Mrs. Judd’s Games

The Educational Difference

mrsjudd — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:00:52 +0000

I recently gave a talk at my grad school, the inspiring Erikson Institute in Chicago, where I was asked to discuss development theory and designing apps for kids. Thought I would do something similar here:

How can Erik Erikson’s “Eight Stages of Human Development” be a good model for analyzing choices used in designing the best apps for kids? Without time/space here to detail the careful “push pull” of human dynamics that help one grow/develop, I can list 8 corresponding features of my work as an educational app developer that might help to explain our difference as company:

Erikson Terms:

1. Trust
We are careful in creating moments of intrigue, mystery, wonder or silliness in our digital play-words for kids, that also remain trustworthy and wholesome for children/families.

2. Autonomy
What is the optimal blend of ease, challenge, struggle and success within the gameplay of any programming that allows for optimal autonomy on the child’s part.

3. Initiative
When a child takes the initiative to enter new app play-worlds, solve new touchscreen challenges, initiate new connections with mom, dad, teachers, siblings, and friends…these are all foundational in one’s development, as well as being similar to other initiations achieved at home and school.

4. Industry
“Look what I made!” Proud moments when a child’s sense of industry leads to the creation of something personal, meaningful, helpful and unique are always part of our app design.

5. Identity
Apps such as Rhinomite, or the upcoming Pretend, are perfect examples of apps that let children truly play with identity and character in their app explorations.

6. Intimacy
The crucial parent/child bond that is critical in life is also foundational to our Juddly program that allows child and parent to reflect on app experiences, discuss them, and learn from them.

7. Generativity
Parents who have generated close knit families, and children who have generated heartfelt stories, artwork, photographs, or accomplishments want to share these with each other during their busy days.

8. Wisdom
The role of multi-generations and the power of a grandparent’s wisdom cannot be undersold in one’s life and one’s family and we are working to thoughtfully pull sharing with grandparents and extended family/friends into the Juddly experience. We are proud to have designed programming that keeps a parent at the administrative role of all sharing with extended family/friends.

Children’s Mag

mrsjudd — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:39:57 +0000

This is a sample review.

Mrs. Judd on appoLearning

mrsjudd — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:19:54 +0000

When Steve Gradman and I paired up as a parent/educator development team to create quality apps and connecting experiences for children and their families, we were partially compelled by the lack of organizing tools and educator voices to help parents select quality apps for their preschool and elementary aged children.

As we begin the process of welcoming other developers of high-quality non-violent apps, into the Juddly network of games that connect children to their families, we also want to welcome AppoLearning into the fold of helpful tools for families.

When I was first contacted by Brad Spirrison to be a contributor and reviewer for AppoLearning, I was excited about their plans. Sprirrison explains their process: “We collaborated with dozens of teachers, administrators, educational consultants and technology specialists to create the most comprehensive and detailed showcase of quality educational apps available.”

As for me, whether describing my own educational games, the apps of other developers in our Juddly network, or those found in AppoLearning I embrace the opportunity to help families find the educational value in all types of touchscreen experiences. Childhood learning should be fun, engaging and non-violent, and we at Mrs. Judd’s Games and AppoLearning look forward to helping parents provide these experiences to this touchscreen generation of kiddos.

I was asked the other day by a school principal if AppoLearning extended beyond apps for early childhood, and I was happy to report that it does extend into high school. In fact, when I checked their high school Geometry section, I found some apps that were similar in educational goals to my upcoming SPACE CAKES bakery app, designed to ignite enthusiasm for geometry in kids, artists, and space travelers of all ages. Whenever reviewing for AppoLearning I am most enthusiastic about the clarity of their “report card” system and the thoughtful descriptions of each subject, both of which help parents conduct their own app searches with more information about the learning process in a specific age-range and subject area.

Week of the young C-H-I-L-D

mrsj7188 — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:51:24 +0000

Each year since 1971, NAEYC has selected the dates and themes for the Week Of The Young Child™. This year’s theme is “Early Years Are Learning Years” and they kicked off the week with a reminder that play is where learning begins. We at Mrs. Judd’s Games are focusing on five goals as we reflect on this year’s theme:

C – Connection
Young children express their feelings, ideas, and accomplishments whenever they are involved in digital explorations, and we encourage the adults in their lives to find meaningful ways to remain connected to this part of a child’s life.

H – Help
Since many US families have internet access only through cell phones, we hope families and teachers will help young children gain comfort with this new small-screen/touchscreen technology with carefully designed app-play that is constructive, positive, and age-appropriate.

