Children who take the tablet to play with a disconcerting ease, it has become commonplace. Many parents still hope that it is for their own good and not just to see them passively glued to the screen. Finding how to occupy them in a fun and educational way has therefore become a goal for many brands that want to seduce both parents and children.
among those, osmos got the right part. The American start-up, owned by the company Tangible Play, has developed a concept that combines an application to download for free, a tablet and augmented reality to teach while having fun from the age of 3, the first age in which a computer can be used. screen. offered to a child, but on a supervised and limited basis.
Mixing the real and the virtual
Osmo is therefore the name of the product and that of the small company. The innovative idea is to bring the real world into the digital world so that the child maintains good physical milestones to learn faster through the virtual. Osmo is a set of educational games that will allow you to learn writing, calculation, logic through small playful manipulations that will be performed in front of you and that will come to life on the screen of the iPad or the Amazon Fire tablet.
Several physical elements bring the magic of learning to life: a base to place the touch panel, a small block of mirrors that will be fixed on your front camera and that will create a large area of activity in front of the child, as well as objects that must be placed in the tablet for each game so that the camera can detect them.
The tablet then becomes a support for the child to become familiar with writing, mathematics, spelling or even logic. Osmo has different applications and as many kits according to age and desires (from 3 to 12 years). Various mini-games are offered in each box, with different levels. Next, you will need to download the app (App Store or Amazon Store).
For mathematics, the player must, for example, add numbers to reach the total set in a bubble and thus make it burst. To do this, he takes numbers written on small cardboard supports and places them in the field of view of the camera. Then they appear on the screen. The same goes for missing letters in a word. Each success is punctuated with points earned and congratulations until you reach the next level.
Do not miss the Pizza Co. set that puts the child in a situation transforming him into a manager of a pizzeria. He will have to learn to respond to customer orders to create his pizza, then collect the bills, taking care to give change.
learning to code
If each Osmo kit allows the child to become familiar with learning, from writing to drawing to science or English, the latter can also learn about computer programming.
Obviously, this is not about long formulations and lines of code in sight. Osmo has designed its coding kit to be as fun and interactive as the rest. You will have to move a little man from square to square by associating command blocks (move, jump, run, etc.) and the number of times the action is repeated. This game allows him to get acquainted with the logic of programming by seeing on the screen the result of the commands that he accumulates in front of him.
Several levels are provided, with progressive difficulties to satisfy even adults who want to start on advanced programming concepts to assimilate. It is possible to play as a team to solve missions. A way to make children aware of creativity, logical reasoning… but also patience.
Prices and availability of Osmo boxes
Osmo offers different boxes (base + sensor + element box). The Osmo Little Genius Box is perfect for beginners (3-5 years old) with four games to recognize the letters of the alphabet and draw them with sticks. It is sold at 99 euros (extra tablet).
The Osmo Genius chest (6-10 years) offers logic games (Tangram), learning spelling, numbers, physics and drawing (119 euros).
The Coding box (5-10 years) includes three games to experiment with computer programming (119 euros).
Note that it is possible to buy separate elements to take advantage of other applications without having to invest in another box (35 to 49 euros).
Source: BFM TV
