What children can do with an Edge. Amazing.

paula-t · 06-10-2011, 08:11 AM

I have commented on my 9-years old daughter's activities with my EE, which she learned how to use in... about... three hours. (Android-wise young generation.)

She saw in the Edge a potential for her schooling and Math revising. So she asked me if she could borrow it for a couple of hours. And I let her take it.

What she did, on the eve of a "complicated"

Maths exam about multiplication is the following:

- She opened a new Journal on the e-ink side.
- She opened Wikipedia in the tablet side and searched for the multiplication tables and formulas.
- She wrote by hand (and by heart) the tables in the Journal, checking in the Wiki when she was in doubt (11 times 9 can be difficult, you know).
- After she finished and had all the tables handwritten, she opened the Audio Recorder, and using her best "voice talent" abilities, recorded in a very funny way the whole Math Mantra Recitation. This was partly a game, as she was obviously mimicking her Math teacher.
- Then she wrote for her own sake several math operations in the Journal and did her own exercises while she was listening aloud her own recording as a background for memorizing.

She hates studying math, and in this way she enjoyed it very much, because it was all her own "multimedia production".

As she got an A and was very encouraged by the results, then she used a similar method to revise for a Natural Science exam about magnetism.

She rehearsed her long oral presentation by recording it, while reading her own checklist in the Journal with the contents. Then she listened to it critically, to improve the poor parts and brush-up her own speech.

(While I also listened to her, in the next room, I happened to find out that "imán" in Spanish ("magnet") came from the French "aimant", which means "lovers", as the magnet and the iron stick together and do not separate. And I also came to know that "magnet" came from the ancient city Magnesia, where magnetic properties were first observed in stones.)

She also got an A.

So now she is very excited with this Edge-based approach to her elementary school routines, combining internet search, handwritten notes and audio-recording for rehearsing and learning.

She says she likes to do it with the Edge better than in the computer, because "it feels like a book and I love it".

I think it is a pity that the Edge has not been more spread among schools.
While I use it for my own Ph.D. project, and I see many high-school or college students find it helpful in the context of their studies, the experience with my little daughter has made me see that Elementary School children also find an interest in the Edge as a tool for their learning, and it is very easy for them to use it.

Sad to think the "book" concept will probably disappear... Someone said the Edge was not "sexy", but I find books sexier, in their own way, than flat slates. (Is this sick or something?)

sarah11918 · 06-10-2011, 09:56 AM

Great story!

Sjarrel · 06-10-2011, 10:00 AM

Nice story paula-t. Love it. (I think your daughter deserves the eDGe. You can do without, she has the future.)

thinredline · 06-10-2011, 11:35 AM

Love your story and hope everyone can share their experience of using edge, which can give the rest of us more inspiration about how to creatively use it.

North19 · 06-10-2011, 12:19 PM

My sons (older just turned eight, younger is almost six) have similarly adjusted to Android in an hour or two. What I love most about how kids master computers is that they seem able to let go of expectations about what will work or happen when you press a button, and they have little fear of messing things up. Mine just explore.

My younger one mainly plays games on the PE: Simon Tatham's Puzzles (which is my fave edge app) and Frozen Bubbles.

My older one liked the PE so much I picked up one through amazon listed (I'm sure incorrectly) for $39.95 the night before they removed the edge listings! I saw it and clicked it within five minutes of its listing, which I know only because five minutes before I'd been browsing a $150 listing and wanted to go back and check it again--and there was the mistake. My guess is it was supposed to go in at $399. I was pretty psyched, though until it arrived I was afraid they'd send me a edge case or one so badly used it wasn't working.

Anyway, once he had his own, he discovered the audio recorder on his own; he has written "books" with illustrations in the journal, and recorded songs and stores in the Audio Recorder. I just got a voice changer app through amazon that he's using to change his voice to sound like a robot or a chipmunk or play it backwards.

He also found and watched the help videos and read the help file on his own, and used that to explore more. He can run the reader and the browser, and he figured out how to change the wallpaper on either screen, and then went out and downloaded images he liked to use as wallpaper.

Oh, and he's taken pics and made "movies" with the camera, all without any assistance from me.

I need to go out and buy him a mini-SD card before he runs out of space as these multimedia files are going to add up.

WillAdams · 06-10-2011, 01:22 PM

Very cool.

Have you shown your daughter Khan Academy yet? Esp.:

http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard

I'm hoping to get my kids to earn one achievement a day for all of summer vacation....

William

Filark · 06-11-2011, 03:04 AM

I was intrigued by North19's mention of Simon Tatham's Puzzles. In case anyone else is looking for the app, I found it here: http://www.freewarelovers.com/androi...athams-puzzles.

Looks like fun!

sarah11918 · 06-11-2011, 08:10 AM

Thanks for the Puzzle app and link, you two. I love puzzles. I'll try installing it later today.

obsessed2 · 06-11-2011, 09:37 AM

Wow. Leave it to today's high tech children to be so creative. Maybe if your daughter is not busy she could come and teach me a thing or two about the Edge, or the remote control for my TV. You know how us older folks are with all this technology, which is second nature to the younger generation. What a great story.