I – Individualization
Busy classrooms, childcare facilities, and home-lives cannot always individualize instruction for every child, so let’s find teacher-recommended toys, sensory activities, and touchscreen apps, that empower learning through active play that makes learning fun, meaningful, and individualized.

L – Learning
Touchscreen learning allows young children to be at the helm of their own learning, yet we adults also want to strive for digital experiences that can accommodate to parent awareness, involvement, and sharing. A parent is the first, and most important teacher in the life of a child.

D – Developers
We are pleased to welcome other app developers to join our growing Juddly network, so we can work together to offer children a broader spectrum of quality app experiences, and families a more diverse range of digital resources from which to choose.

From Cuddly to Juddly: New Ideas for Displaying Children’s Art

mrsj7188 — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:30:10 +0000

(cross-posted from Examiner.com)

“Our Family of Heroes” display at Orchard Hill Elementary School

Here’s a special message from Frances Judd: In celebration of my new release of Juddly, empowering children to safely share their digital creations with parents, I would like to share other ways folks are displaying the “little genius” in their midst. With a parent dashboard for organizing, and sharing children’s artwork I think you will find Juddly just one way among many to showcase the creativity in your family. Enjoy!

J: joy
Joyous art enlivens a cuddly crib in this great set of display ideas offered in Spearmint Baby. Kids are never too young to “show the love” with family art.

U: upside down
Inspire the young digital photographer in your life to capture upside-down images. Here is a display from Gizmodo to give you a few ideas.

D: denim
In my classroom I recycled denim pockets to display children’s adorable stick puppets. Here is a similar idea from Momof6.com showing denim pockets on book covers. What a fun way to encourage kids to display their artistic talents in personal journals, with pencils ready to go in denim pockets.

D: dessert
Family-time could be all the sweeter by adding painterly treats to kitchen or dining room walls. If your child has a bigger sweet-tooth than artistic inclination, perhaps use inspiration from STAmag.com showing a delicious children’s show from Foundry Art Centre’s Baue Family Children’s Gallery. Yum!

L: listening
Listen and learn more about the creative thinking in your child by using the app Fotobabble in your home or classroom. Each photo on display in this app can be accompanied by a child’s spoken words. Very special!

Y: you
Parents are encouraged to remember how special it is for children to see your image when family members are apart. Classroom life can be enhanced when teachers find creative ways to showcase family photos, helping students feel “at home” and valued at school. Check out this social studies display from Orchard Hill Elementary School in Connecticut, perfect for Veteran’s Day.

I hope you try some of these ideas and use Juddly to empower your children to show you fun creations from their app explorations.

See Juddly in Action!

mrsj7188 — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:30:08 +0000

We’re excited that so many of you have chosen to create a Juddly account and let your children send their in-app creations directly and securely to your mailbox. We wanted to create a short video to explain how the Juddly process works from start to finish. We hope you’ll share it with friends and family who might enjoy our educational apps, and especially with those – like military families – where loved ones are often apart for extended periods of time.

Check out the video below and as always, we’d love to hear from you on our Facebook page and Twitter feed! And now, Juddly…

Mrs. Judd’s Thoughts on COPPA Changes: An Appolicious Guest Blog

mrsj7188 — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:59:58 +0000

With new changes coming to the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) on July 1, 2013, Mrs. Judd was recently honored to pen a guest blog for Appolicious, offering insights into how these revisions impact the safety and security of children in the digital space.

The team at Mrs. Judd’s Games is excited to be part of this conversation, with our Juddly app providing an innovative new way for children to share their app creations with trusted adults. Children are empowered to choose when and where to share content, with parents and teachers using the Juddly dashboard to organize everything.

We hope you enjoy Mrs. Judd’s Appolicious Guest Blog and we look forward to hearing your feedback on here.

How can I encourage my children to stay in touch with family after the holidays?

mrsjudd — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:33:58 +0000

Q: How can I encourage my children to stay in touch with loved ones after the holidays?

A: Remember the power of sharing.

Families all over the country are returning from trips over the river and through the woods to visit loved ones. Those who are not traveling are likely to reach out and make virtual connections through advancements in mobile technology like Google Voice and Skype. As we offer relatives our last holiday hug, phrases such as “Keep in touch” tell children how important it is for us to do just that.

While virtual communication doesn’t replace face to face, it is definitely an advancement that allows for increased familiarity and communication. And while there is an endearing quality to sending someone a “snail mail” letter or a handmade drawing, in today’s world, wireless messaging and digital technology can help children and the adults they love maintain connections too.

