We’ve just won a 5* certification award from the Educational App Store!

Our work with the Xcite Education team on a project entitled Zapp2Learn has earned its right for a 5* certification award from the Education App Store.

Zapp2Learn is a project that was developed by us here at Pipe & Piper and Xcite Education that teaches phonics by guiding children through an easy to use app. It uses images and speech related to all phonics taught in the UK’s national curriculum for key stage 1.

The app utilises QR codes and provides and exciting platform of interaction for children of all ages. It teaches phonics in a fun new way, bringing the mobile app and traditional paper-based learning together for the first time in education. Zapp2Learn teaches phonics by guiding the child through an easy to use app, which has images and speech related to all phonics taught in the UK’s national curriculum for key stage 1. The child interacts with the app in a fun new way, by scanning printed documents called Zapp Sheets, creating a fun, unique experience for the child.

The Zapp2Learn project is still in its early stages but Josh Thompson at the Education App Store has high hopes;

“Who ever said “print is dead”?! Zapp2Learn app has revived the printed medium through the clever use of QR codes. Learners are required to scan the correct letters’ QR code to fill in the gap and correctly spell the word represented in the accompanying image. While this doesn’t sound like an exciting concept – trust me it is!”

“Although the QR code features make this a distinctive phonics app due to its increase in learn engagement, the real value within this software comes from its progress reporting features. Teachers and parents can log into the website to view each individual users reports, an outstanding feature for teachers to track their individual students progression and where their students may need additional support (reports can be viewed online or downloaded in the form of excel spreadsheet enabling teachers to document work undertaken).”

“Although the admin section found within the Zapp2Learn website leaves a little to be desired from an experience perspective, it is a great feature for one main admin to be able to login and see how everyone is using the app specifically when it comes to setting work outside the classroom. “The dog ate my homework” will become an excuse of the past. The app does have a few kinks that need ironing out, but the value and level of engagement this app provides is second to none.”

We will continue to work with the Xcite Education team to improve the Zapp2Learn app further and hope that it really does help shape the future of learning.