Early Jamestown history app review

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Josh

I was thrilled to discover this app about Jamestown since we are studying American history this year. The app appears to come from Colonial Williamsburg because there are several videos that look like something that you would see at a museum. There are only a handful of History apps that are available so it was a welcome surprise to come across a free history app! The Early Jamestown app is a good quality free History app! There are pictures and videos throughout the app. The app is similar to an interactive iBook. The app goes through the history of Jamestown in chronological order.

Apparently the app only includes chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Maybe more will be added later as paid content but the app appears to cover most of the important stages of the early Jamestown history. There is discussion about the conflict with the Indians and other issues that early Jamestown colony encountered. The pictures are good and the videos are professional. The only issue I had was with the videos. The video window is so small that you always need to expand while playing. It would be nice if they automatically expand when you watch them.

On my iPad the Early Jamestown app is one the the best apps for homeschooling especially since its Free!

App review: Britannica Kids

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Josh

Britannica Kids App Review

There are several similar apps from Britannica that focus on history. I was able to buy the Egypt app and the Aztec App when it was on sale for $0.99. Here is my review of the Britannica Kids apps.

The App has a navigation wheel at the bottom. You touch the arrow and the wheel pops up so you can select the different parts of the app.

There are several games based on pictures. There is a puzzle and there is a picture covered with sand that you can dust off to view the picture. You are supposed to guess the picture but I doubt my kids will do that. There is also a memory game and a magic square puzzle.

There are many pictures but I was a little disappointed that there were only two videos. I have used the pictures several time when we were studying Egypt. There are actual pictures of the modern landmarks and historical sites that you can see today. There are also several ancient pictures of art from that time period.

There are different articles that describe different aspects of life in the Egypt or Aztec culture. There is a list of the gods. You can click on a god and a description tells you more about that Egyptian or Aztec god.

There is a map that shows the location of some of the landmarks along with pictures. When you click on the location the picture is displayed.

The Britannica apps are nice and informative but I’m afraid in the highly interactive day we live in the app may not interest very many children. When my children are given the iPad I seldom see them pull up the Britannica apps. There are just too many other interesting educational apps that they want to “play”. Normally the app is $4.99 but if it goes on sale it would be a good reference tool for when you are teaching about the different subjects.
Update:
Apparently I was wrong about my kids using the Britannica app on their own. I just downloaded the Britannica Ancient Rome app and my ten year old son picked it up on his own. Maybe it’s the Roman soldier but my son really likes the Britannica Ancient Rome app.

Click on the pictures below for app screen shots.