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Welcome to playbox101.blogspot.com
Kindly note the following:
1. Credit us if you make use of any of the information posted by us on this blog!
2. As this is a review site, these are just our opinions. For more details on the websites, please contact the websites' authors.
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ABOUT US
playbox101 was created by
- Charmaine Tan
- Sheila Eng
- Yew Mei Chi
We are Year 2 students pursueing a Diploma in Early Childhood Education in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
We believe that teaching preschoolers using Information Technology (IT) and the Internet is beneficial to the them, provided it is used appropriately.
Thus, we have set up this blog with the main purpose of providing reviews (both good and bads) of activities for preschoolers found on the internet.
Our target audiences would be parents, early childhood educators and anyone working with children who would like to make use of IT and the internet when interacting with their preschool children.
If you have any enquiries or comments, leave a message at our tagboard!
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If you wish to be affiliated to playbox101, feel free to drop us a tag at the tagboard with your
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Tagboard
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credits
Copy-A-Tune!
- Saturday, November 8, 2008 -
Title of Website: Copy-A-Tune
Age Group: 4 to 6 years old
Introduction
Want to teach your child music and sequencing at the same time and training their memory skills too? Copy-A-Tune is the game to choose! It has four balloons and makes crystal clear sounds when pressed! In this game, the children have to click the correct sequence of the balloons after the computer has done so.
Positive Points
Firstly, the game's difficulty progresses at a moderate pace. The game starts off with one balloon blinking, and the sequencing grows. What we like about this is that there are only four balloons. Thus, the children will not find it too difficult when racking their brains to come up with the correct sequence.
Secondly, the instructions are very clear pictorially. The balloons selected by the computer will blink and make a sound. The instructions will appear at the top, to tell the child when is their turn to respond to the sequence (as shown in the picture below).
Thirdly, we like the fact that this game integrates two concepts: sequencing (math) and recognizing sounds (music)! It is a fun game with objectives!
Negative Points
We felt that there could have been narrations involved in this activity. Instead of just typing "oops!" if the child makes a mistake, there could have been someone saying it out as well.
Although we like the little cat at the side (sitting on the hot-air balloon), we felt that they could have provided narrations along with it. The function of this cat is to tell the children how many balloons they have to press. Sadly, it is not THAT obvious, especially for the younger children.
Conclusion
This game is quite interesting, however we feel that the game might not keep the children engaged for long. Hopefully the other games on this website would be more interesting! :(
Rating: 3/5
< 5:34 AM >
Explore Some More!
- Friday, November 7, 2008 -
Title of Website: Explore some more!
Age Group: 5-6 year old
Introduction
Looking for a site that encourages active exploration? Search no more! "Explore some more!" is the website to visit! This website aims to teach children different types of natural processes that occur all around us, in a very engaging way!
Positive Points
Firstly, this site is a full screen flash window. Hence, the images are bigger and clearer, making it less strenuous for our children's eyes. The images are bright and colourful and this will attract children to play with it. At the main menu, and even at the sub main menus, they are equally animated and attractive.
The menu is very interactive and attractive!
Secondly this website has very clear instructions! One of their special features is the interactive owl at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. When in doubt, the child can simply click on it and it will guide the child as to what he and she can do! To hear their narrations, click on the link at the top of the post. You will never be afraid of not knowing what to do during the game!
Thirdly, the stories are very engaging, and the activities are interactive. There are narrations at every point of the game and these voices in these narrations are lively and clear. . Moreover, when the child is inactive in the game, the game prompts the child to continue playing by saying "Why don't you explore some more?" or "Come and explore over here!" This not only keeps the children actively engaged in the games and the stories but also encourages them to explore. The activities allow children will be able to choose the activity they would like to play or the story they would like to listen to! Children will never lose interest during the game!
Negative Points
Firstly, the narrations of this game has an Irish accent which might hinder in the child's understanding of the narration, especially for our local children.
Secondly, users with slower Internet connections, the site takes quite a while to load. There is no option for lower quality flash :(
Conclusion
This website is definitely worth visiting. However, the teachers might have to turn on the computers a little earlier and let the website load fully. But this extra step is definitely worth it :)
Rating: 4/5
< 9:48 AM >
