droolicious : online learning

Giveaway: Scholastic StudyJams!

Erin Behan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:45:00 GMT

School is just around the corner, and you're afraid that your kid may have slipped just a little in her studies? If your progeny is in third to sixth grade and needs a refresher in math or science, Scholastic StudyJams may have the answer (it also has a free quiz your kid can take to test her abilities).

The online learning experience has animated math and science videos, step-by-step tutorials, learning "karaoke" songs, an age-appropriate encyclopedia, and something called a Jam Studio that allows kids to create their own MP3s and offers an incentive to return. Right now, StudyJams! is offering a free 14-day trial and then a $5.95 a month, $59 a year deal (use "SJCHALLENGE" when ordering). Check out the complete Scholastic StudyJams! program.

StudyJams! is also offering Droolicious readers a chance to win three prizes: a $25 gift certificate to Scholastic online, a free year's subscription to Study Jams! (a $99 value), and three StudyJams! karaoke CDs. The first three people to email babbledesign@gmail.com win. Contest closes at end of day.

Free Program Kindersay Visually Teaches Words and Letters Online

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:02:00 GMT

Your name and email address are all it'll cost you to sign up for Kindersay, a free online program that helps to teach your preschooler words and letters in a variety of categories. You can start with the alphabet (sample learning module shown here), graduate to larger words and concepts, and even upload pictures of your family to teach words like "grandma," "step mum" and "brother." Your child sees a letter, word and object on the screen, and the Kindersay hostess sounds out each. It's English-only, and the terms and objects selected have a globally ambiguous sensibility, so the site also provides an easy way to work with non-English speakers (even adults) who are just learning the language.

Nickelodeon Launches myNOGGIN for Ad-Free Online Learning

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:32:00 GMT

More power to those of you who've managed to keep your little ones offline, but for the rest of us, Nickelodeon has launched myNOGGIN, a subscription-based, ad-free site aimed at preschoolers through first graders. Featuring a variety of curriculum-based learning games developed with an educational advisory board, and hosted by familiar characters Blue, Dora, Diego and Moose A. Moose, the site offers three subscription levels: $5.95 for 12 months, $7.95 for six months, and $9.95 for a month-to-month deal. You can try a demo, sign up for a free trial, and read more about the "connected learning" approach before committing, and, as with any sort of gaming experience, this one is only as meaningful as the time you invest in it alongside your kids (there's even a Parent Center where you sign in to track progress). In other words, a baby-sitter it isn't.