Educational toys (sometimes called " instructive toys ") are game objects, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet educational goals such as helping a child develop a specific skill or teaching a child about a particular subject. They often simplify, shrink, or model the activities and objects used by adults.
Although children are always interacting with and learning about the world, many of the objects that interact with them and learn from are not toys. Toys are generally considered specially built for children's use. A child may play with and learn from rocks or sticks, but it is not considered an educative toy because 1) it is a natural object, not a designed one, and 2) has no educational purpose to expect.
The difference lies in the perception or reality of intent and value of determination. Educative toys are expected to educate. It is expected to instruct, promote intellectual, emotional or physical development. Educational toys should teach a child about a particular subject or help a child develop certain skills. More toys are designed with education and child development in mind today than ever before.
Video Educational toy
History
Toys have changed a lot throughout history, just like the concept of childhood itself. In Toys as a Culture (1986), anthropologist Brian Sutton Smith discusses the history of toys and states that "in various ways the toys mediate this cultural conflict in the children's private lives." Educational toys in particular tend to reflect cultural issues in their time.
Research on the history of toys and its use tends to focus on western culture, but work has also been done in North Africa and the Sahara. Dolls or dolls made of wood, clay, wax or cloth may be the earliest known toys. Archaeologists have found them on sites from Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and Antonia Fraser emphasizes their universality.
Dolls can be seen as early "educational toys" because dolls act as a substitute, allowing children to learn to care for babies and surviving children. Similarly, a bow of toys and arrows and other weapons act as a substitute for real weapons, allowing children to develop the skills needed for hunting or fighting.
Until the 20th century, however, the toys produced were not available, and most often owned by wealthy families. Miniature dishes and toy soldiers that have been formed are found in the UK since the 1300s. There are records of rich medieval children having elaborate toy houses and toys that allow them to mimic adult activities such as managing a home or making siege.
Nevertheless, "We often forget that throughout history, children have been playing happily without toys and making toys." The children improvised various toys and games using whatever was in hand, including fences, barrels, sticks, stones, and sand. Children and adults play games such as backgammon, dice, chess and cards, which help develop dexterity, memory, and manual strategies. In 1560, Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted Children's Games . He described about 200 children in at least 75 play activities. Only a few activities involving toys made specifically for children, and perhaps even fewer are classified as "educational toys": dolls, simple musical instruments, and water pistols used to shoot birds.
Locke Block
The identification of special toys had clear educational goals in the 1700s. In 1693, in Some Educational Concepts, liberal philosopher John Locke asserted that educational toys can increase the pleasure of children in studying their letters: "There may be dice and games, with letters which they should teach the children alphabet by play, and twenty other ways can be found, according to their special emotions, to make this kind of learning of sport to them. "This type of block, one of the first explicit educational toys, is often identified as" Locke Block ".
Dissected Map
French educator Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont may have been the earliest inventor of the jigsaw puzzle or "Dissected Map". The records show that he used some kind of wooden map to teach girl geography in the 1750s. However, since there are no examples of existing maps, it is impossible to confirm that they are "dissected" into sections. British cartographer John Spilsbury is generally credited with inventing the jigsaw puzzle or "dissected map" in 1766. He intended to be an educational tool for geography.
Rational Toy Store
In Practical Education 1798, Maria Edgeworth and her father Richard Lovell Edgeworth describe "rational toy stores" where educational toys will be sold. They suggest that such stores should sell materials for various activities including carpentry, handicrafts, gardening, chemistry, and natural history. An important advocate for women's education, Mary Edgeworth's ideas on science and education were influenced by philosopher, chemist, and educator Joseph Priestley and the fascinating discoveries of the first chemical revolution. Edgeworth even suggested that children be given playgrounds for harsh and untidy educational activities, to support the development of the "young philosopher", which he clearly expected to do well.
"For those who have a habit of observation, every thing to be seen or heard, becomes a source of entertainment... the most well-ordered family allows their horses and dogs to have a house for themselves, no space is allocated to children, If they learn chemistry, mineralogy, botany, or mechanics, if they do enough physical exercise without torturing the entire family with noise, a room should be reserved for them.
In contrast to Edgeworths, Isaac Taylor in Home education (1838) and Charlotte Yonge at Womankind (1876) championed the idea of ​​a less structured and more imaginative game. The series of toys that produced more widespread during the Victorian era but the toys continue to be expensive and belong to the rich. Toys may cost as much as a worker's wages during the week.
