This is a fun and educational app that will encourage young kids to learn about reading and the world around them.
This app has a core of education and learning with a sprinkle of fun adventure and a little humor. It is a series of audio picture books that all talk about different characters in this world called Kazaz.
Personally, I thought that the app was a bit limited. The GUI is very complicated with no instructions or guidance and I could only get one book for free. The rest, which was only around two, are $2.99 each. As far as the books go, they are fun. However I really felt like the books could concentrate on more educational things. The free book that I read was mostly about the creation of Kazaz, the planet. In my opinion, it would be more educational if instead it provides a story about how Earth formed and evolved. Kids would be very curious about that!
My favorite feature is how you find the stories. There is a map of the planet and you click on certain areas to get the books instead of going into a folder and choosing one. I think that is a nice touch.
I recommend this app for ages 2-5. It is definitely meant for younger kids. I also give it 3.5 out of 5 stars for some disappointing features. But, it is a very smart and civic minded idea which, with some enhancement, can become a very popular product for early education.
The iPad app Kazaz! combines story, animation and factual information. The opening screen presents a planet with various islands to explore. The islands pop up links to a story with illustrations accompanying a voice narration. As you revisit the story, animations and "gems" appear on the illustrations that link to informational videos relating to the topic of the story.
This is a good learning tool for ages 5 to 8. The narration is very interesting, engaging and helps kids to read along. The music is good and, after all the stories are developed, it should be a good app for this age group.
/The stories are perhaps a bit too long for kids in the younger part of this age group. But, they have simple words and concepts that are age-appropriate. And, the stories model positive behaviors. They are also constructed well and encourage you to continue reading to find out what happens at the end. A page turner!
The app is very easy to navigate and to listen to the stories and the music. The sounds and visual quality are great. The sound effects for the instruments are quite good. The app seems to be in the beginning stages so all the stories are not yet developed. Those that are show good sound and picture quality. I could not find a way to start from where I left off and that was disappointing.
The entertainment value of the music and the music man are good. The children can learn about different instruments when using this app.
I was able to view only one story, the namesake of the app. All other content is available for purchase or says "coming soon."
This app stands out from other story apps because as you revisit the story, animations and "gems" appear on the illustrations that link to informational videos relating to the topic of the story. These animations and gems are not only fun to discover, but the level of information presented is accessible to the target audience. I enjoyed exploring the one story that is available because the graphics are visually appealing and the element of surprise made me want to come back for more.
Kazaz! uses technology and storytelling as a vehicle to support learning for young children. It's an immersive tablet-based world designed to help children develop visual literacy and support social emotional learning as well as language development
