We Love Our Apps - Or Do We?

Okay, I have issues.  Hello, my name is Harry and I'm an appaholic.  Glad I got that off my chest.  I currently have 112 apps on my IPhone.  I have a feeling I'm not alone.  We love our apps, or do we?  I came across this piece in USA Today about App use.  It quotes a Pew Center report which found 68% of smart phone users open five apps or less a week.  80% to 90% of apps are eventually deleted.  I'm wondering if these fleeting love affairs with apps apply to kid's app use as well.  Are there certain apps that have staying power in educational settings, or does the novelty of individual apps wear off over time?  This might make for some interesting research....   You can read the piece below: 

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-30/smartphone-app-usage/52891556/1?loc=interstitialskip

The State of the APP Market

There's nothing like a professional conference to get you re-energized.  I just returned to the East Coast after presenting at the NAEYC Conference in Chicago.  What a great organization they have out there in the Chicago Metro Area. Hats off to Gail Conway and Brian Puerling for their roles in organizing the event.  I would highly recommend attending anything they put together in the future.  As part of my presentation in Chicago, I included a recently published article (January 2012) from the Sesame Street Cooney Center which examined the content of the education category of the ITunes Store.  It makes for a most interesting read. The thing that struck me the most was how many app developers are targeting preschoolers and toddlers.  There is so much work that needs to be done in order to identify the most effective ways to use mobile technology with our youngest students.  I'll be sharing my thinking about technology and early childhood education in upcoming posts.  For now, check out the article below:

http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/upload_kits/ilearnii.pdf