Question Builder

Review

Common Sense Media says

App offers great practice with answering abstract questions.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Question Builder is a highly customizable app that asks kids to answer questions based on pictures. Parents can select the question type and the difficulty level -- low difficulty questions refer directly to the pictures, while high difficulty questions require abstract reasoning and strong use of context clues. Additional reinforcement in the form of text, audio, and highlighting can also be added, but relatively strong reading skills are required for kids to answer the questions. Correct answers must be chosen to move forward, and are reinforced with verbal praise and animations. Some of the animations might startle younger kids. Parents or teachers can create multiple profiles for numerous users. Statistics on kids' success answering different types and difficulties of questions can be viewed for each profile.

  • Ease of use4
    An info section has full explanations of the app for parents. In the settings, the user can create a profile and select the type of questions (why, where, how, what, or random) and whether to use color, text, and audio reinforcement. There are three difficulty levels based on how much abstract inference is required to answer the question (Level 1 questions directly relate to the picture shown) and how many answer choices are provided. When playing, students see a cartoon picture and hear a question related to that picture. They then select an answer from the multiple choices -- incorrect answers receive gentle encouragement to try again, and correct answers are reinforced with a celebratory animation. For each profile, statistics can be viewed for the question type and difficulty level. Some of the audio recordings have an echo, but it is still possible to hear.
  • Violence1
    A few of the pictures involve very mild violence, such as one fish eating another.
  • Sex0
    A few of the animations that follow correct answers are just a touch crass, such as a donkey shaking its butt while shouting "Oh Yeah!"
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism1
    Parents can provide an email to join the Parent Center and receive information about the app and other family activities, including age-targeted apps. There are also links to purchase other apps. There is a simple math problem to test whether users are parents before taking them to the store.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
  • Privacy & safety0
    Not applicable.
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Is it any good?

 

This is an excellent app for its stated purpose: to help kids learn to answer questions. The multiple difficulty levels make it very customizable for different ages, and the use of color, audio, and verbal reinforcement helps reach kids with different learning styles. While the animations can sometimes be a bit garish, kids will find them delightful. Unlike StoryBuilder, the stats from this app cannot be shared -- which limits it somewhat, but also means it's safer for kids. (This app also has more diversity in its cartoon characters than StoryBuilder!) At the higher difficulty levels, kids may need adults to understand why their answer is correct, because some answers require a lot of abstract inference.

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This review was written by Liz Panarelli

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This review was written by Liz Panarelli
Category:Education
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$3.99
Size:77.70 MB
Publisher:Mobile Education Tools
Version:1.7
Release date:January 7, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 3.1.3 or later
This review was written by Liz Panarelli

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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