Interesting introduction to nature, habitats and ecosystems with Toca Boca Nature

Submitted 9 years ago

Community Review for Toca Nature

Donald P.
Donald P.
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

Toca Boca Nature is meant to be aa calm soothing app and because of this the 'education' factor within it is shallow. While it is great for teacher led lessons about habitats and ecosystems, students left on their own with this app are quickly bored and move on to other more 'entertaining' apps. We have used it to create unique 'photos' of animals and habitats to use as part of presentations. I have only used it with second and third grade students so it might be more engaging for younger students, but I'm afraid in today's world of 'flashy' apps, Toca Boca Nature does not have enough depth and substance to keep students entertained or to truly learn the nuances of habitats and ecosystems.

How I Use It

Nature from Toca Boca is meant to be a peaceful quiet game that at the same time teaches about the natural world and animal habitats. There is no reading involved, just touch and play so it is great for ELL, Low literacy and special needs students. Build mountains, forests and lakes and watch as the animals arrive to their respective habitats. Teacher led lessons can talk about why certain animals live in their respective habitats. Students can zoom in and 'walk' through the forest gathering food for the animals and feeding it to them. Day and night cycles also happen within the game and shows students the difference between diurnal and nocturnal animals. Students can also take photos inside the app that can then be used for presentations or posters in other apps or printed out.

More community reviews for Toca Nature

Write a review
August D.
August D. Teacher Ridgewood Elementary School Eureka, CA
July 26, 2016

Big on fun, but light on learning.

I see this app as more dessert than meal. It's fun and calm, zen even, but don't expect very much more if used without direct adult input. Next school year I plan on introducing the app, following our unit on animal habitats. If tasked with a written or visual checklist of animals and geography to observe, I may be tempted to up my rating of this tool a bit more. However, in light of this year's experience I will likely relegate it to the "unused" folder on our iPads a week or two after to avoid having to delete a thousand photos of bears eating mushrooms. However, this app, like most Toca products, is solidly made, user friendly, and generally enjoyed by children. While not a stand alone learning tool it is worth the cost for the enjoyment your students will get out of it.
Continue reading