Chatty Kidz

Chatty Kidz aims to use family bonds and communication to improve learning outcomes for children - at the moment particularly focussing on literacy, although there are plans to add more diverse content over time. This premise is well-founded, with research showing that outcomes for children learning to read and continuing to improve over time are much better when families support and encourage the learning process. As such, Chatty Kidz provides a platform that allows children to read from an extensive library of e-books, or to share these with relatives (or another reading mentor) using video calls. As well as providing an enriching learning opportunity, the app also aims to bring family members into the learning process who are geographically removed, and to enrich family relationships in this way too.

To get started with Chatty Kidz is relatively easy. The app is easy to navigate and contains prompts for first time users, as well as a video introduction from the founder which makes the aims and context of the app very clear. Children can read and add books to their local library without adding any contacts, but in order to take part in a reading assessment or a video call then a new contact has to be added. Contacts can be added in the app using an email address, meaning that there are no public lists to browse and so keeping children safer online. We tested the app using an iPad and a PC with Chrome, but the screens were very similar and the app is designed to work using iPads at both ends, or PCs, depending on the preferences of the users. There is an Android app in the pipeline too, to add further compatibility.

Each new user receives a month’s free trial of all content, after which a subscription must be purchased to continue to use the platform. There is a wealth of included content, including a library of Pearson learn to read scheme books, which take children through 30 progressive levels of reading, including both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Once two contacts have connected using the app, the screen is shared, with one of the two users taking control of the app - meaning that the adult can take charge of the interaction. The two video feeds are shown unobtrusively in the corners of the app window. From here, the users can either share one of the books in the library and read together, or the adult can choose to use the app to assess the reading level of the child. These features are simple to use and the assessment provides a good level of detail, which can either be accessed through the app or emailed to a parent or other adult’s email account.

This app meets its stated aims well, and it will be interesting to see what types of content are added to the platform in future. The platform itself could be really helpful in motivating and providing access to educational opportunities to children in different situations, by removing any geographical constraints to learning. As well as linking with family members, professional tutors can be used remotely and in this way the platform provides a big advantage in accessibility to children who live in remote geographical locations, or are unable to attend normal school settings for other reasons too.

You can download Chatty Kidz on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.