Meet Science: Light and Sound
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Meet Science: Light and Sound
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Meet Science: Light and Sound is a science tool that teaches kids about light and sound through lessons, mini-games, and simple experiments. Cute characters appear throughout the lessons, making science more kid-friendly. Each lesson includes a brief quiz and suggestions for experiments to extend the lesson: Parents will need to help plan ahead to get required materials for the experiments. Kids can play mini-games or take timed quizzes to test their knowledge. A Parents Zone takes users to a listing of other apps for sale, but a multiplication problem must be solved to access this area.
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What’s It About?
Meet Science: Light and Sound has four exploration areas: Learn, Experiment, Glossary, and Mini Games. In Learn, kids can choose from six lessons covering topics with both text and voice-over speech. Each lesson page includes an animation that supports learning and ends with a brief quiz and links to experiment videos that relate to the lesson. The Experiment section lets kids directly access the experiments that appear at the ends of the lessons. The experiments are fairly simple, but some require materials such as polymer balls that might be hard to find, so planning ahead is essential. In Glossary, kids can tap to read and hear definitions. The glossary has a tab labeled "Aha" that contains a five-chapter dictionary, which connects light and sound science with everyday phenomena. In Mini Games, kids can choose from three games that challenge them to apply what they learned.
Is It Any Good?
MEET SCIENCE: LIGHT AND SOUND utilizes a variety of strategies for teaching and engaging kids. The lessons are filled with appropriate content and supporting graphics. It's helpful that each lesson is followed by a quiz to assess learning, but there are only three quiz questions. Kids do get immediate feedback, so they can learn and try again as needed. The experiments are fairly simple and include a summary page, a materials list, and an opportunity to make predictions about the experiments. Some of the experiments could use more details and guidance with the actual set-ups. The mini-games target concepts from the lessons, giving kids an opportunity to apply what they learned. Considering the price of the app, it would be nice to see a few more mini-games offered in a future free upgrade.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the behaviors of light and sound that they experience every day. When and where do kids see light reflected? When do they see shadows or feel sound vibrations?
Spend time preparing and conducting the experiments with kids. Have them predict the experiments' outcomes.
App Details
- Device: iPad
- Subjects: Science: physics
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: applying information, hypothesis-testing, investigation
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: February 24, 2015
- Category: Education
- Publisher: NCSOFT
- Version: 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.0 or later
- Last updated: July 28, 2016
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