Froebel Gifts
The 1800s mapmaking center was German, famous for its fine craftsmanship. Between 1836 and 1850, German educator Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel introduced a special set of geometric-shaped solids that he called "gifts" and less solid materials such as folding paper which he called "work". Through this manipulative interaction, the five senses are stimulated. They are intended to support conceptual learning such as number, size, shape, weight, and cause and effect. Froebel also established the first "Kindergarten". It provides care and education for pre-school children whose parents are absent at work during the day.
In 1880, the wooden block designed by Froebel has inspired the development of Anchor Stone Blocks (German: Anker-Steinbaukasten ) made of artificial stone in Germany by brother of Lilienthal. This set of early construction toys has remained in production almost continuously ever since, and modern components are still compatible with durable antique elements made more than a century ago.
La Science Amusante
French engineer Arthur Good (under the pen name "Tom Tit") published a weekly article on La Science Amusante , or Amusing Science in the French magazine L'Illustration . They were collected and published starting in 1889. Geometric demonstrations, craft projects, and physics experiments can be done with everyday household materials.
Montessori manipulative
Manipulative diversity was introduced in the early 20th century by Maria Montessori. Based on his work in Italy, his book Montessori Method was translated into English and published in 1912. The Montessori curriculum focuses mainly on tactile and perceptual learning in the early years, and is based on theories of development and work with students. He emphasized practical exercises using ready-made materials such as pouring rice or tying shoes. He also developed a set of Montessori sensory materials, manipulative for learning mathematics and other skills and concepts. Today, the Montessori method is used both at home and school, and its manipulative has been studied extensively. His work is highly motivated by the slums and social and economic losses facing poor women and their children.
Set construction
During World War I (1914-1918), countries such as Great Britain embargoed German goods, including toys. Later, toy-making businesses were established in Britain and other countries, in some cases employing former soldiers. Britain became the main supplier of toys, to be followed by America, and then Japan and China. Toys become cheaper and accessible to more people. However, the emergence of industrial toy manufacturing industry in Canada, England, and elsewhere is plagued by the Great Depression.
Meccano, Erector Sets, Tinkertoy, and Lincoln Logs emerged in the early 20th century, and were promoted as the development of fine motor skills, encouraging free play and creativity, and introducing children to engineering and construction ideas.
Frank Hornby of Lancashire, England designed the Meccano construction toy in 1899 to encourage his children's interest in mechanical engineering. Patented as "Mechanics Made Easy" in 1901, he was known as "Meccano" in 1907. Educators are aware of the changing societies caused by industrialism, and hope to attract young people into new careers as possible.
In 1913, A. C. Gilbert introduced the Set Erector with the first national advertising campaign for a toy. Erector sets consist of girder and bolts that can be assembled into miniature buildings or other structures, and are recognized as creativity coaching in constructive play. In 1924, it was redesigned to include miniature electric motors and other pieces that could be used to create different types of self-propelled machines.
Tinkertoy was developed and patented in 1914 by Charles H. Pajeau of Evanston, Illinois. The set contains rolls of wood and stems that can be combined to make various kinds of construction. They are marketed in different sets, according to the type and number of pieces included, allowing them to be interoperable and identified by the degree of difficulty (eg junior, big boy, graduate). In addition to being used as construction toys, they have been used by scientists and students to model molecules, and even to build primitive computers.
Lincoln Log was introduced in 1918 by John Lloyd Wright, the second son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. They were inspired by structural work for the second Imperial Hotel, built in Tokyo, Japan. For the hotel, Frank Lloyd Wright designed an interlocked wooden beam system intended to protect the hotel from earthquakes by allowing it to sway without crashing. Her son adapted the idea to allow the children to build a construction that would survive to play rough. In the 1950s, Lincoln Logs was one of the first toys to be marketed on television.
Throughout the early 20th century, new materials such as plastics were developed, and manufacturing processes became increasingly automated. It supports the development of educational toys, including construction toys, as it allows standardization of pieces. Toys such as Tinkertoy and Lincoln Logs, originally made of wood, are then also made in plastic versions.
