U.S. Geography by Discovery Education

Review

Common Sense Media says

Learn about terrain, culture, climate, and so much more.
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
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that U.S. Geography by Discovery Education is a fact-filled app that teaches and tests geography and culture facts for different regions of the United States. Kids read information and watch videos about each region and then complete activities and challenges. Activities aren't timed, but challenges are. The app keeps track of kids' progress, giving them the option to post scores on a parent's Facebook account. In addition, the app provides access to recent and timely Discovery news stories and video segments. News story categories include Earth, dinosaurs, and archeology, and the videos show a wide variety of topics; each video is
a minute or two long. The app also awards kids a medallion each day they answer enough activity questions. An iPad-only edition is also available.

  • Ease of use4
    Multiple difficulty levels, room for many different profiles, and a clear interface combine to make this app easy to use. There are a large number of options within the app, so it may take some time for kids to discover them all.
  • Violence0
    Not applicable.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism2
    Other apps by Discovery Channel-related groups are listed under the Featured option on the main screen. Tapping on the apps gives takes you to the iTunes App Store.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
  • Privacy & safety3
    Some privacy concerns. Kids can connect to a parent's Facebook profile (or their own) to have the app automatically post quiz scores; they can also share information about the app via Twitter, Facebook, or email. To share their scores with friends, kids can sign up for the Explorer
    Club with a user ID, password, and their parent's email address. They
    can then add friends' user IDs to their list of friends and compare
    their achievements. The app also asks if kids
    want to sign up for app update information, asking for a name and email
    address. The app tracks location. Finally, reading news in the Featured section may take kids to a web page from which they can navigate to other parts of the web.
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Is it any good?

 

U.S. GEOGRAPHY BY DISCOVERY EDUCATION is an excellent example of an education app for kids. It has a fun interface with plenty of facts to learn about states and regions, and then tests kids' knowledge through quizzes and activities. Quiz difficulty increases as kids complete more sections, and they earn medallions and increase their level the more they play. The questions asked tend to be repeated, but this repetition helps solidify kids' geography knowledge.

The fact that the videos and news stories are updated means that this app will always have something new to offer kids, even once they've completed all of the geography challenges. Because of these extra features, the app isn't strictly geography-based, but it does offer news and information that will appeal to people interested in geography.

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This review was written by Jenny Williams

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This review was written by Jenny Williams
Category:Education
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$4.99
Publisher:Phunware Inc.
Version:1.13
Release date:February 24, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 3.1.2 or later
This review was written by Jenny Williams

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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.
Learning ratings
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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