A number of startups have been trying their hand at subscription-based children’s books services, or something like a “Netflix for kids’ books,” so to speak. Today, another entry called Zoobean joins the flock, with the debut of its own handpicked catalog which parents can either subscribe to, or choose to just shop online like a standard e-commerce website. The company was co-founded by Jordan Llyod Bookey, Google’s head of K-12 Education Outreach, and her husband Felix Brandon Lloyd, who is a former Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year. Like the founders of similar services in this space, including the recently launched Sproutkin and The Little Book Club, for example, the founders are also parents themselves. “About a year ago, when our daughter was born, we were looking for a book for our son that would help him understand what it would mean to be a big brother. And in this particular case – we’re a multi-racial family – we were looking for something that might have kids that more resembled our family,” explains Lloyd. That challenge proved harder than they thought. The parents wanted a way to find a recommended book that matches their interests, but one they knew was also quality reading. So they built Zoobean to address this problem. The site, at launch, has nearly 1,500 books for sale, all of which are parent-recommended, curated by a team of parents, teachers, librarians and others, and which are cataloged more extensively with topics, characters’ backgrounds, recommended ages, keyword tags, and more. That way, when a parent is looking for a specific book on a topic, they can click to see all those that address that topic – like “self-esteem,” “anger and frustration,” or “growing up,” for example, as well as find books that match their own family structure and characteristics (e.g. “brother & sister,” “mother & child,” “black,” “Chinese Americans,” etc.) The site will directly sell five featured items per month centered around a theme, and one of these will be available through an optional subscription. Subscribers pay $ 14.95 for the featured book of the month, a high-quality, hardcover. However, the majority of the cataloged books on Zoobean are being sold through affiliates like Amazon. Zoobean also offers a weekly reading guide for parents detailing the books in its featured collection along with activities parent and child can do together to learn more about the topic. Though when the founders were speaking of their
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Tag Archives: kids
Zoobean Grabs $500K From Kapor Capital & Others For Its Handpicked Kids’ Books Subscription Service & Online Shop
Spoiler Alert: Smart Kids Become Successful Adults
itwbennett writes “Researchers from the University of Edinburgh set out to test the long-held assumption that kids who performed well in school at a young age carried that early success through to adulthood. And prove it they did! Specifically, ‘Math and reading ability at age 7 may be linked with socioeconomic status several decades later.’ Early success even correlates ‘over and above associations with intelligence, education, and socioeconomic status in childhood.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Yes, you’ve chased your kids off Facebook—here’s where they went
For young students, a C# coding workshop for kids
As the need for mobile apps developers increases and interest in computer science courses wanes, professional educator-programmers are reaching out to a younger generation of potential coders: students as young as 10.
Computerworld News
Roku’s PBS, PBS Kids channels go live, stream full episodes
The new channels will stream full episodes of popular shows like “NOVA”, “Austin City Limits” and “Curious George”. [Read more]
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No Longer Just For Kids, Online Consignment Shop ThredUP Expands Into Women’s Apparel
ThredUP, the online children’s clothes consignment shop, is today launching into a new vertical with the debut of a store for women’s secondhand clothing. The move, which puts the service up against competitors like Poshmark and Threadflip, follows its expansion into junior clothing announced at the beginning of the year. The women’s site had previously launched into beta in February, allowing customers to send in their clothes to resell, but had not yet opened its doors to shoppers. At the time, ThredUP said that the decision to launch into beta had to do with the complexities of women’s clothing sizes and other inventory management hurdles, but of course, the store also needed the time to solicit merchandise from customers. As with its efforts in the children’s clothing space, the new women’s store works the same: users request a “clean out” bag, which is shipped for free and can be filled with the unwanted, but good quality, clothing, then returned (postage paid) back to ThredUP. The clothes are checked to see if they meet the company’s standards, photographed, and placed online for sale. Sellers receive somewhere between 10 percent and 40 percent of the resell price, depending on the clothing’s quality. Though now ThredUP is moving into the women’s vertical, its business model makes it different from the peer-to-peer secondhand marketplaces, like Poshmark, Threadflip, Twice, and others, since users aren’t selling their closet contents directly to each other. This makes it less profitable for sellers, but it also eliminates the hassles involved with selling on your own. In the kids’ clothes space, where parents are often quickly overwhelmed with outgrown clothing and are grateful for anyone to take these items off their hands, ThredUP makes a lot of sense. With women’s clothing, it may be more tricky as those who think their gently used clothes are worth selling, as opposed to donating, are generally hoping to make a little money. And for that reason, they might choose to remain on those peer-to-peer sites, where commissions paid are generally only around 20 percent, allowing them to keep the 80 percent. As you can see in the chart below, these companies are already solid competitors for ThredUP: ThredUP has been growing since it refocused its efforts on consigning over clothing swap over a year ago, and now reports 500,000 registered users, 970 percent growth in item sales from February 2012 to March 2013,
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Wonderville Launches An Interactive Content Library And Virtual Classroom Network For Kids
Last July, a group of veteran executives from eToys, eBay, Sesame Street, Discovery and Disney unveiled their ambitious plan to create a souped-up Khan Academy for kids. But rather than a straightforward port, the learning platform, called Wonderville, aimed to expand on Khan’s approach to the “flipped classroom” by aggregating educational content from a variety of third-party sources.
