Smart Toy Story

Now that President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act has raised the bar on educational accountability, schools are snatching up electronic learning devices that help kids succeed on tests, says Karen Billings, vice president of the education division of the Software and Information Industry Association. And as more school districts struggle to make do with leaner budgets, the time is right for inexpensive electronic learning tools that can help youngsters master basic skills in reading, math, and other subjects.

It's little wonder then that the modestly priced LeapPad ($49.99) is such a crowd-pleaser. The hand-held device emits everything from letters and words to cool sounds and music, with the pace controlled by the child holding the LeapPad's stylus. The child touches the stylus to the pages of a specially designed book framed by the LeadPad device. Kids enjoy its interactivity and many educators claim the gadget contributes to real student learning. For example, one of the LeapPad's most popular programs for elementary schools is a 26-title phonics set. The LeapPad's manufacturer, LeapFrog (the company that pioneered the smart-toy revolution), also produces the iQuest, a PDA–like device with a thumb keyboard that preps kids in grades five and up for important exams, such as the much-dreaded Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Educators and parents are eschewing personal computers in favor of small, easy-to-operate learning toys, says Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Revue. "When you're dealing with children, PCs are just too complicated," he says. "You sit with a three-year-old on your lap and you're not able to get a favorite learning game started, because you've just discovered it doesn't work with Microsoft Windows XP. That's not much fun." As the number of smart toys on the market has skyrocketed in the past two years, children's educational CD-ROMs have plummeted. In 2000, there were 642 Windows-format disks released; but in 2002, there were only 387.

According to Bob Lally, president of LeapFrog's school division, we can expect to see simple, sturdy, wireless smart toys in elementary school classrooms within the next two to five years. And once the wireless revolution gains a foothold in elementary and secondary schools, there will be no stopping it, says Kurshan. Although smart toys such as the Leapster and the PowerTouch (see "Coming Soon to a Vendor Near You") aren't wireless, they hint at what the next generation of learning tools might be like. Future wireless devices will allow parents to track students' academic progress, help children prepare for tests, and transmit student test scores to schools' online databases. Tomorrow's wireless smart toys will also make it possible for video streaming technology to become a regular part of classroom instruction. Kurshan says that as the number of speedy broadband connections increases in schools and homes, kids will take part in more video interactive stories, in which they solve problems, make choices, and answer questions that affect the stories' progress.

Is the impending migration from PCs to portable, hand-held learning devices a good thing for kids? Research has demonstrated that kids learn better and retain more knowledge when they use well-designed interactive software—no matter what its electronic platform, says Buckleitner. "Here's the acid test: set a child in front of a computer game. Is he still involved in the game 10 minutes later? How about an hour?" The most compelling games offer kids a real opportunity to influence the outcome, adds Buckleitner.