In the mid-1950s, more explicit engineering-themed construction toys appeared, including plastic blocks, columns, and panels that could be assembled into a model of skyscraper curtain walls. Then, the Girder and Panel structure system is expanded to a Hydro-Dynamic setting by adding pipes, valves, tanks, nozzles, and pumps to allow construction of pipeline models, HVACs, and chemical engineering systems such as simulated distillation columns. Other extensions of the system support the development of suburban-style housing (Build-A-Home), or the monorail transport system (Skyrail).
The Lego toy building was originally developed by Ole Kirk Christiansen in Billund, Denmark, in the 1930s. The Lego name is said to be based on the Danish phrase leg godt , or "play well", and is also translated in Latin as "I study, I collect". In the 1950s, the set became available outside Denmark and Germany, eventually being marketed worldwide and surpassing all previous construction toys in popularity. Lego bricks are versatile and are used by adults and children to create almost limitless creations. The company has created a series of kits for complex architectural structures like the Taj Mahal. It has also partnered extensively to create theme-based devices for franchises such as Star Wars.
In the late 1960s, Fischertechnik introduced what would eventually become a powerful and versatile set of modular construction components, combining advanced pneumatic, electrical, electronic, and robotic capabilities. The company's products also achieve some success in hobby and school markets, including vocational education programs, but are overshadowed by Lego in the consumer segment.
Pretend Play
Pretend Play is an imaginative activity where "children play as if something or someone is real". "This type of game benefits all areas of child development and provides child tools for later experiences such as emotional setting, creativity, and logical reasoning." Pretend play is important for children's development in various fields, such as: "social and emotional skills, language skills, thinking skills, nurturing imagination".
Chemistry set and science device
In the 1920s and 1930s, child labor legislation and other social reforms resulted in an increase in the number of school children. As the amount of time spent in school increases, people begin to see adolescence as a different stage of life, with its own "youth culture". With the increasing urbanization and use of cars, there are new options for post-school socialization, some of which are under-supervised and allowed to be contacted across social, class, and gender. Teachers and post-depressed parents worry that children will get into trouble after school and start starting the club after school. Scientific educational toys are produced and promoted to children as a fun thing, and for parents as keeping kids out of trouble and encouraging them to enter a good career in science. Chemcraft specifically uses the slogan "Experimenter Today... Scientist Tomorrow" to market their chemical range.
Though the portable chemical caskets had existed as early as 1791, they were intended for use by adults, not children. The Chemcraft package from Porter Chemical Company, marketed in 1915, is probably the first chemical set devoted to children. In 1950, Porter sold as many as 15 different chemical sets, with varying prices and contents. The A. C. Gilbert Company is another leader, producing toys that promote a wide range of science activities. Their first chemical set appeared in 1920, and was followed by many others. Gilbert's biological toys include microscopes (eg Skil Craft Biology Lab). Other companies produce biological models such as the Visible Frog Anatomy Kit and human anatomical models such as the Visible Man. In 1950, Gilbert even produced a toy targeted at potential physicists, Atomic Energy Laboratory Gilbert U-238, including a cloud room with a small amount of radioactive material. During the Cold War, the marketing slogan reveals the current social tension, confirming that "Porter Science Prepares Young America for World Leadership".
Early chemical devices included a variety of hardware, glassware and chemicals, many of which were removed from the modern set because of later concerns about possible dangers and liabilities. Modern chemistry kits tend to prevent free-form experiments, containing a limited number of specific toxic substances and booklets that define how they can be used for a particular project. The authors often complain that it is no longer possible for chemical device users to engage in experimental (sometimes hazardous) experiments that draw them into chemistry as children.
Although chemistry began to lose popularity beginning in the conscious security of the 1960s, they seem to be getting interested in the 21st century. A series of chemical sets reminiscent of traditional Gilbert and Porter sets marketed in 2012 by Thames & amp; Cosmos. Many modern chemical sets are designed in accordance with micro-chemical guidelines; using the right amount of chemicals but smaller is more economical and safer than traditional settings. The genre related toensic science toys has also become popular.
Beginning in 1940, the Science Service issued a series of Things of Science devices, each focusing on a single topic, such as magnetism, seed germination, static electricity, or mechanical connection. Sold only with monthly mail subscriptions, this kit consists of small blue cardboard boxes containing basic materials and detailed instructions, usually with ordinary household materials and items. The wealth of knowledge and entertainment that can come from simple and economical materials sets the standard that will be adopted by the pioneering science and technology center, Exploratorium in San Francisco.