Kids’ iPad Magazine Timbuktu Rethinks Its Tricky In-App Purchasing Model, Releases A More Parent-Friendly App
Timbuktu, an adorably designed educational and entertainment-focused iPad app for kids, has finally revamped its business model – a model which had previously been a terrible example of how children’s apps too often try to grow their revenue by tricking kids into purchasing in-app content. The company now admits that its virtual allowance mechanism was too misleading, and has moved forward with a much simpler subscription option. The new app is worth the download.
Localized (Visual) Programming Language For Kids?
First time accepted submitter jimshatt writes “I want my kids to play around with programming languages. To teach them basic concepts like loops and subroutines and the likes. My 8-year-old daughter in particular. I’ve tried Scratch and some other visual languages, but I think she might be turned off by the English language. Having to learn English as well as a programming language at the same time might be just a little too much. I’d really like to have a programming language that is easy to learn, and localized or localizable. Preferably cross-platform, or browser-based, so she can show her work at school (Windows) as well as work on in at home (Debian Linux). By the way, she speaks Dutch and Danish, so preferably one of those languages (but if it’s localizable I can translate it myself). Any suggestions?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Backed By Greylock’s Reid Hoffman, Recurious Launches As A Game Development Platform For Curious Kids
Recurious, a new game development platform that aims to help kids rediscover their curiosity, is announcing $ 1.5 million in funding led by Greylock Partners (Reid Hoffman).
TechCrunch
Adafruit Launches Educational Show Aimed At Kids
anavictoriasaavedra writes “Adafruit Industries just posted the first episode in a new educational series aimed at teaching kids about electronics. The episode is entitled ‘A is for Ampere’ and teaches the basic theory behind electrical current. The subject seems like a common one for A-to-Z themed electrical tutorials. And yes, that’s Collin Cunnigham as André-Marie Ampère.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
MiiPC Android-powered PC aims at kids
One of the big problems that parents face when their kids reach the age where they’re ready to go online is how to prevent their kids from accessing content that’s inappropriate for their age. The founder of computer maker eMachines has a new computer seeking funding via Kickstarter called the MiiPC. The big feature of
Backed By Kickstarter And Full Of Tech Cameos, ‘The Startup Kids’ Movie Debuts On iTunes
From an economic perspective, the fall of 2008 brought dark days all over the world. But one of the hardest-hit places was Iceland, the Nordic European country whose entire financial system went into a deep freeze after a rapid and systemic collapse of its banking system.
But two young Icelandic entrepreneurs Vala Halldorsdottir and Sesselja Vilhjalmsdottir found a silver lining in the situation. With an absence of traditional job prospects, the two young women decided shortly after the 2008 economy crash to start their own boardgames company — and it turned out to be a big success. After that, they were motivated to spread the word about entrepreneurship to more people by making a documentary film about startup life.
