Apps: the new next thing

It doesn't seem to matter what you are talking about or who you are talking to, the word App seems to quickly work its way into the conversation. In fact, in 2010, the word App was voted the word of the by the American Dialect Society, proving just how common place it is today. According to wikipedia, the Apple App Store opened on July 10, 2008, and as of January 2011, reported over 10 billion downloads. As of June 6, 2011, there are 425,000 third-party apps available, which are downloaded by 200 million iOS users.


Apps truly have become a common day discussion and the best form of babysitting that has been seen in a long time. When in line at the grocery store, look around at the kids in the checkout line and it is very common to see many of them on their parents smart phones, navigating their way around the device and playing games.


Why are Apps so popular now? Having spent time with friends and their children I am amazed by the children's fixation with smart phones (or phones in general). When a child is fussy, it is common to see a parent hand them their phone to appease them. For the infant or toddler the phone does not need to be on to entertain them, however as they grow up they learn that if you are bored or waiting, a smart phone is what will pass the time best. Gone are the days of chatting to those around you in the grocery store or picking up a magazine from the stand. Apps are the solution to boredom. I must say I'm not sure it is such a bad thing. 


For my project I reviewed 5 different math / education based apps I thought would be useful for parents, teachers and students. I have looked at BrainPop, Math Drills Lite, Rocket Math, Math Blasters and Tanzen HD. There are so many Iphone apps for math that I could have written a blog specifically about math apps. And with that said, there are countless other topics I could have covered besides math.