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Murky Reef is an impressive iPad app designed to teach 6-8 year olds reading, math and science using various multi-media features. Through interactive play on a coral reef children will learn by using games, videos and more. Progress reports and multiple user accounts make this an ideal app for parents and teachers. (Three user accounts plus one guest account are available.)
The app requires the user to read, comprehend, analyze, apply and solve problems all while playing games. All 22 games are unlocked and ready to play. You can choose to play any game and the same game can be played multiple times; with different content each time. The ability to choose a game allows parents or teachers to work on specific goals.
Games are timed; three levels are available. The difference in the levels is not in difficulty of the questions, but in how much time the player has before Ogee, the shark, attacks. Choosing slow attack allows the user more play time, vs. fast attack, which allows the user less time. Not to worry, you have friends, with special powers, to help slow Ogee’s attack regardless of the level. The special friends include a jelly fish, electric ray, octopus, sea turtle and cleaner wrasse fish.
Number sense, spot rhyming words, greater than, addition 1-10, hidden word level 2, shark quiz 2 and rescue me are just a few of the 22 games. The games are done with the same concept where Puff, the puffer fish with super-hero powers, reads the directions or question on the sunken submarine and you must answer the question. As you are answering the questions, Ogee, the shark advances in his attack. In some games you have additional helpers such as star fish to help you with the addition problems. Positive feedback and encouragement are given to the user during the games. Children earn sea creatures as their reward for successfully completing the games.
My absolute favorite game in the entire app is Rescue Me. In this game the user is presented with a grid of letters and numbers and needs to find the five missing fish using the navigational hints provided. The hints start out as simple as A1, B2; progressing to harder ones such as 2 North of D5; 3 East of B1; or 1 West of C1, then 1 South. Again, you are trying to complete this before Ogee attacks!
Your Reef Creature Play is the area that the child can go to learn and play with their reward creatures. The creature can be dragged to the submarine to learn more or just around the screen to play with.
The Reports section is designed nicely to give parents or teachers statistics for each of the games and for overall skills (comprehension, logical reasoning, language arts, and math). It would be ideal to have an option to reset the scores; maybe locked with a password.
A Wi-Fi connection is required for watching the short videos. Navigation and user interface throughout the entire app is very easy and intuitive. The bold colors and graphics make you feel like you are under water swimming with the sea creatures.
Murky Reef is a fabulous app, for families or schools; I look forward to what Frolyc will develop next. They are definitely onto something here! Don’t shy away from the app, because of the recommended age range. It can be used for various ages; kids and adults will want to play this app. Our entire family enjoyed it.
A lite version is available in the iTunes store for those that would like to check out the app before purchasing. There is a good amount of content provided in the lite version. The lite version only made me want the full version even more!
Bottom-line: I highly recommend Murky Reef; it is an outstanding educational app. Priced at $3.99, it’s a bargain.
Murky Reef seamlessly blends reading, science, language arts, math and critical thinking skills with interactive and engaging game play ALL in one app!
Its unique, really great feature is true 21st century multi-media learning of ocean life. It teaches science using informational text, interactive graphics, audio, curated & kid-safe videos and of course games! In Science, you learn about coral reef, reef fish including sharks and how they live. There are so many interactions. You can touch corals to see how colorful they can be, you can make an octopus squirt ink, you can make shark teeth fall off etc.
There are 22 games for you to play. In the games, you have to answer questions correctly, so Puff, the pufferfish gets the power to spew hot lava and chase the ravenous shark Ogee away. The questions are carefully structured to foster logic and critical thinking while covering Language arts and Math subject areas