06-10-2011, 08:11 AM	#1
paula-t Member Posts: 21 Karma: 14 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Entourage Edge	What children can do with an Edge. Amazing. I have commented on my 9-years old daughter's activities with my EE, which she learned how to use in... about... three hours. (Android-wise young generation.) She saw in the Edge a potential for her schooling and Math revising. So she asked me if she could borrow it for a couple of hours. And I let her take it. What she did, on the eve of a "complicated" Maths exam about multiplication is the following: - She opened a new Journal on the e-ink side. - She opened Wikipedia in the tablet side and searched for the multiplication tables and formulas. - She wrote by hand (and by heart) the tables in the Journal, checking in the Wiki when she was in doubt (11 times 9 can be difficult, you know). - After she finished and had all the tables handwritten, she opened the Audio Recorder, and using her best "voice talent" abilities, recorded in a very funny way the whole Math Mantra Recitation. This was partly a game, as she was obviously mimicking her Math teacher. - Then she wrote for her own sake several math operations in the Journal and did her own exercises while she was listening aloud her own recording as a background for memorizing. She hates studying math, and in this way she enjoyed it very much, because it was all her own "multimedia production". As she got an A and was very encouraged by the results, then she used a similar method to revise for a Natural Science exam about magnetism. She rehearsed her long oral presentation by recording it, while reading her own checklist in the Journal with the contents. Then she listened to it critically, to improve the poor parts and brush-up her own speech. (While I also listened to her, in the next room, I happened to find out that "imán" in Spanish ("magnet") came from the French "aimant", which means "lovers", as the magnet and the iron stick together and do not separate. And I also came to know that "magnet" came from the ancient city Magnesia, where magnetic properties were first observed in stones.) She also got an A. So now she is very excited with this Edge-based approach to her elementary school routines, combining internet search, handwritten notes and audio-recording for rehearsing and learning. She says she likes to do it with the Edge better than in the computer, because "it feels like a book and I love it". I think it is a pity that the Edge has not been more spread among schools. While I use it for my own Ph.D. project, and I see many high-school or college students find it helpful in the context of their studies, the experience with my little daughter has made me see that Elementary School children also find an interest in the Edge as a tool for their learning, and it is very easy for them to use it. Sad to think the "book" concept will probably disappear... Someone said the Edge was not "sexy", but I find books sexier, in their own way, than flat slates. (Is this sick or something?)

06-10-2011, 12:19 PM	#5
North19 Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: entourage eDGe, pocket eDGe, kindle	My sons (older just turned eight, younger is almost six) have similarly adjusted to Android in an hour or two. What I love most about how kids master computers is that they seem able to let go of expectations about what will work or happen when you press a button, and they have little fear of messing things up. Mine just explore. My younger one mainly plays games on the PE: Simon Tatham's Puzzles (which is my fave edge app) and Frozen Bubbles. My older one liked the PE so much I picked up one through amazon listed (I'm sure incorrectly) for $39.95 the night before they removed the edge listings! I saw it and clicked it within five minutes of its listing, which I know only because five minutes before I'd been browsing a $150 listing and wanted to go back and check it again--and there was the mistake. My guess is it was supposed to go in at $399. I was pretty psyched, though until it arrived I was afraid they'd send me a edge case or one so badly used it wasn't working. Anyway, once he had his own, he discovered the audio recorder on his own; he has written "books" with illustrations in the journal, and recorded songs and stores in the Audio Recorder. I just got a voice changer app through amazon that he's using to change his voice to sound like a robot or a chipmunk or play it backwards. He also found and watched the help videos and read the help file on his own, and used that to explore more. He can run the reader and the browser, and he figured out how to change the wallpaper on either screen, and then went out and downloaded images he liked to use as wallpaper. Oh, and he's taken pics and made "movies" with the camera, all without any assistance from me. I need to go out and buy him a mini-SD card before he runs out of space as these multimedia files are going to add up. Last edited by North19; 06-10-2011 at 12:24 PM.

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06-10-2011, 09:56 AM	#2
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	Great story!

06-10-2011, 10:00 AM	#3
Sjarrel The Trying Dutchman Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NL Device: enTourage eDGe	Nice story paula-t. Love it. (I think your daughter deserves the eDGe. You can do without, she has the future.)

06-10-2011, 11:35 AM	#4
thinredline Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 165 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle Keyboard, Pocket Edge, Nookd Simple Touch Glowlight, NGP	Love your story and hope everyone can share their experience of using edge, which can give the rest of us more inspiration about how to creatively use it.

06-10-2011, 01:22 PM	#6
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,234 Karma: 3350652 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	Very cool. Have you shown your daughter Khan Academy yet? Esp.: http://www.khanacademy.org/exercisedashboard I'm hoping to get my kids to earn one achievement a day for all of summer vacation.... William

06-11-2011, 03:04 AM	#7
Filark Armed with a smile :) Posts: 1,421 Karma: 2463560 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: California, USA Device: enTourage eDGe & Pocket eDGe, Samsung Galaxy Note II	I was intrigued by North19's mention of Simon Tatham's Puzzles. In case anyone else is looking for the app, I found it here: http://www.freewarelovers.com/androi...athams-puzzles. Looks like fun!

06-11-2011, 08:10 AM	#8
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	Thanks for the Puzzle app and link, you two. I love puzzles. I'll try installing it later today.

06-11-2011, 09:37 AM	#9
obsessed2 Wizard Posts: 1,041 Karma: 4694121 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Virginia Device: Pocket Edge X 2 , Edge, gTab, Kindle Fire, Nextbook 7S	Wow. Leave it to today's high tech children to be so creative. Maybe if your daughter is not busy she could come and teach me a thing or two about the Edge, or the remote control for my TV. You know how us older folks are with all this technology, which is second nature to the younger generation. What a great story.

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