TechCrunch
BBC Kids TV comes to Lovefilm
If you need something to keep the shorties quiet while you’re emptying the drinks cabinet, then Lovefilm is where you need to be. The Amazon-owned streaming service has nabbed a big chunk of the BBC’s kids TV output, including The Sarah Jane Adventures, Tracey Beaker, Balamory and, yes, even Teletubbies. The episodes haven’t found their way into the instant service just yet, but we can’t imagine it’ll keep you waiting too long. If, like Laa-Laa and Po, you prefer everything to be said twice, you can check out the press release below.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD
Youth App Maker TabTale Buys Kids Games Club For $3-4M, Preps New Buying Club Model
The market for children’s and educational apps continues to grow — evidenced by Apple last week announcing 1 billion downloads of educational apps from iTunes U — and that growth is leading to both consolidation and new business models. In one of the latest developments, TabTale, a publisher of children’s and family apps, has bought Kids Games Club, maker of apps like “Paint Sparkles” (a favorite of my kids), in a deal that TechCrunch understands was in the region $ 3 million – $ 4 million. Together, the two Israel-based companies have produced nearly 200 apps, covering close to 100 million downloads. That makes it one of the bigger publishers of youth/family apps around, says TabTale CEO Sagi Schliesser.
Watch Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, & Others In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code
Code.org, the new non-profit aimed at encouraging computer science education launched last month by entrepreneur and investor brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi, has assembled an all-star group of the world’s most well-known and successful folks with programming skills to talk about how learning to code has changed their lives — and isn’t quite as hard as people might think. As you can see in the five minute embedded above, the short film (nine minutes in its full length version) which was directed by Lesley Chilcott, known as the producer of Waiting for Superman and An Inconvenient Truth, is a who’s who featuring Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, Drew Houston, Tony Hsieh, Miami Heat player Chris Bosh (he studied programming in college), and many more. It’s a very human look at what can certainly seem to many as a dry or intimidating subject, and it’s really a pleasure to watch. The watchability is key, Hadi Partovi told me in a phone call this past week, because the purpose of the film is to appeal to the mainstream and particularly young people. It’s an important grassroots start on a very big problem. Partovi said that Code.org sees the first step here as simply raising awareness. “Enrollment rates in programming classes are low, but what is worse is that schools aren’t even teaching it, even though this is the fastest growing segment of jobs in the country,” Partovi said, adding that nine out of ten U.S. schools don’t offer computer programming classes at all — and those that do often treat it as an elective that doesn’t count toward graduation, the same as, say woodworking. Indeed, he pointed to figures (which are represented in the accompanying graphic and more on the Code.org site) that show the massive gap between the number of available programming jobs and the people graduating from American schools with the skills to actually do them — a hiring problem of which most people in the tech industry are painfully aware. And filling in that gap of 1 million jobs could add as much as $ 500 billion to the U.S. economy — a fiscal cliff-sized number. Partovi put it like this: “It’s a big issue for our country. We’re trying to use immigration reform to help solve the problem, and that’s important, but the long-term fix really is that we should teach more people these skills.” So what can
TechCrunch
With $2M From Zynga Co-founder & More, Sokikom Wants To Use Social, MMO Gaming To Help Kids Learn Math
Sokikom, a new startup that wants to help K-12 teachers motivate students to learn using games, is announcing today that it has raised $ 2 million in seed funding, half of which comes in the form of a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (a research branch within the U.S. Department of Education) and the other half comes in the form of angel funding from former Intel Chairman and CEO Dr. Craig Barrett and Zynga co-founder Steve Schoettler, among others.
TechCrunch
Half of Facebook parents joined to spy on kids?
You think half those adults on Facebook are there because they love Facebook? No, no. These are merely parents engaged in covert operations. [Read more]
CNET News
Facebook Prevents Perverts From Graph Searching For Kids
Facebook has coded some special rules into Graph Search to make sure shady adults can’t stalk minors. Today Facebook clarified that searches that could identify kids under 18 by age or location won’t return any results for adults.
