Filip Brož On Jablíčkář, I have already written about many educational applications and accessories for the development of children and youth. In the past, I was very attracted to the pen MagicPen, which turns the iPad into an imaginary whole school. I have a one-year-old daughter at home, whom I let go Playful songs and overall I try to involve the iPad in its development.
However, that definitely doesn't mean I'm going to put a fairy tale on YouTube and let her watch it on her own. I always try to explain everything to her, even though she doesn't really understand it yet. I also recently got my hands on the Osmo educational kit, which had eluded my attention until now. However, I'm fascinated by what it all has to offer, and I'm already looking forward to my daughter growing up and making sense of it.
Until then, Osmo and I have to play alone. For testing, I received the basic Osmo Genius Kit, which includes a base station and three educational games. Separately, I also have Osmo Coding with Awbie. Osmo is brilliant in how it can bring the real world, i.e. physical objects, onto iPad screens. The principle is very simple.
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Osmo is designed for all generations of iPad except the 2-inch Pro version. You can even use an old iPad XNUMX, which is quite logical. This model is still the most widespread iPad in education.
Either way, the first thing you always have to do is get a Starter Kit or the aforementioned Genius Kit. These include a base - a holder for the iPad and a rearview mirror. Depending on the type of your iPad, you just adjust the holder and place a special mirror in the area of the front camera. This allows physical objects on your desk to be projected onto the iPad. But it doesn't work without the app. Depending on which sets you own, you download the apps in question from the App Store, which are always free.
I tested it Tangram, Numbers a Words. I probably liked Tangram the most of all. It's a puzzle that comes from ancient China and I've played with it since I was a little boy. It consists of seven geometric shapes, from which many images can be assembled. Once you have your iPad in the cradle and the Tangram app downloaded, you can start building. The goal of the game is to assemble a picture where you only know its outline. You can choose from several difficulties, and at the beginning you can always see exactly where a geometric figure belongs. Afterwards, however, you can let everything disappear and build purely according to the outline.
When folding, you must use all the parts, no part must be left aside. The parts lie next to each other and must touch only with an edge or at least a corner. The mirror on your iPad captures everything and you can see on the display whether you are doing it right. I've spent a lot of time with Tangram and everything works absolutely perfectly. If I were a kid, I wouldn't move away from the device.
Counting and letters
I also tried the Osmo Numbers app. I took out the numbers and dots on my desk again, downloaded the app and launched it. The joke is that you have to build different numbers from the dots and whole levels from them. For example, there is an underwater world on the screen where there are bubbles with numbers. As soon as you put the corresponding number under the iPad, it disappears from the display.
You will gradually reach more complex levels, where multiplication and subtraction are not missing. The world of mathematics suddenly takes on a completely different dimension, in which play and teaching are connected. It's a shame that we didn't have this in the first grade of elementary school, maybe I would have a completely different relationship with mathematics.
In the Osmo Genius Kit you will also find a set of Words. As the name suggests, here you work with letters. However, the application is in English, so in practice I practiced rather basic English vocabulary. There will always be a picture on the display and your task is to use the letters to form the correct name. In our conditions, Words will be appreciated more by teachers of English than Czech. The application again has various bonus tasks, games and accessories that make teaching more attractive.
Let's program
In the world of Osmo, you can purchase additional sets separately. In addition to the Genius Kit, I also tried Osmo Coding, which teaches children to control the playful character Awbie, who loves strawberries. However, Awbie does not move using virtual buttons or a joystick. You have to program everything. In the set, you will find physical buttons that you have to put together and determine the direction of walking, the number of steps and other commands, such as jump, stop or do something.
Everything is accompanied by a story and interactive tasks. Awbie grows her own garden for the strawberries she collects. You also encounter various bonus games, quests and treasures along the way. At first, everything is very easy, you just need to count the appropriate number of steps and direction on the display and assemble the physical buttons accordingly. Once you think you've programmed Awbie correctly, just press the physical Play button.
I think that Osmo Coding will be appreciated not only by children, but also by parents. In a simple and non-violent way, you will gain a subconscious awareness of programming and, above all, you will learn to think like a programmer, i.e. to break down complex tasks into individual parts that together form a whole. The connection with the real world enhances the experience even more. It's amazing to watch a character on the iPad do what you build from the pieces on the table. The kids must be totally enthralled by it.
After all, similar accessories and real toys are also supported Swift Playgrounds, to which you can connect, for example, robots Dash and Dot. While testing the Osmo programs, I didn't encounter a single snag. Everything works absolutely perfectly. Even small children can easily handle the operation and installation. At the same time, you can have all the sets can also be purchased on Apple's website, where the following kits are currently available: Osmo Genius Kit for 3 crowns, Commerce Game Kit for 1 crowns, Creative Game Kit for 2 crowns and Coding Game Kit for 2 crowns.
If you have children at home, Osmo is an ideal gift. It combines not only play and teaching, but mainly the real world with the virtual one.
great, thanks a lot. But would it be such a problem to immediately state at least indicative prices? Of course, Google or a direct click through from the article is great, but to be written somewhere at least as an indication as to whether it is an investment in order... would (at least in my opinion) be useful
We usually provide such data, but here we accidentally missed it. We have already added the link and the price. Thanks! ;)
great, thanks
Osmo already worked on the first iPad. We had the base glued from cardboard with a glued mirror :-)
Is the stand different for each set of games? Or is it possible to buy games without a stand somewhere if I already buy one with another set? Thanks