Leapfrog Lets Parents Check up on Kid’s Learning Progress

Tag : intellectual & educational toys
Leapfrog has garnered a reputation for creating innovative andeducational toys for kids that help them learn everything fromlanguage to math and science while also having fun. Im sure youveseen those TV commercials that feature a man donning an animal suitgreeting a line of kids who have the choice to use an interactiveLeapfrog book, or a regular old encyclopedia. Today, the companyis taking things a step further by allowing parents to connect achilds Leapfrog gaming unit to a PC or Mac and track his learningprogress online.
Called the Learning Path, the features provides parents withinformation like what skills their children are engaged with, howoften theyre playing a particular game, what kinds of questionstheyre answering, and how they are progressing. The system willalso make recommendations on what products might be best suited tothe childs future intellectual growth. Once the parent hasdownloaded progress information, the same data is populated in thechilds own Learning Path, allowing for discussions ofaccomplishments, or perhaps even problem areas.
An account can be created at www.leapfrog.ca , and Learning Path works with USB-enabled products that are gearedtoward kids from 4-10 years of age, like the Tag Reading System,Didj Custom Gaming System, and Leapster2 Learning Game System. Thecompany plans to add compatibility for additional products thattarget kids up to the age of 13 later this fall. The Learning Pathis free, and up to 10 accounts can be set up per parent.
Could such products become the future of the education system? Itsa great idea that allows kids to have fun and parents to observeand remain up-to-date with where a childs strengths and interestsare. Sure, a teacher can send home a test with a nice big A orB written on the top, but having a detailed outline that chartsyour childs progress certainly adds much more value to theequation.
On the flip side, however, kids might start to view their toy asmore of a nuisance than a fun past-time if parents go overboard incharting activity and progress. Still, its a nice integration offun and education thats much needed in an age full of mind-numbingtoys that fail to promote anything truly positive.