TechCrunch
Box Of Awesome Is Like A Free Birchbox For Kids Stuffed Full Of Games, Books, Music, And More
Serial games entrepreneur and sometimes angel investor Dylan Collins has a new project, which he no doubt describes as “awesome”. Aiming to help solve the discovery problem faced by physical and digital products targeting the fickle market that is kids, the aptly named Box Of Awesome is like a free Birchbox for 13-14 year-old children, stuffed with games, music, books, and other kid-friendly stuff. The draw for brands who pay for space in each bi-monthly box is the opportunity to be discovered by influencers in that hard to reach demographic.
Internet-Deprived Kids Turning To ‘McLibraries’
theodp writes “After the school computer lab and public library close for the night in many communities, the local McDonald’s is often the only place to turn for students without internet access at home. ‘Cheap smartphones and tablets have put Web-ready technology into more hands than ever,’ reports the WSJ’s Anton Troianovski. ‘But the price of Internet connectivity hasn’t come down nearly as quickly. And in many rural areas, high-speed Internet through traditional phone lines simply isn’t available at any price. The result is a divide between families that have broadband constantly available on their home computers and phones, and those that have to plan their days around visits to free sources of Internet access.’ The FCC says it can make broadband available to all Americans by spending $ 45 billion over 10 years, but until then the U.S. will have to rely on Mickey D’s, Starbucks, and others to help address its digital divide. Time to update that iconic McDonald’s sign?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iStroll Kid iPad holder connects to a stroller letting kids communicate, play, and learn
Children love technology, especially tablets such as the iPad. The huge number of educational and entertainment apps available for kids on the Apple iPad means that parents can give their kids an early start on learning all sorts of important information while the kid thinks they’re playing games. The problem for parents is that children
The Creator Of Scratch Talks About Technical Literacy, Coding, And Smarter Kids
Mitch Resnik, the creator of the super-simple Scratch programming language and head of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, gave a TEDx talk about the value of coding and computer literacy in early education. He posits that while today’s students are technically competent, they are consumers of technology rather than creators. It’s as if they can only read and not write.
Doodle 4 Google 2013 challenges kids to dream big, describe their best day (video)
Google loves inspiring kids to go wild with ideas in its annual Doodle 4 Google competition, and that tradition is carrying on for 2013. This year’s just-started drawing exhibition asks American kids to visualize what they imagine would be their best day ever — no mean feat, as you’ll see in the video after the break. The K-12 student who wins on the national level may find all that daydreaming worth the effort, however, as the top prizes are about as grand as they were for 2012. Along with seeing their drawing become the homepage doodle for a day, the top-ranking child gets a $ 50,000 technology grant for their current school, a $ 30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook and a Wacom tablet to foster that now-obvious creative talent. Budding young artists need to get their entries to Google’s real or virtual doorsteps by March 22nd; we have a hunch the winner’s best day ever will be May 23rd, when millions of searchers will catch a glimpse of that early magnum opus.
Continue reading Doodle 4 Google 2013 challenges kids to dream big, describe their best day (video)
Via: SlashGear
Source: Doodle 4 Google
Ask Slashdot: Keeping Your Media Library Safe From Kids?
Serenissima writes “I’ve spent many hours building my Media Library in XBMC and scraping all the DVD Covers and Fanart. And I love it, I can pull up movies on any computer or device in the house. I played a movie for my son the other day so I could get some cleaning done without him being underfoot. I noticed shortly after that the sound coming from the other room was from a different movie than I played for him. I snuck up and watched for a few minutes and saw him use a trackpad to navigate to the stop and play buttons of different movies in his folder. I know it’s only a matter of time before he realizes he can see all of the movies. I don’t want him to have nightmares because he saw the T-1000 stab someone in the face. The quickest solution I can think is a screen saver with a password. It’s mildly inconvenient to me, but would stop him from accessing anything. However, I remember how much more I knew about computers than my parents when I was a kid, and I have a feeling he’s going to surprise me one day. There’s a lot of ways out there to stop it, the way we do it now is to not let him watch anything unless we’re there (but there are only so many times I can watch the same kid’s movie). How do YOU guys find yourself dealing with the convenience of running your own server while keeping your media safe from prying eyes?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Adafruit’s Circuit Playground show to teach kids about electronics with cute components
Adafruit already welcomes newcomers to do-it-yourself device culture, but it still assumes a certain amount of comfort with coding and soldering. The shop now wants to accommodate the most basic of beginners by starting a children’s web series that teaches electronics. Circuit Playground will provide activities, songs and stories that put a friendly face on engineering, in some ways very directly: many of the shows will involve big-eyed characters (and, naturally, corresponding toys) like Cappy the Capacitor. Although the series doesn’t start until March, it could be vital to a generation of kids growing up immersed in technology — and ultimately create a larger customer base for Adafruit in the process.
