In a March 2005 podcast (http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2005/03/03.html), Jon Udell persuasively identified five major factors behind the explosive growth of podcasting and rich media authoring in general: Internet activity is pervasive. Broadband has grown very rapidly, which makes it far easier to “consume large media objects.” The multimedia personal computer can “more or less be taken for granted.” The “distinction between streaming and downloading of media content has begun to blur. . . . People can now have the experience of streaming while enjoying the simplicity . . . of downloading.” Finally, there is the iPod phenomenon and “the rapid adoption of portable MP3 playback devices”—up to eleven million devices in the United States alone. Udell calls the portable audio device “the new transistor radio” and points to the beginnings of a “renaissance of creative stuff happening.” Because this renaissance coincides with the Creative Commons phenomenon, traditional business models need not constrain the artist’s work.
Try these great math apps the next time you are looking for a new way to challenge your children with their number work. These apps are tried and tested classroom tools and would be a great addition to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. They are aimed at kids between 5 and 12 years old, but grown ups can have just as much fun testing their brains with one of these innovative games.