iPrompts for the Differently Enabled

iPrompts is an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that can be used to help those with language and behavioral challenges (or just your normal kid) to transition through activites, make choices and focus on the task at hand.

Developed by the parents of a 4-year-old with autism, the application helps parents create picture-based schedules, visual countdown timers and illustrated choice prompts to be viewed on screen.

For example, mom or dad can create a sequence of pictures with customized captions using hundreds of sock images or snapping their own with the iPhone’s camera.  You can also allow those who cannot voice their preference to choose between two images.

Learn more with their video tutorial here.

This is sure to be very helpful to those who care for the differently enabled!  I’d like to try the choice feature with my two-year-old. It would be an improvement over our charades.

Available via iTunes for $49.99

Found via Scholastic Parent and Child

Is your pre-teen texting 1,000+ messages per month?

A recent Nielson report on kids and texting revealed that kids 12 and under send an average of 1,146 messages a month (That’s like 4 every waking hour they are not in school!)  Teens send more than 3,000 a month or 10 an hour not sleeping or in school.

For the most part, mom and dad don’t feel the pinch thanks to unlimited plans with low fees.  If you have kids with phones and you have a pay-as-you-go plan definitely check out the unlimited options before you feel it in the pocketbook.

Found via Switched.

Book Wink

I love anything that gets kids reading and this site–bookwink–is perfect for older elementary kids.  Through podcasting and web video, the site connects kids in grades 3-8 with books that will make them excited about reading.

Each video is about 3 minutes and is updated monthly. It covers a different topic and gives previews of books kids might like.  You can sort past recommendations by subject, grade level, author or title.  You can also view past book talks like this one on books that deal with “parallel universes.”

When I was a student learning to be an English teacher, I took a course on Young Adult Literature and this site would have been a huge help. For example, if you student really like reading a book about the Wild West, you can turn to this site to learn more about similar books he or she might enjoy too. The video talks give you a taste of each book so you can see what peaks your interest.

Rickets return linked to TV, video games

Rickets–that old malady that plagued poor malnourished children of yesteryear–is resurging. Technically it is a deficiency of Vitamin D, which is generated in the body by time in sunlight as well as found naturally in some foods.

The Times of London reported Friday that the ailment is becoming “disturbingly common” in youth in Britain due to prolonged periods of time spent indoors and poor diets. The disease can cause poor growth and bowed legs.

The article links the resurgence to the prevalence of TVs and video games that keep children inside rather than playing outside as well as to the increased use of sunscreen.

The UK scientists are recommending the government should start adding Vitamin D to food and milk such as is done in many other countries, including the U.S.

Gamers make better soldiers

This is rather encouraging news for those who play games or for those who are adults and want to improve their brain’s ability to think in new and creative ways.

The U.S. Office of Naval Research has found that those who play video games have higher “perceptual and cognitive abilities” than those who don’t.  The military is continuing to develop ways to train soldiers employing some of the features of video gaming.

Ray Perez with the ONR’s warfighter performance department said that they are learning a lot about the brain’s ability to continue to improve its “fluid intelligence,” or the ability to change, to meet new problems and to develop new tactics and countertactics.

It once was widely believed that after the age of 20, Perez said, that most humans had achieved their brain cell capacity, and that new brain cells were acquired at the expense of existing ones. But conventional beliefs about brain plasticity and aging are changing. The video game-like training programs at the Office of Naval Research, he noted, are producing surprising results.

Hot Wheels New Fold Up Car

Mattel is introducing a cool new Hot Wheels toy–Stealth Rides. Its about the size of a credit card and as slim as a cell phone and with the push of a button it flips into a remote control car.

There are 5 models–two cars, two tanks and a Batmobile Tumbler. The cars fold flat and fit in a case that is also a remote control.

They will be available in August and priced about $25.

Way cool!

Twitter is Out of this World–Literally

A U.S. astronaut has sent the first tweet from space.

T.J. Creamer  (@Astro_TJ) sent a tweet from the International Space Station that read:

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space!

NASA announced that for the first time astronauts on the ISS now have the ability to surf the Web from space. Previously, the astronauts would email info to be posted on Twitter.  It is expected to be a morale boost to the crew, NASA said.

Wired White House

The White House has launched a new iPhone and iPod touch app (soon to be available on other wireless networks) that lets you keep up with the latest happenings in the government.

You can follow the White House blog, stream video or catch up on news from the President and other federal staff.

The app is free via iTunes

Found via Geek Sugar

Nearly Every Waking Minute!

According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average young American now spends almost every waking moment (except the time in school) using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device.

That means those ages 8 to 18 spend more than 7.5 hours a day of screen time , up an hour from five years ago.  So our children now have an electronic leash of sorts tied to them nearly constantly.  The study also found that heavy use is associated with behavior problems and lower grades.

If you can’t beat them, join them. According to Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health:

with media use so ubiquitous, it was time to stop arguing over whether it was good or bad and accept it as part of children’s environment, “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat.”

Some of the findings from the study show that

• young people spend about two hours a day on mobile devices
• they spend more time listening to or watching media on their cellphones, or playing games than talking on them
• the heaviest media users are black and Hispanic youths and tweens (11-14)

Most striking might be this quote from profesor Donald Roberts, one of the study’s authors:

“Parents never knew as much as they thought they did about what their kids are doing,” Mr. Roberts said, “but now we’ve created a world where they’re removed from us that much more.”

The study found that parental limits did make a difference and homes with rules like no television during meals and other boundaries reflected less screen time.

(read the story If Your Kids Are Awake, They’re Probably Online via The New York Times)

The Longest Solar Eclipse for a Thousand Years

Apparently a solar eclipse occured on Friday. I was too distracted by the fact our local weather reached 60 degrees and was worshipping the sun for other reasons.  That and the fact that it wasn’t really visible from where I live. It was best viewed on a 185 mile stretch of Africa across the Indian Ocean to India, China and Myanmar.

The eclipse lasted 11 minutes and 8 seconds, making it the longest solar eclipse until December 23, 3043. That is a LONG time away.  This eclipse occurs annually however. It just won’t be this long for many years to come.

Fortunately NASA and a number of scientists have recorded and commented on the event if you want to experience it virtually.