Via: The Verge
Source: Wired
Top Japanese Messaging App Line Adds Kids Apps To Its Growing Product Roster
Japan’s top smartphone messaging app, Line, which reaches about a third of that country’s mobile phone users, just announced the release of Line Kids (link via Google Translate), for children aged six and younger. Line Kids is currently available only in Japan, and developer NHN Japan says it does not currently have plans to release it outside of the country. But, as Kim-Mai Cutler noted in a November profile of Line, the app has the potential to become a very important messaging player throughout the world, and marketing to families and children will help it increase its already large user base.
Ask Slashdot: Android Apps For Kids Under 12 Months?
An anonymous reader writes “My kid seems incredibly interested in my Android tablet, but I’m not too comfortable with letting her play with my browser. I’ve been hunting the app store for apps that I could let my kid play around with, but haven’t found much. It seems like most apps are targeted for slightly older kids and are trying to teach them words, math or whatnot. Has anyone found any cool apps for approximately 6-month-old children? I’m mostly looking for something that makes funny noises or where you just have to e.g. track moving objects on the screen.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Backed Or Whacked: Kids Projects Put The ‘Fun’ In Crowdfunding
Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research and blogs at Techspressive.
‘Tis the season when our thoughts often turn to the wee ones in our lives, and that has certainly been on the minds of some crowdfunding project owners and backers.
TechCrunch
Raspberry Pi Gets Own App Store: One-Stop-Shop To Make It Even Easier For Kids To Get Coding — And Earn Pocket Money From Apps
The not-for-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched an app store for the $ 25 mini computer — called the Pi Store — to “make it easier for developers of all ages to share their games, applications, tools and tutorials with the rest of the community”. The Pi mini computer was designed with the mission to get more kids learning to code.
TechCrunch
Sensor system gives disabled kids second shot at tablets
Researchers at Georgia Tech come up with a solution for making tablets more accessible to children with orthopedic disabilities and neurological disorders that impair motor skills. [Read more]
CNET News
FTC: Apple and Google need to improve privacy protection in kids’ apps
Having investigated 400 randomly chosen kids’ apps, the FTC has noted that almost 60 percent of them were transmitting sensitive device information to developers, advertisers or analytics firms. The report points the finger at the app makers and the lack of information given on privacy and interactive features of their wares, with the majority not disclosing the information shared in the app description.
Focusing on Apple and Google apps, only 20 percent of those surveyed disclosed any data collection that might occur — data that often included the location, phone numbers and device IDs of whatever the little tykes were playing on. It’s the second such survey from the FTC, which deems the results “disappointing” since hardly any progress has been made since the commission first noted this stealth sharing issue. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, “All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job.” In short, the FTC wants Apple and Google to get more involved in policing these apps, and it’s been pressing that point for quite some time already.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Apple, Google
Via: Apple Insider
Source: Mobile Apps for Kids (PDF)
FTC re-slams apps for kids over privacy concerns
In a follow up to a 2011 study, the Federal Trade Commission found that “little or no progress has been made” on disclosure of information gathering since the first report was issued. [Read more]
CNET News
Kids Grow Up So Fast, But Spruceling Makes Dressing Them Much Easier
If you have kids, you know this situation all too well. You buy your toddler an adorable sweater khaki combo that they grow out of almost immediately, and it’s back to the drawing board. But Spruceling, a Dreamit Ventures-backed company, is launching publicly today to disrupt the way parents shop for their children’s clothing.
Spruceling is an open marketplace that lets parents trade in their kids’ clothes once they don’t fit any more, naming their own price for the gently-used goods. Parents can also shop on the site, which is focused on the ages of 1 to 10 years old.