Play Investigations:

Sending messages, writing and drawing can be incredibly powerful for young children. When parents and teachers sit next to a child who is drawing, we often hear creative stories, narratives and scenarios that accompany these simple lines and marks. According to books such as Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, it is the act of storytelling that makes us human.

Encourage your child to tell a favorite holiday or winter story using a variety of art supplies, puppets, dolls or toys. Share in their narrative, write it down yourself, and watch your young artist beam with pride as he or she relays a heartfelt story. Then have the child share the artwork and the story with a loved one and watch how they beam with pride.

Literary Investigations:

In my classroom I would often read Cynthia Rylant’s The Relatives Came to help children think about and discuss the rhythm of family events as loved ones travel, visit and depart with fond memories. Similarly, I find the book Stina by Lena Anderson to be among the best for capturing the special relationship between a grandfather and child, and it includes the simple joy of collecting beachside shells, pebbles and remembrances of a beautiful trip to the sea.

Tablet Investigations:

For those who wish to keep the season of sharing going after the holidays, Mrs. Judd’s Games has equipped our apps with Juddly, a feature that parents set up that allows the child to send their creations safely to a loved one’s inbox.

Send Grandpa a sandcastle with Crabby Writer: Phonics, Read & Write. Or, once a parent or teacher sets up a free Juddly account, their child can also send beautiful paper snowflakes to Mom or robot-themed greeting cards to their brother in college, instantly. The act of creating and sharing helps foster a bond that lasts a lifetime, and teaches children the value of giving and the joy of making someone you love happy. Plenty of art apps allow for childhood exploring, creating and sharing, including our own Sendy, our steampunk-inspired art app where inquisitive minds employ tools of the past, present and future to create heartfelt masterpieces for family and friends.

With recent news about other companies who market to kids inside their apps, parents should be cautious. At Mrs. Judd’s Games, we share our promises of privacy, security and transparency. Juddly is completely parent-controlled, children do not access the Internet, and we never market to children. Children can only send creations to people the parent enters into their account. Parents who receive the child’s creations can then post them to social media or forward them to friends and family if they choose.

Rollin’ Out… Some New Free Apps For You!

mrsjudd — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:07:42 +0000

We at Mrs. Judd’s Games hope you had a very happy, healthy holiday season and forged many fantastic memories with your loved ones. We had some fun, as you can see, traveling and exploring this neat trolley.

Some of you may have given or received a new touch-screen device as a gift over the holidays. For those who may have purchased a new tablet and are looking for educational, valuable kid-friendly apps at great value and no cost, we invite you to try four teacher-designed apps that are fantastic for young learners, and all for FREE.

SNOWFLAKE STATION: Children of all ages love to cut snowflakes and discover the beauty of symmetry. Snowflake Station is a teacher-designed game that offers young learners a foundation for a key concept important to math, science, art and architecture. The new music, updated functionality and new single-fold mode make the all-new Snowflake Station even better!

Snowflake Station encourages children to fold, cut, decorate, and display their own snowflakes on the iPad screen. Winter settings and accompanying music will add a bit of warmth on the chilliest of days. It’s all the fun of the classic classroom craft of snowflake-making, but with none of the mess.

CHALK WALK: Many children are coming into kindergarten unable to properly hold a pencil. Since time spent drawing and coloring with crayons is now being swapped for screen time, teachers see that key fine-motor skills may remain underdeveloped. But screen time can also help solve the problem. Chalk Walk is designed to give exercise to young children as they use a thumb & finger pincer grip to play this fun, innovative, teacher-designed game.

CRABBY WRITER: PHONICS, READ & WRITE: In Crabby Writer: Phonics, Read & Write, players use their thumb-and-finger pincer grip to help Crabby write words in the sand and develop the muscle-memory needed for handwriting. This activity is reminiscent of the popular preschool classroom task of sand writing to enhance the tactile/kinesthetic moment in one’s early letter-formation training. This special beach was designed for building sandcastles, phonics, letter-writing skills and literacy.

SENDY (NEW!): The acts of writing, drawing and sending a message to family can be empowering for children. Sendy allows children to tinker with unique writing and drawing tools inspired by innovations of the past, present, and future. This charming steampunk-inspired world is just the right place for budding young artists and writers to create, innovate and express ideas of their own. Our antique rebus messages, airships and steam-filled gizmos are fun tools for your family, and for the friendly robot family found in this app.

We hope parents delight as they receive special messages created on Sendy. In today’s world where air travel, wireless messaging and digital technology are commonplace, we want to encourage the heartfelt connections and authentic, meaningful communication between parents and children.