Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Wilkey Oh
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cool math tool is great for visualizing 3-D shapes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
iCrosss
What's It About?
Kids choose a polyhedron to explore from a list divided into six categories. A question mark icon in the top right walks users through the app's features. Kids rotate the 3-D image with a finger, tap to set points for a cross-section, and use pinch motions to separate the polyhedron at the cross-section. Different viewing modes help kids explore the solid, and an info section provides a description and important data including the number of vertices, edges, and faces and a set of formulas including surface area, volume, face diagonal, and more.
Is It Any Good?
ICROSSS is a very cool tool for exploring and studying polyhedrons. The 3-D representations are accurate, and the interactive animations are fun to manipulate. Kids can choose from a list of solids comprehensive enough to serve as a reference tool for students in middle school through college.
As slick as it is, iCrosss is nothing more than an interactive reference tool. Kids aren't encouraged to do calculations or play with the math in any deep way. It would be a great addition to the app if there were opportunities or suggestions to extend the learning –- printable templates for constructing paper models of the polyhedrons is one idea.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Search online for "printable polyhedron patterns" and print out templates for you and your kids to construct together.
Ask your kids to identify different polyhedrons around your home. For example, do you know which polyhedron a classic black and white soccer ball resembles?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : vocabulary , Math : geometry , shapes
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : investigation , part-whole relationships
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : July 12, 2012
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Oleh Yudin
- Version : 1.2
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 3.2 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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