is closed or a user switches to the home screen.

When designing educational apps for children additional considerations come into play. How will multi-touch be handled? Kids lean on devices and touch everywhere and this must be anticipated! How will support be given when kids are stuck (ie. when an action hasn't been taken for an extended period of time). If kids have the wrong answer, will they be able to move forward? How many answers do they need to get correct to pass a level?

The screenshot below shows the final product. This product bears some resemblance to the early prototype but in some ways it is totally different. Perhaps most significantly we decided to add audio support and shifted the style of answer input for the written equation and answer box.

In my experience, the best apps begin with a strong initial sketch and vision for the app. There must be a clear concept which answers what curriculum the app will support and how it will function. The first prototype builds off of the initial sketch and implements the primary interaction models. Refinement and testing shape the early prototypes. The final product must resolve many of the unanswered questions in the early design. Small decisions and interaction models must be clarified. Initial testing must bear out these decisions and validate them.

My design process is constantly evolving. How do you think about educational design? How could I improve my process? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

At the start of 2014 it’s a good time to reflect on what mistakes I made last year and how I can correct those next year. This year we crossed 500,000 downloads and are steadily growing our catalog of educational iPad apps for elementary school students.

Mistake 1: Not Enough Time Spent Inside iPad-enabled Classrooms

When you go into classrooms that are using iPads you discover the challenges faced by teachers including: app discovery (there are thousands of “educational” apps), app integration (how does this app supplement and support existing curriculum objectives), and app usage (how can this work in the classroom for independent play and group work). As an educational app developer it’s critical to understand the perspective of educators as well as those of the students. For example, while doing some play-testing with a grade 3 class I discovered that the scaffolding support in one of my math apps (Frog Hop) needed enhancement for a broader range of learners. Overall, I wasn’t in the classroom enough in 2013.

2014 Correction: Establish a more rigorous in-classroom program. I am currently in conversation with several educators to more rigorously test Tapfun apps that are available and in production. If you are an educator in a 1:1 classroom for Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade or Third Grade, please contact us here: app-testers@tapfun.com

Mistake 2: Not Enough Price Experimentation

App pricing is constantly evolving. As an educational app developer I need to take two different buyers into consideration: Parents and Educators. Parents are willing to pay for high-quality educational apps however there is less and less willingness to buy paid apps. Educators on the other hand can only purchase paid apps for their school (or school district) and those must offer the educational volume discount. Satisfying both of these customer segments requires experimentation and flexibility. In retrospect I did not run enough tests in this area. 

2014 Correction: Segment pricing more effectively for parents and educators. Run more experiments to find the optimal price points for in-app purchases and paid apps.

Mistake 3: Not Hiring More Professional Educational Authors

In 2013 I began working with professional educational authors. I didn’t do enough on this front. While I released our first authored apps (Math Word Problems and Reading Comprehension Level C), there is a lot more to do here. Professional authors with experience in the classroom possess unique insights into student needs. Tapfun needs a broader roster of educational authors to successfully offer a range of materials that build on years and decades of experience.

2014 Correction: Establish a formal Tapfun authors program. I am currently in conversation with several authors and am looking for more. If you are passionate about authoring materials for tomorrow’s classroom, please contact us here: authors@tapfun.com

2013 was a year of  growth for Tapfun. In 2014 by addressing these 3 mistakes we hope to better position the company for long-term success in the education market.