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 PART A

Early childhood is crucial for emotional, psychological, and physical development.

This is why teachers should ensure they implement strategies that enhance understanding

among the children. Early childhood teachers primarily concentrate on the learning and

development of the children by providing a conducive environment for the learning process

(Flynn et al., 2019). The complexity of teaching young children has also resulted in the

emergence of different applications due to the current technological innovations to boost

learning and understanding among young children. Among the applications adopted to

enhance learning in early childhood (children between 0-5 years) include busy shapes, an

application recognized when teaching children between the ages of 0 and 5 years. The essay

will focus on the Busy Shapes and the Monkey Preschool Lunchbox.

The Busy Shapes App Analysis and Critique

The Busy Shapes is a learning application based on the Piaget theory of Cognitive

development. The Piaget theory of development explains the process child undergoes while

constructing a mental model of the world. This goes through stages, such as the sensorimotor,

preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Thus, the way that this

application is constructed follows the cognitive development of children between the age of

0-5years as they undergo their pre-school years of learning.

The application gives the children a digital background as it contains accessible

features that make it fast for the learners to explore. The application uses artificial

intelligence to ensure the children remain challenged throughout the whole application

experience. This is because the parents have the opportunity to set up different accounts for

different children and allow them to explore the context, which helps in developing

awareness of the different ways that the objects relate to one another and their impacts around
them. The Busy shape application also lets the children be entertained and name and

highlight the different colours. It is a fun, motivating environment where the learners can

identify the different shapes and colours, and this is only designed for toddlers and pre-

scholars (Papadakis & Papadakis, 2017). It is also an application that allows the children to

exercise their problem-solving skills by dropping and dragging the different existing shapes,

colours, and items to specific places. During this time, as the players navigate through the

application, they encounter several obstacles due to the increasing difficulties hence

providing the chances for learning. This also triggers the children's cognitive development,

enabling them to use logic in solving problems and determining their competency levels.

The application is made in a way that remains relevant in cognitive development as it

provides the ground for problem-solving and learning. The presence of the graphics keeps the

children motivated as they play, as colours are the source of concentration among young

children (Flynn et al., 2019). The use of colours is also significant in helping the children

compare the different elements in the game as they play. There is also the use of appealing

sound effects that align with the visuals so that the children capture the different activities to

keep the children engaged. The application's usability is easy and doesn’t require the help of

parents. As a result, the application's feature enables the children to learn problem-solving

skills. The children experience enhanced learning since the application has been set up with

unique outstanding backgrounds, which is an important factor in children learning.

The Monkey Pre-School Lunchbox and Critic

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is an application that helps in introducing colours,

letters as well as patterns to toddlers and pre-schoolers. The application comprises seven

interesting educational games targeting English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese pre-

schoolers (Laranjeiro, 2015). The application also helps the children learn about counting,
colours, matching, and the differences in counting among the common aspects of early

childhood (Raban-Bisby, 2010).

Focusing on the application, it is evident that the developers were aware of the

important concepts that enhance learning among young children. Using different colours in

the application helps the children understand different aspects such as shapes, letters, sizes,

and counting (Papadakis & Papadakis, 2017). There is much evidence of the importance of

the game in early childhood learning as the developers have majorly concentrated on

identifying the sticking points. Children can interact with colours as they navigate the game,

enhancing learning and understanding. As much as counting is a basic skill among children,

the application has enhanced it so that it prepares the child's mind to learn and comprehend

more about counting, which is an important skill among children.

To make it friendly for the children, the application has simple icons that make it easy

for the children to interact with, and they do not have penalties or limits. Using attractive

colours also motivated the children to remain engaged in the application as they navigated

and collected stickers. It is an important step as it enhances the confidence level among the

children as they play the game (Raban-Bisby, 2010). The presence of stick users also acts as a

continuous incentive play as they interact with other features. As the users navigate through

the games, it triggers motivation when they look forward to winning the games, as it is placed

in such a way that one is awarded for a good performance at the end of the game. It is a

concept that instils motivation and determination among young children as they focus on

attaining one step after the other (Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, n.d.). The same concept is

emphasized by Boyd (2021), who states that creating a competitive environment among

young children enhances motivation to pursue the next tasks. However, the application can

pose a challenge when the child fails to attain the last rewarding part of the game. This will

create a less captivating experience for the learners. Thus, the teachers and the parents should
be aware of the possible approaches that can be used to create a connection between

playfulness and the challenge so that in cases where they do not meet the expected results,

they remain motivated. The app creates a learning ground for young children, it is important

to ensure it does not negatively affect those who don’t understand the games.

In conclusion, the use of apps in early childhood teaching remains significant,

especially with the current emerging apps. Evidence from the essay shows that the apps are

made in such a way that they motivate as well as maintain the interest of the students to

ensure learning is effective. At the same time, through the use of apps, learning has been easy

and teachers have the ability to set the expected standards so as to meet the learner’s

outcome. The use of apps significantly contributes to cognitive learning among children as a

result of the different features that are incorporated in the apps such as the use of colours and

child friendly items.

 References

Boyd, W., Green, N., & Jovanovic, J. (2021). Learning and Teaching in Early Childhood:
Pedagogies of Inquiry and Relationships. Cambridge University Press.

Flynn, R. M., Richert, R. A., & Wartella, E. (2019). Play in a digital world: How interactive
digital games shape the lives of children. American Journal of Play, 12(1), 54–73.

Laranjeiro, D. (2015). Development of Game-Based M-Learning Apps. MDPI, 2-90.

Papadakis, S. J., & Papadakis, S. (2017). Mobile educational applications for children. What
educators and parents need to know. International Journal of Mobile Learning and
Organisation, 11-78.
Raban-Bisby, B. (2010). The Early Years Learning Framework in Practice: A Handbook for
Educators and Parents. London: Teaching Solutions.