Review by Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Education | Updated October 2014

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Arthur's Big App

Name: Arthur's Big App
Item: Arthur's Big App
Rating: 3
Author: Mieke VanderBorght

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Fun Arthur-centric games level up nicely, but content disappoints

Subjects & skills

Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.

K–1

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Tap GO! to enter Arthur's World or tap Reset Game to clear progress.

All players unfreeze when kids tap a player on the wrong team.

Play increasingly complicated melodies by tapping keys when musical notes fall over them.

Successfully complete five games to earn five stars before losing five pencils.

Tap characters to read tidbits about them.

Pros: Tasks get more and more challenging as kids progress.

Cons: Provides scant meaningful learning content.

Bottom Line: Games are a nice opportunity for exploring Arthur's world and persisting through ever more challenging tasks, but they lack a significant learning theme.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers who already use Arthur materials in their classrooms will be particularly interested in Arthur's Big App as a way to continue building a relationship with the Arthur characters. All teachers can take inspiration from the positive messages usually present in Arthur adventures and explore the themes of reading, writing, and pro-social interactions. Visit the Parents and Teachers section of the PBS Kids Arthur website for lesson plan ideas. Teachers can also use the goal of unlocking 50 characters to explore goal-setting and task persistence under pressure (clock) and in the face of obstacles (e.g., not passing levels initially or losing five pencils before collecting five stars). There's no way to create multiple user accounts, so this journey works best when one kid plays through the whole game before passing the device on to the next kid.

What Is It?

Kids join Arthur and his friends after school in fictional Elwood City to play four games that are automatically and randomly presented: Match colors to shelve and distribute library books; match smoothie ingredient requests to mix smoothies for waiting customers; tap characters on the target team to freeze them in a game of freeze tag; tap keys when a note falls over the keyboard to play a tune. Kids must finish each task before the clock runs out. If they're successful, they get a star; if they're not, they lose a pencil. Collect five stars before losing five pencils to unlock up to 50 Arthur characters and read short tidbits about them. As kids progress, tasks get more challenging: More smoothie ingredients must be put in the blender and more customers served, or more and faster freeze-tag players must be tapped.

Is It Good for Learning?

Kids who know and love Arthur will particularly enjoy entering his world and revealing new and/or familiar characters. Kids who aren't Arthur fans will still enjoy playing the games and meeting Arthur's interesting friends. Leveling is designed so that even though activities are repetitive, they continue to challenge as kids persist and progress toward the goal of unlocking all 50 characters.

Actual game content is somewhat bland and would greatly benefit from more inspiration, creativity, and sophistication. The strongest game empowers kids with a keyboard and guides them through tapping out an increasingly challenging melody. Others involve very basic matching or speed techniques with little need for much thinking, especially considering the target age group. It would be nice to see Arthur's great pro-social messages explored in an interactive experience.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Kids who know and love Arthur will enjoy exploring Elwood City and collecting characters. Games are simple and repetitive but continue to level up, which provides challenges that may hold kids' interest.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Gameplay requires concentration, following directions, and good reaction time as kids match and tap in a race against the clock. Tasks get harder as kids complete them correctly in the allotted time.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

The app provides good how-to instructions, and play is easily accessible. Individual accounts and learning extension support would increase classroom appeal and strengthen learning potential.

Common Sense Reviewer

Mieke VanderBorght Researcher

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