The marketing of science toys tends to be very gender, with the majority of scientific toy marketing directed at boys, with the exception of occasional. A 1921 review of Chemcraft chemistry sets out that "This outfit is more than a toy.They are miniature chemistry laboratories for boys and girls... this kind of game is most interesting and fun for every youngster." In 1921, Chemcraft advertise a set of "Sachetcraft" for women that can be used to create perfumes and cosmetics. In the 1950s, Gilbert marketed a pink "Technician Laboratory" for girls. It contains factory-prepared microscopes and slides, rather than raw materials to create your own slides for viewing. However, the manual contains information identical to that given to boys.
Computational Toys
As computers become more prevalent, toys are introduced to expose children to fundamental ideas in their digital circuits and applications. Most of these toys are marketed as educational kits, with modular components that can be combined in various combinations to make the creation interesting and entertaining.
A bare-bones computing model is marketed in the form of a basic analog computer, consisting of three calibration potentiometers and a cheap galvanometer arranged in a series of Wheatstone bridges. This setting allows simple calculations to be performed, similar to mechanical slide rules, but the accuracy is bad and the components can not be reconfigured in any way that is useful.
Around 1955, computer scientist Edmund Berkeley designed the Geniac computing toy, and in 1958 a similar toy was named Brainiac. The set of rotary switch constructs uses combinational logic but has no memory and can not solve problems using sequential logic. The instruction book provides a series of instructions for creating a complex machine that can solve certain Boolean equations. Specific machines can play simple games like tic-tac-toe, or solve arithmetic puzzles, but the output is generated directly from the given input.
In 1961, Scientific Development Corporation introduced Minivac 601, a simple relay-based electromechanical computer with primitive memory, all designed by the pioneer of information theory, Claude Shannon. Expensive devices attract some buyers, and are immediately upgraded and re-targeted for the company's technical training market. In 1963, E.S.R., Inc. marketing the inexpensive Digi-Comp I, which allows children to build simple digital computers, all of which are made up of hand-operated mechanical parts. They can then play with it, watching as a mechanical version of the "flip-flop" electronic circuitry demonstrating Boolean logic calculations, solving problems in binary logic, and computing simple math operations.
In the 1980s, expanding the popularity of your radio and electronic build-your-own devices from Radio Shack and Heathkit, it is possible to buy kits to build your own ZX-81 microcomputer. The projects are enthusiastically recommended as a service badge for Scouts. Modern toys have continued this trend, allowing children to build their own circuits, machines, peripherals and computers.
The Lego Company expanded into the field of robotics with the Lego Mindstorms kit, introduced in 1998. With the software and hardware provided in the kit, which includes system controllers, motors, and peripheral sensors and the usual Lego building blocks, children can create robots that can be programmed. Lego Mindstorms relies heavily on the theory of computer scientist's constructionist instructor and educator Seymour Papert.
More recently, Raspberry Pi is used by teachers and students. Introduced by Eben Upton and Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK as an inexpensive option that will promote the teaching of computer science and programming skills in low-income schools, it has also become popular among makers and engineers.
Computer toys
Some manufacturers consider standard personal computers an inappropriate platform for studying software for younger children, and producing appropriate hardware for children instead. Hardware and software are generally combined into one product, like laptop-like. Such a computer may be a specially designed self-designed toy, or personal computer designed for children to use.
Common examples include handheld game consoles that are imaginatively designed with a variety of educative and scrolling game cartridges and electronic devices such as books where various electronic books can be loaded. These products are more portable than general laptop computers, but have a much more limited range of destinations, concentrating on literacy and arithmetic.
