Sunday, October 25, 2015

Technology Review: Sesame Street

The SESAME STREET website, apps, and ebooks contain endless learning resources for preschool and primary children.
The website contains sections focusing on games, videos, art, and muppets. The games section provides age-appropriate games for young children including life skills such as a getting dresses and academic games such as letters and numbers. The videos section features short 2-3 minute videos on a variety of topics. Again, the interface is easy enough for small children to use. The Art Maker section provides easy-to-use interactive tools for creating everything from a cookie or pizza to a Jack-O-Lantern. The Muppets section allows users to explore resources related to their favorite character including games, videos, and art projects. Playlists are available based on specific topics and ages.
The bookstore area contains access to eBooks, audio eBooks, animated eBooks, and interactive eBooks. A subscription is required to access most of these books.
Dozens of apps are available including game apps, story apps, and ebooks. Educational bundles are available for sets of apps. Many of the apps contain the same resources found online.
Librarians will find a wealth of resources for preschool and primary children. Keep in mind that while the general website is free, access to the ebook website and many of the apps requires a license.
To visit the website, go to http://www.sesamestreet.org/.
To visit the ebook area, go to http://ebooks.sesamestreet.org/.