ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy

ABCmouse.com
Type of site
 Education
Available in English
Headquarters Glendale, California, U.S.
Area served U.S. and Canada
Industry Education
Parent Age of Learning, Inc.
Slogan(s) Early Learning Academy
Website abcmouse.com
Advertising No
Launched November 10, 2010 (2010-11-10)

ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy is a subscription-based digital education program for children ages 2–7, created by Age of Learning, Inc.[1] Subscribers can access learning activities on the ABCmouse.com website or mobile app for tablet or smartphone.[2] Subjects covered include reading, math, science, social studies, music, and art.[3]

ABCmouse.com is also made available at no cost to teachers,[4][5] Head Start programs,[6][7] public libraries,[8][9] and other community organizations.[10]

ABCmouse for Schools, a product designed for school districts or chains of schools, launched at the 2016 ISTE conference.[11]

Age of Learning, Inc.

ABCmouse.com is produced by Age of Learning, Inc., a privately owned education technology company.[12] The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Glendale, CA.[13] Age of Learning launched ABCmouse.com in 2010 after three years of development, guided by a team of educators, and following testing by 10,000 families.[14]

Members of Age of Learning’s Curriculum Board include 2006 National Teacher of the Year Award recipient Kimberly Oliver Burnim,[15][16] 2014 National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Rebecca Palacios,[17][18] and Science Writing Award-winning writer Stephen M. Tomecek.[19]

In 2014, at the White House Summit on Early Education, Age of Learning pledged to the Invest In Us campaign to provide services valued at more than $10 million to preschool, pre-k, and Head Start classrooms over two years.[20][21] In 2015, the company partnered with another White House initiative, ConnectHome, to make ABCmouse.com for free to families living in public housing in 27 cities and one tribal nation, serving up to 65,000 children.[22] In 2016, it was reported that Age of Learning raised $150 million from Iconiq Capital, giving the company a $1 billion valuation.[23][24]

Content and structure

ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy content currently consists of 7,000 learning activities and over 500 lessons. The preschool through first grade curriculum is laid out in a sequence called the “Step by Step Learning Path.”[25] Parents can register up to three children and set each one at his or her own level based on age and ability.[26] Children can also use any of the content outside of the set learning path. Activities include videos, coloring activities, learning games, poems, puzzles and songs that cover reading and writing, math, art, music, social studies and science. The same content is available whether children log on using their computer or mobile device (iOS, Android, Kindle).[27][28]

To some, the amount of content “seems almost endless” but can be “almost overwhelming,” suggesting kids will “likely need help navigating the site.”[29] Others have judged it “easy enough for even the youngest computer users”[30][31] and “well designed for children to use” with an “interface that is intuitive for them.”[32][33][34]

Navigation and rewards

Children navigate the site with the aid of “voice-overs, images, and text,” but younger kids may need help.[35] Children earn tickets each time they complete a learning activity, which they can use to shop at virtual stores to decorate their room or “buy” things for their pets.[36][37]

The ABCmouse.com rewards system is one of its more polarizing features. A review on Common Sense Media said that rewarding learning with shopping may be “teaching a potentially unintended message.”[38] Others have expressed that this motivation[39] encourages completion of activities, understanding of responsibility, and “budgeting and prioritizing.”[40]

Educational apps and videos

The ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy curriculum can be accessed on tablets and smartphones using apps from iTunes,[41] Google Play,[42] and the Amazon Appstore for Android.[43]

Some Age of Learning apps, such as its Aesop’s Fables series[44] Beginning Reader series,[45] have been discontinued and are instead available on the ABCmouse.com YouTube channel.[46][47]

Awards

The ABCmouse.com website and apps have received the following awards: 2015 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Winner,[48] 2015 TabbyAwards Winner and Tabby Awards Users' Choice Winner,[49] The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval for Spring 2015,[50] Tilliywig Brain Child Award Winner in 2013,[51] Winner of the 2011 Parents' Choice Award-Gold,[52] the 2010 Children’s Technology Review[53] Editor’s Choice Award, and the Web Marketing Association's 'Outstanding Achievement in Web Development' award in 2010.[54]

ABCmouse for Schools received a Best of Show Award at the ISTE 2016 conference.[55]

