Providing your child with the best possible skills and education always sounds good on paper, but as we parents know, the reality is always much harder to achieve. Experts are always feeding us information that seems gimmicky, or intuitive, or counter-intuitive; how can we know which method is more effective? I’ve taken the time to compare three flash card software products.
Prodigy Reader
The first program I found was called Prodigy Reader. This software was created by a company called Geenogee, for teaching your “baby, toddler, preschooler, kindergartener or grade school child” how to read. It uses a pre-set lesson plan that parents can use or customize as they see fit, with a 100-day limit to how far ahead you can plan. Other features include a “Gentle Select” function and Student Profiles so you can have multiple lesson plans going concurrently. The Gentle Select feature occurs every few lessons and rotates two of the words currently being taught on the screen, so you can find out whether your child has learnt the word by asking her which word on the screen is the one you are saying. I quite liked the lesson planning functions and the simple, clean interface was easy to pick up and use, but I felt like it could have done more with its interface by adding pictures or sounds. My son Jackson was also not particularly interested in the words without any accompanying pictures, and I found it difficult to make him sit through more than a couple of lessonettes (as Prodigy Reader calls them) at a time.
Little Reader
Where Prodigy Reader left off, Little Reader picks up and advances the concept. The software program is developed by BrillKids Inc. used to teach children from four months and up to read basic words or phrases. It uses slideshows to show words followed by corresponding pictures or videos, with the option of putting matching pronunciations and audio (a bear goes “Grrr!”) in. It comes with lots of word categories (the alphabet, animals, colors etc.) and also allows you to create your own. If you don’t like the default categories and don’t have time to make your own, Little Reader also offers an online library of free downloads that you can download and use straight away. As for the less tech-savvy moms out there, the software also includes video tutorials that walk you through just about every tool and function in the program. My son really enjoyed the Animals category, when there are animal sounds that go with the pictures! Overall this felt like a well-rounded program with a lot of potential for parents to really get involved with their child’s education.
ABC KID GENIUS
Finally, I looked at a program called ABC Kid Genius that aims to teach the alphabet, numbers (but not math), as well as reading and spelling of words and sentences. Created by Australian company Phase II, it comes with only a very few words, with the option to download an extra 33 words and one reading story. Graphically the program was not very impressive, with low resolution pictures and a very plain interface, but the running of the program was quite smooth and easy to understand. My favorite feature of the program was the spelling feature, where your child is encouraged to use the keyboard to spell words out - if he presses the wrong key, a cute chipmunk voice exclaims a variety of responses, such as “Oops! Try again!” However, the program does have its drawbacks, in that it only supports two playlists and is very limited in its customizability. Also, while there are also sound effects and voices for ABC Kid Genius, I must say I preferred the more upbeat and enthusiastic voices in Little Reader, as the female voice in this program sounded rather strict and monotonous.
So at the end of the day…
Of the three, I’m happy with Little Reader. Jackson loves it, although sometimes he gets distracted and wants to do other things, but mostly he just can’t look away from the screen. Compared to the other two programs, Little Reader just seems more versatile in what I want to do with it, and of course being able to download content makes planning lessons not only less work, but infinitely more fun. As far as flash card software goes, the people at BrillKids seem to have got it right!
M.F. is a stay at home mother.
Visit http://www.BrillKids.com/Little-Reader/index.php to learn more about this early reading program.
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