Village Gamer

Wrinkled Pants has announced that Are Bees Smart, or Not? is the first in a series of apps for the iPad, presented in English text with Mandarin voice over, now available on iTunes. Instructions and key words are given in Simple Chinese (Putonghua Syntax). The high-interest, fact-based story about the intelligence of bees is written in easy-to-read text, with a set of activities/games to improve literacy skills in basic English: oral reading, comprehension, vocabulary development, phonics, spelling and writing. The Bearded Dragon series provides self-instructional help for Chinese students who want to learn basic elements of the English language in an easy, and enjoyable medium.

My Word! Reader is a unique and innovative series of software applications designed to raise literacy levels of elementary and secondary school students who struggle with inadequate reading skills, thus affecting their work in every area of the curriculum. Each app contains a high interest story with mature content, but written in reader-friendly language. The stories in the applications form the basis for six skill building activities, each leading to furthering understanding and skill development in those literacy skills essential to decoding unfamiliar words. Also appropriate for ESL students, the apps are self instructional, providing teachers with productive and cost effective learning resources.