Pines to Vines - The Forest Biome
By Debbie Gorrell,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Amazing digital textbook brings forests to kids' fingertips.
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Pines to Vines - The Forest Biome
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What’s It About?
Home page options include Read, Map, Media, and Tests. In Read, kids are taken to the reading pane, where text appears on the left side of the screen. After creating a digital bookmark that tracks reading progress, kids swipe to read text. As various keywords pass through an arrow in the middle of the reading pane, supporting media appear on the right. Kids can tap green keywords to trigger the visual support and purple keywords to see and hear word definitions. Kids also can highlight text and create notes as they read. In the Map feature, kids can rotate a globe to see the locations of different forest biomes and tap on icons to learn more. In the Media feature, kids can tap to view the media that appears within the chapters, including photos and videos. Kids also can tap to use the interactive glossary, read the app manual, create notes, and view teacher resources. In the Tests feature, kids can access chapter tests, create custom tests, and choose a reading level for each test. When finished, kids can email their tests directly to the address entered on the app as "Teacher Email."
Is It Any Good?
PINES TO VINES – THE FOREST BIOME is an incredibly thorough digital textbook that supports a wide variety of learning styles and abilities. Features such as text highlighting, text to speech, note-taking, chapter tests, and interactive media create an engaging, well-rounded learning experience. Kids will enjoy scrolling through the text, tapping on words and images, watching the videos, and recording their voices within the glossary.
Some of the cartoon videos are a bit unusual and do not add much to the science content, but this certainly does not take away from the multitude and depth of the other videos and digital resources offered. An interactive map of forest biomes, a photo gallery, chapter tests, a glossary, a handful of videos, and a Dropbox sync option make Pines to Vines worth the hefty price tag for kids who want to learn about forests. Because there are so many learning options and features, parents may want to offer some guidance to get kids started.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Pines to Vines compares to a more traditional textbook. What are some pros and cons of each experience?
Read together, and encourage kids to take notes about concepts they find most interesting.
Users may benefit from spending some time reviewing the manual (accessible within the app) and practicing some of the features such as highlighting and note-taking before fully diving into the content.
App Details
- Device: iPad
- Subjects: Science : animals, biology, ecosystems and the environment, plants
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : applying information, asking questions, memorization
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: October 26, 2013
- Category: Education
- Publisher: Mobile Education Store LLC
- Version: 1.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.1 or later
- Last updated: August 17, 2016
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