Technology in Education was created a few years back by Siva Kumar who found that his autistic son was quite enamored with his wife’s iPhone. He found that his son was making leaps and bounds using educational and storybook apps as they kept his attention. Siva mentioned to me that when his son was 3 or 4 years old he would love to sit and play on the computer so much that he had to create a password just for his son so he could spend time on the computer.
In December of 2010, Siva had a break from work and started to research the apps available and as he began to start downloading children’s apps for his son he created a Technology in Education Facebook page that listed his different reviews of the apps his son was using. What started as a personal quest to find the best apps has turned into a site that thousands have visited and continue to visit as a resource for finding and researching apps. That following summer he and Carisa Kluver of Digital Storytime and Mich Capraro of Kidoodle Apps created a Back to School App Event that listed hundreds of apps available for parents and educators to preview.
That September, Siva contacted me to see about doing an Appy Event that celebrated all apps that had to do with pirates and treasure to support International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th. This was the first of many Appy Facebook parties I helped host and it has grown into several Facebook parties by other developers and review sites. This is a great way for developers to showcase their new apps as it is difficult to stand out with all of the apps in iTunes.
This lack of categorizing by the Apple store led Siva to create the Appy Mall. He explains that if you are looking for apps that are good for preschoolers in iTunes – there is no set category for these apps. What makes the Appy Mall unique is that he has created a resource for parents that are specific to their needs. If they are looking for apps that have curriculum attached to them – there is a “mall” of apps that are listed. If you are looking for apps that have to do with geography – there is a “mall” of apps listed. And there is a big mall of apps that are beneficial to children with special needs. I love this idea as it is helpful for developers to list their apps in the categories they see fit.
Thanks Siva for creating this helpful resource for busy parents!
And make sure to check out their Appy Facebook Party going on until the 20th at: https://www.facebook.com/events/171890202953822/
To read more about the Appy Mall and Siva go to:
Thanks for sharing this. I have written reviews for Tech in Special Ed and have emailed with Siva but never knew about the ‘beginnings’. Thanks so much for doing this spotlight on Siva and Appy Mall. We are all lucky to have such a great resource.