Apr 20, 2015 12:39 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new comprehensive report provides an evidence-based guide that can help parents, educators and app designers can use evaluated the quality of apps marketed or labeled as educational.

Since the introduction of the iPad five years ago, more than 80,000 educational apps have become available in the Apple app store. This means these mobile programs are being developed faster than the scientific community can evaluate them.

"There are a number of great apps in the marketplace," the researchers note in their study. "One of the major reasons we sought to complete this project was to empower a much wider audience to be educated consumers and developers of apps. Since we embarked on this project, we have been approached by a number of the leading app developers who seem excited to include more of the scientifically informed processes in their product lines."

In their report, researchers review research from many disciplines related to the science of learning, offering a set of four evidence-based principles that can be used as guide, both by developers creating new products and by parents hoping to find high quality games for their children.            

They concluded that educational apps best support learning when they are engaging and active in a way that requires mental effort and not just swiping.  They also have to be meaningful in the context of a child's life.

"These ... principles can help use distinguish apps that masquerade as educational from those most likely to engage children in an educationally meaningful experience," the researchers say noted.

They pointed out that although many apps feature content that seems educational, like letters or numbers, they don't have true educational value.

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