Ergonomic hardware is essential for infant learning, where tablet computers and touch screens are preferred over use of computer keyboards and mice. Also, a sandbox environment is created, to disable the use of the keyboard (except for some key combinations that can only be typed by adults), taskbar, and program opening and other screens. The child's computer keyboard can use large and different colored buttons to help distinguish them. Baby and toddler computers include ABC keyboards. Some child computers include a QWERTY keyboard as an initial aid in typing learning. A small mouse, about half the size of an adult mouse, or a large trackball is used in a toddler computer. They are programmed for a "one click" operation. This case can be strengthened to protect it from misfortune. Such computers are not seen as a substitute for the time spent on parenting. [5]
Maps Educational toy
Education and play theories
Sometimes described as "children's work", children's games can be seen as a process in which children experience the world, practice and internalize new skills and ideas. Experience involves imitation, reasoning and causal reasoning, problem solving, and engaging in symbolic thinking. "As children grow and learn, a repertoire of skills that are readily developed progressively to be developed, built on prior knowledge.Play is essential for children's cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Teachers who use educational toys in the classroom try to identify the toys that match the child's developmental level, existing skills, and interests. They try to engage children with toys in ways that support cognitive development. Many educators emphasize the importance of imaginative play, exploration, and unlimited social engagement. Toys with quality openness can be used by children in various ways and at different ages and levels of development. Educational toys vary widely in terms of their openness and potential for exploration, imaginative play, and social engagement. The director of playing Brian Sutton Smith, who supports free games, has asserted that "fun imaginary plans dominate objects or toys, not vice versa." Toys whose designs are more determined and restricted may be less intuitive for children to use, and require more involvement and support from adults. Many studies of educational toys report that the effectiveness of toys is more related to adult involvement and guidance, or on the intellectual level of the child, than to the toy itself.
Educational toys claim to enhance intellectual, social, emotional, and/or physical development. Educational toys are thus designed to target developmental milestones within the appropriate age group. For preschoolers, simple wooden blocks may be a good starting point for a child to begin to understand causal relationships, the basic principles of science (eg if a beam falls from the top of the structure, it will fall until the surface stops falling) , and develop impetuous hand-eye patience and coordination. For a child moving to elementary school, more sophisticated manipulations may further assist the development of this skill. Interlocking manipulative toys such as Lego or puzzle challenges the child to improve hand-eye coordination, patience, and understanding of spatial relationships. Finally, a child in elementary school might use a very sophisticated set of constructions that includes moving parts, motors and others to help better understand the complex workings of the world. Importantly, the value of education derived by children increases when educational toys are age-appropriate.
Measuring education effectiveness
Studies that examine manipulative utility have found that results can vary greatly depending on the physical characteristics of the material itself and how it is used. Emphasis is often placed on the physical importance of manipulative, but some work on the concept of teaching geometry shows that manipulability and meaningfulness are more important than physical. Students using a Logo computer program that requires them to consider their actions carefully learn more from students learning from textbooks, and retain that knowledge longer than students who use physical manipulation.
Marketing
Toys are big business: the global toy market is estimated to reach more than 80 billion US dollars every year. By 2013, the average UK household spends US $ 438 per child on toys, while US families spend $ 336 per child. In advertising, "educational toys" are sometimes distinguished from "promotion" toys, which are marketed primarily as part of a related product group (eg American Girl dolls, Transformers, Steven Universe). This category may also overlap (eg Star Wars Lego).
The term "educational toys" is often used in toy advertisements to promote sales to parents. The packaging of many toys includes a skill table and benefits that are affirmed for enhanced use of the product. The benefits of the actual development of this, compared to cheaper, simpler or more readily available products, are often unproven. In many cases homemade educational toys may be as effective as expensive ones, provided that developmental problems are understood.
Example
Examples of educational toys include:
- Build a toy, like a toy block
- Automoblox car wood construction
- Scale model
- Engino
- Chemical set
- Construction toy
- Set Erector
- Lego
- Mecca
- Electronic toys
- Talk & amp; Spell, Speak & amp; Read, and Speak & amp; Maths
- VideoSmarts and ComputerSmart
- Many VTech and LeapFrog products
- Microscope
- Skil Craft Biology Lab, 1960s
- Real body model
- Model aircraft
- Model train
- Models of cars and other vehicles
- Model animals, e.g. Carnegie Collection
- Microbial model, e.g. GIANTmicrobes
- Playmobil model scenes
- Musical instruments
- Piano toys
- Physics
- Euler Disk
- Galilean cannon
- Rattleback
- Top of Tippe
- Restless Restless
- Robots and Robot kits
- 2-XL and Kasey the Kinderbot
- Lego Mindstorms
- qfix robot kit
- Puzzles
- Learning tools
- Tutor System
- Science kit
- Boreal Science and Laboratory Kit
- Thames & amp; Cosmos
- Flintobox
See also
- Constructionism (learning theory)
- Education
- Educational game
- Education software
- Parenting style
- Puzzle
- Toy ads
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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