Monitoring children’s online activities goes beyond keeping track of their daily screen time. Especially now that parents need to keep kids entertained while staying home, extra effort goes into finding kid-friendly content to plan out children’s activities for listening, watching, and playing on their devices.
Google Play’s Kids tab helps make it easier for parents to find quality apps for their children. The tab now has “Teacher approved” apps which are both entertaining and enriching, rated based on several factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight. Only apps that meet quality standards are given a “Teacher approved” badge. The app listings also provide parents with additional information about why the app was rated accordingly to help determine if the app is right for their child.
Academic experts and teachers behind the review and rating process are led by Joe Blatt from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Dr. Sandra Calvert from Georgetown University.
Blatt is a children’s media expert and has created educational multimedia and broadcast television programs over the past 20 years. He has been the consultant and advisor of many major production companies, including Sesame Workshop and Pokemon, among others. Dr. Calvert, on the other hand, leads the Children’s Digital Media Center in Georgetown University where they study the effects of interactive digital media experiences on children’s long-term social adjustment, academic achievement, and personal identity.
To browse “Teacher approved” content, simply go to the “Kids” tab on Google Play. Remember to always encourage conversations with children to set digital ground rules, find out about content they like, and discuss smart online habits and other digital topics. Check out Google’s Family Link for a set of helpful tools and a family guide to help initiate such conversations.