[question] What edutainment apps do you recommend?

post by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2014-09-20T08:55:31.119Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 9 comments

Contents

  Follow up to: Rationality Games Apps
  In the spirit of: Games for rationalists
None
9 comments

Follow up to: Rationality Games Apps

In the spirit of: Games for rationalists

My son (10) wants a smartphone and I reasonably expect that he wants to and will play games with it. He appears to be the right age to use it. I don't want to prevent him from playing games nor do I think that possible or helpful. But I'd like to suggest and promote a few apps and games that *are* helpful or from which he can learn something. 

Obvious candidates are 

There are lots of low profile apps filed under learning in the app stores but most of this is crap and it takes lots of time to explore these. 

I also found some recommendation for learning with Android apps and will point my son to these. 

I'd like to hear what apps do you or yours children use. Which apps and esp. games do you recommend for future rationalists?

9 comments

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comment by ChristianKl · 2014-09-20T11:16:27.067Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Duolingo is nice for learning languages. It's gamified and therefore I think it will be easier to get a child to learn with it. Getting a child to do Duolingo for English and whatever secondary language he will learn in school is going to have huge returns.

Speed Anatomy is an efficient way to learn where different parts of anatomy are located.

comment by James_Miller · 2014-09-20T15:11:39.769Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Cargo-Bot

Replies from: FiftyTwo, Gunnar_Zarncke
↑ comment by FiftyTwo · 2014-09-21T00:19:03.467Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Light bot is a somewhat similar game that teaches basic programming principles

Replies from: Gunnar_Zarncke
↑ comment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2014-09-21T07:45:28.566Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

There are two versions: Lightbot (9+) and Lightbot Jr (4-8), both for IPad and Adroid.

↑ comment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2014-09-21T07:23:35.330Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Sounds interesting, but only for iOS. I'm already commited to Android.

comment by FiftyTwo · 2014-09-21T00:14:52.785Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Get a good podcast app (e.g beyondpod) and subscribe to informative and entertaining podcasts, I absorb a lot of information this way

Replies from: Gunnar_Zarncke
↑ comment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2014-09-21T06:25:23.650Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I like this suggestion. I always thought that listing to music all the time is an inefficient use of MP3.

I wonder whether music can be used to teach more complex things. I understand that in some oral cltures our ancestors used songs and dance to transmit knowledge. Can physics be taught this way?

And this reminds me of Dance your PhD.

Replies from: ChristianKl
↑ comment by ChristianKl · 2014-09-21T12:45:29.910Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I understand that in some oral cltures our ancestors used songs and dance to transmit knowledge. Can physics be taught this way?

Not directly physics but biology:

Glucose, Glucose is nice. http://www.science-groove.org/Now/ provides a few additional songs from the same source.

Replies from: Gunnar_Zarncke
↑ comment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2014-09-21T15:17:43.844Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Cool. I also liked the scientific method song.