Let’s take a closer look at the educational application Wheels on the Bus from Duck Duck Moose, which is available for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The application is currently on sale for 99 cents, but is regularly $2.99.

DESCRIPTION:

Wheels on the Bus is an interactive musical book for iPhone and iPod Touch, based on the familiar children’s song. Children can listen, sing and read along to the popular tune. The song contains eight different verses that allow children to touch and move objects and characters on every page. FORWARD ad BACK buttons are provided for easy navigation between each page and verse. Occasionally, children will discover fun surprises and sounds by touching an object on a page. Users can spin the wheels, open and close the doors, swish the wipers, make a dog bark and my favorite, pop some bubbles.

The Wheels on the Bus app allows you to access a musical preferences settings panel. In this panel, users can toggle between a variety of options. You can choose to listen to the book in five different languages or select from a variety of orchestra instruments such as the piano, violin, and cello. Additionally, Wheels on the Bus allows kids and parents to become the star of the book themselves by recording their own custom audio segments. This Recording feature is available for iPhone and 2nd generation iPod touch devices that are equipped with an external microphone.

REPORT CARD:

I find that Wheels on the Bus is most appropriate for early learners in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. For Program functionality I give Wheels on the Bus an A-. I feel that the program has an easy to navigate interface for core functionality. Visual cues are provided which help scaffold the user’s understanding of how to locate and activate interactive content. There is a lot of flexibility for users when you access the Music Preferences panel.

For Purpose, I give Wheels on the Bus a B-. This app provides a unique way to allow early learners to encounter familiar stories in a new media type of format. Wheels on the Bus offers an authentic opportunity for preschoolers to recite poems and sing songs independent from teachers and classmates.

Overall, I give Wheels on the Bus a B for educational value. The application does provide a multi-modal approach that allows children to recognize and sing along with rhymes in familiar stories, poems and songs. It also provides early learners with the opportunity to learn to recognize the sounds of different instruments like the violin, cello, piano, and kazoo. While an instructional component is often lacking in the app, I see that there is potential for teachers to collect data if they utilize the self-recording feature of the application. This particular feature would easily allow a teacher to determine if students have been successful in reciting the story, poem or song.

I feel this app would be most appropriate for use at a listening center in the preschool or kindergarten classroom. It will require teacher or adult modeling of use for most early elementary students to operate successfully, especially if early learners are expected to record their own audio. At this time, I would recommend it for educational use and for parents to use at home with their child.

From IEAR.org:

Grade Level: Pre-Kindergarten / Kindergarten

Program Functionality: A-
Purpose: B-

Overall Educational Value: B

Cost: $0.99

Recommendation: We are recommending this app for personal use and moderately recommending this for schools at this time. Best use of this app might be in a learning center situation.

Creators Website: http://www.simpleapps.eu/simplemind

ITunes Link: Click Here

This app review is cross-posted at the I Education Apps Review website. A special thanks to Scott Meech for all the work he does to make iear.org a great resource for educators who are interested in taking a closer look at the educational value of ITouch / IPhone / IPods in the classroom.