TechCrunch
Minecraft Raspberry Pi Edition To Help Kids Learn To Code While They Build
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is on a mission to get more kids to learn to code — and what better way to get children excited about the power of programming than by involving virtual block-builder game Minecraft? The Foundation is aiming to release a free version of Minecraft: Pi Edition by the end of the year which will allow kids to use text commands to control the world.
TechCrunch
Ask Slashdot: Math and Science iOS Apps For Young Kids?
Oyjord writes “I have a very smart and curious 3-year-old daughter. Before anyone tries to derail my query, yes, we get a lot of play time outside with soccer and baseballs, and inside with blocks, Hot Wheels, PlayDoh, etc. However, on the rare occasion that we do sit down with my iPad, I’d like to solicit recommendations for good Math and Science apps for kids. There are hundreds of horribly gender-biased baking apps and Barbie apps for young girls, but they turn my stomach. She has a wonderfully curious mind, and really likes SkyView already, but I feel lost in a sea of pink and Hello Kitty apps.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Crave giveaway: Vinci Tab II tablet for kids
Parents and children alike will be thankful for this week’s prize, a fun and educational Wi-Fi-enabled Android tablet for the kiddie crowd. [Read more]
CNET News
Ask Slashdot: Best Console For the Kids This Holiday?
First time accepted submitter undulato writes “I’ve got an aging, fat PS3 with only a couple of games that I still play on it but three kids under 9 who love Skylanders, iPet, Lego whatever etc. We all watch movies on it and it has been pretty much the centre of our entertainment world for a few years now. I’ve already got a spare HDMI monitor we could use for a screen so my question is — should we go for a new console this Christmas? Just buy another controller or two and a new game or two for PS3 and be done? Or get the still pretty viable Xbox 360, or even plump for a cheap Wii or even a Wii U if we’re feeling flush. What do you think?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
More American Kids Than Ever Clamor For iPhones And iPads This Holiday Season
Chance are, if you ask a kid in the U.S. what they want to find under the tree (or holiday symbol of your choosing) this year, they’ll ask for an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or iPad mini. Those devices occupied four of the top five spots on Nielsen’s annual holiday shopping study among kids aged 6 to 12, which tracks interest in consumer buying habits over the next six months.
Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video)
It’s an Arduino — you know, for kids. Or, as BirdBrain Technologies’ chief robot design Tom Lauwers put it, a “pre-Arduino.” It’s never too early to get kids into robot building — or so goes the thought process behind this nectar-loving kit. At its center is a custom controller that can be used to manipulate a slew of different sensors, motors and lights, a number of which are included in the box. Getting started is extremely simple — don’t believe us? Check the video after the break, in which Lauwers connects two wires to get the whole process underway.
The kit’s also reasonably priced at $ 199 a piece. On top of the controller, you get a handful of LEDs, two vibration motors, four servos and light, temperature, distance and sound sensors. The kits are currently available through the company’s site (click on that source link). Lauwers tells us that his company (which you may remember from last year’s MakerFaire NYC) is working on a slightly more affordable option priced at around $ 130, which scales back a bit on the in-box components.
Check out a conversation with Lauwers — and a pretty awesome cardboard dragon — below.
Continue reading Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video)
Filed under: Robots
Hummingbird is a ‘pre-Arduino’ for kids (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Nintendo Wii U: Made For Kids, By Kids
Foxconn admitted this week to hiring underage interns at its Yantai plant in China. Many assumed the Yantai plant has some association to the production of Apple products, but in reality Nintendo’s Wii U gaming console is undergoing testing there.
As many as 56 kids were working at the plant, some as young as 14; Chinese law maintains that workers must be at least 16. It’s ironic, in a really sad way.
Ask Slashdot: Best Book Or Game To Introduce Kids To Programming?