References

  1. ↑ "NAPPAawards.com". NAPPAawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  2. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy - The National Parenting Center". The National Parenting Center. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  3. ↑ "Site Review: ABC Mouse". www.educationworld.com. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  4. ↑ "K-2 Resources to Support Tech Literacy in Young Students" (PDF). September 27, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2015 – via Michigan Department of Education.
  5. ↑ "WeAreTeachers: ABCmouse.com: FREE Subscription for Teachers". www.weareteachers.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  6. ↑ "ABCMouse.com | Website Review". www.educationcorner.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  7. ↑ "albinaheadstart". albinaheadstart. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  8. ↑ "Free Online Curriculum: ABCMouse.com for Libraries Launches at ALA | ALA 2014". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  9. ↑ "ABCmouse.com | Los Angeles Public Library". www.lapl.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  10. ↑ "Choice Neighborhoods e-Newsletter" (PDF). January 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Age of Learning Debuts Elementary School Resources -- THE Journal". THE Journal. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  12. ↑ "National Joint Powers Alliance :: ABCmouse.com, by Age of Learning, Inc.". www.njpacoop.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  13. ↑ "Age of Learning, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  14. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Will Teach Your 2- to 6-Year-Old Their ABCs (And 'Thank You' & 'Please!') -- All Online!". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  15. ↑ "National Teacher of the Year Program" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Wilmington University News Release - 2006 National Teacher of the Year Speaks at Wilmington University's Student Teacher Orientation". www.wilmu.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  17. ↑ "Two AFT members to enter Teachers Hall of Fame". American Federation of Teachers. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  18. ↑ "Dr. Rebecca A. Palacios « The National Teacher Hall of Fame". www.nthf.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  19. ↑ "21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference ~ Faculty". www.21cnfc.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  20. ↑ "Invest in US: President Obama Convenes the White House Summit on Early Education". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  21. ↑ "Age of Learning Inc./ABCmouse.com - Invest In Us". Invest In Us. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  22. ↑ "White House Partnership to Provide Early Learning Curriculum to Low Income Families". www.educationworld.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  23. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Age of Learning, a quiet giant in education apps, raised $150M at a $1B valuation from Iconiq". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  24. ↑ "From Mouse to Unicorn: Age of Learning Raises $150M at $1B Valuation, Eyes Expansion Into Schools (EdSurge News)". EdSurge. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  25. ↑ "NAPPAawards.com". NAPPAawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  26. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy | Children's Technology Review". childrenstech.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  27. ↑ "3 learning apps ease kids back to school". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  28. ↑ "Apps to Bring Math and Science Skills Back After Summer's Slide". Motherlode Blog. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  29. ↑ "ABCmouse.com - Early Learning Academy". www.graphite.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  30. ↑ "Apps to Bring Math and Science Skills Back After Summer's Slide". Motherlode Blog. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  31. ↑ "Best Android and iPad tablet apps: 2015 Tabby Awards Winners". tabbyawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  32. ↑ "ABCmouse.com". Parents' Choice Foundation. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  33. ↑ "Tillywig Toy Awards - ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy". www.tillywig.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  34. ↑ "NAPPAawards.com". NAPPAawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  35. ↑ "ABCMouse.com - Website Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  36. ↑ "Site Review: ABC Mouse". www.educationworld.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  37. ↑ "ABCmouse Early Learning Academy: Review". Smart Apps For Kids. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  38. ↑ "ABCMouse.com - Website Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  39. ↑ "Site Review: ABC Mouse". www.educationworld.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  40. ↑ "ABCMouse.com - Website Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  41. ↑ "ABCmouse.com - Early Learning Academy on the App Store". App Store. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  42. ↑ "ABCmouse.com - Android Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  43. ↑ ABCmouse.com - Early Learning Academy.
  44. ↑ "Aesop's Fables Series". Age of Learning, Inc.
  45. ↑ "Beginning Reader Series: Big Bug and Little Bug". Age of Learning, Inc.
  46. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  47. ↑ "Animated Fables and Beginning Readers - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  48. ↑ "NAPPAawards.com". NAPPAawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  49. ↑ "Best Android and iPad tablet apps: 2015 Tabby Awards Winners". tabbyawards.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  50. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy - The National Parenting Center". The National Parenting Center. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  51. ↑ "Tillywig Toy Awards - ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy". www.tillywig.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  52. ↑ Hensley, Jessica. "Parents' Choice Awards: ABCmouse.com". Parents' Choice.
  53. ↑ "ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy". Children's Technology Review.
  54. ↑ "Web Marketing Association: Best of Industry".
  55. ↑ techlearning.com, Classroom Technology News | Educational Apps | Bloom's Taxonomy |. "ISTE 2016 BEST OF SHOW TECH&LEARNING | Tech Learning". www.techlearning.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.

External Reading

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