New submitter connorblack writes “My very gifted nephew is about to turn nine this month and I would love to get him some sort of fun, engaging book or game to introduce him to the basic concepts of programming. I have a feeling if approached correctly he would absolutely devour the subject (he is already working through mathematics at an 8th grade level). What I first was looking at were the Lego Mindstorm programmable robots- which would have been perfect, if only they weren’t around 300 dollars… So if there’s anything similar (or completely new!) you’ve either heard praise about or used yourself with your kids, it would be great to get a recommendation. Also if possible I would want to stick to an under 100 dollar budget.”
Would a nine year old be able to follow The Little Schemer?
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
How NQ Mobile’s Family Guardian will protect your kids
The Android app can access all mobile activity on a smartphone. Bad news for kids, but good for parents. [Read more]
CNET News
Ask Slashdot: Best Linux Game For Young Kids?
First time accepted submitter pseudorand writes “I have a 3 year old that I’ve so far kept away from TV and computers. I met a gamer who has a 1 year old that plays xbox (probably better than I do). I believe kids should experience the real world first, but computers will obviously be a basic job still for the foreseeable future and I’m afraid I’m letting my kid fall behind. I’d like to responsibly introduce my son to computers so he can start developing hard-eye coordination, typing skills and learning UI concepts. What’s the best (Linux, of course) game to get a kid started with? Shoot-em-up’s are obviously out, but I’m more concerned with something that will help him understand how to interact with a mouse, keyboard and screen and hold his attention rather than something ‘educational’ because there’s plenty of (probably more effective) ways to teach math, reading, etc. that don’t involve a computer. So far I’ve tried Tux Racer, which held his attention for 10 minutes or so. He doesn’t quite get pressing multiple keys simultaneously yet.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The New VC Kids On The Block Helping Europe’s Startups To Pick Up The Pace
In dribs and drabs, the European venture capital scene has started to look gradually more like it will develop a broader range of VCs than in the past. True, the majority of European VC funds have not performed well, but I’m not here to talk about the incumbents but more the new breed, which are talking cues from their American cousins in looking for businesses with potential. Time and again the continuous charge has been that Europpean VCs look only for revenues first rather than product or user traction. This new breed of European VC is at least as interested in product and more interested in building companies which can scale – rather than ones which might make tidy businesses they can, for example, sell to a European telco for pennines. And that’s only to be welcomed.
TechCrunch
Dancing Chairs and 3-D Puppets Will Make Kids Love the Kinect
Russian Officials Consider Ban On W-iFi Use For Kids
dsinc writes that Russia’s “Communications and Press Ministry has proposed banning children from using Wi-Fi networks in public, potentially making cafes, restaurants and other locations providing the service responsible for enforcing the law. An official with the ministry’s Federal Mass Media Inspection Service, known as Roskomnadzor, said the ban should apply to people under 18 years old. Locations providing Wi-Fi access would be held legally responsible for implementing the rule, and failing to meet the proposed measure would result in a fine ranging from 20,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles ($ 640 to $ 1,600), Vedomosti reported Thursday.” The law, ostensibly to “shield” children, would apply to a fairly broad definition of child — anyone under 18.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Funtab Pro Android tablet is just for kids
Any parent who has a tablet or smartphone knows that kids love to play with gadgets. Gadgets, like tablets, are very interesting to children and there are lots of apps and other content available that you can run on a tablet to help kids learn while they’re having fun. The problem for most parents is
Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $150, gives kids a safe, exclamation-filled place to play
For all the enthusiasm Oregon Scientific put into launching (and naming) its MEEP! tablet, the company has been a bit timid about getting the kid-friendly Android device into the market — we’re just seeing it go on sale eight months after it was first shown to the world. Now that the slate is here, it may be worth the patience from parents. The 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 chip, 512MB of RAM, 800 x 480 screen and 4GB of storage won’t have the adults regretting their Kindle Fire purchases, but the MEEP! does come in a smash-resistant form with remote parental control and an allowance-based store that lets kids ‘buy’ apps with virtual coins. Oregon helps its case through the use of Ice Cream Sandwich, preloaded games like Angry Birds and a raft of accessories for games and music. The $ 150 asking price is just low enough that we can see a few families starting their youngest technophiles on a MEEP! before graduating them to bigger, badder tablets with less punctuation in the name.
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Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $ 150, gives kids a safe, exclamation-filled place to play originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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