Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Ruckus Reader: Interactive Content Provides Real Time Child Progress Reports (w. iPad giveaway)

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Sometimes do you wonder how much your child really knows?  Little Miss Techie has always been one proud to show off what she knows but Captain Computer is a little more covert in his knowledge and skills.  He’s not one who loves flash cards, says he’s too tired to read to me at bedtime (or after school, early in the morning, etc.), and can sense an assessment- formal or informal- a mile away.  So what do you do when your child won’t show what they know and you know they know more than they’re showing?  Look to trusted tools that can provide you with feedback about their learning.
Last week Ruckus Media launched their new Ruckus Reader, an innovative learning program for the iPad that features digital storybooks that provide parents with personalized feedback on their child’s reading experience.
New Ruckus Reader from  Ruckus Media
Designed to help preschoolers through second graders practice important reading skills and develop a love of reading with characters they love, it also provides a snapshot of what your child is learning. Weekly Reader Meter e-mail reports and an online dashboard with additional details about your child’s reading progress provide insight into phonics and word recognition, print awareness, fluency, alphabetic knowledge, sequencing, and story comprehension. All results are aligned to Common Core Standards(important to this teacher mom!) and provide a snapshot of your child’s progress. Since they’re in real time, there’s never a wait to get the information you need about your child’s learning.
Weekly Ruckus Reader emails provide a snapshot of reading progress

Simply put, Ruckus Reader is my new secret weapon in figuring out exactly how much Captain Computer knows!  Captain Computer loves learning through the iPad and tends to balance his Angry Birds obsession with time reading stories featuring favorite characters. Thanks to Ruckus Reader, he can select favorite stories featuring well-loved characters as well as activities designed to appeal his learning style. 

Ruckus Reader draws upon content with the The Wiggles, Curious George, Hasbro’s My Little Pony and Transformers and includes experiences to meet all learning styles.  There’s content for the creative learner, the science lover, the math, and the music enthusiast developed in conjunction with brands such as PBS Kids, Crayola, SeaWorld, Dino Dan, Cyberchase, and VeggieTales.  Up to 4 accounts can be set up for various members of the family. Each child can keep their own library of books that are just right for them but there’s only one financial transaction for parents to manage.
Example of the Ruckus Reader bookshelf

Using Ruckus Reader

To use Ruckus Reader, Captain Computer simply taps on the icon to unlock content on the bookshelf that includes over 40 different titles.  Upon selecting a book, Ruckus Reader automatically provides the right book at the right time to minimize frustration and to make the reading experience fun.  The customized user interface features three different reading levels, appropriate for emergent, beginning and independent readers and integrated, age-appropriate learning activities and games within the context of each story further the plot. 
I love that the bookshelves serve as a safe and interactive learning environment with lots of engaging interactive content.  Learning games like tapping on things that are wrong with the picture and integrated word hunts enhance the reading experience but also help provide parents with a better picture of what their child knows. High definition video clips are integrated into titles to help illustrate points develop further understanding which is especially useful in nonfiction titles like Sea World’s Shark Goes to the Doctor.
With 15 award-winning, best-selling children’s books available in eBook form now and plans to add 20 new titles and activities to the Ruckus Reader library every month, there’s never a shortage of content for our sneaky kindergartner!
While all this great content and feedback, it may seem that Ruckus Reader is expensive but it isn’t.  Start with the free version and if you choose to sign up, you can upgrade to other types of experiences.  Apps prices range from being free to $3.99 each.  Parents can elect to pay $5.99 for a subscription to a single bookshelf, or $24.99 for 6 months of unlimited content that is expected to include 500 titles by the end of 2012.
GIVEAWAY: Ruckus Media wants to give you a chance to experience Ruckus Reader for the next 6 months on a brand new iPad!
TO ENTER: Leave a comment sharing a reading challenge or success that you’ve experienced with your child along with your email address or Twitter handle so I can contact you when you win. Entries close 5/9 at 11:59 EST and a winner will be selected over the weekend and needs to respond within 24 hours or another winner will be chosen from the eligible entries.
For additional entries, you MUST complete the above comment and leave your email or Twitter handle before you do any of the following:
  • Complete the Tech Savvy Mama reader survey. Leave a comment that you have done so and include your email address or Twitter handle.  Please note that all responses will remain anonymous. (2 entries- 1 for the survey, 1 for leaving a comment below saying you completed the survey. And yes, if your comment is selected, I will check to make sure you really did complete the survey.  If you just comment below without completing the survey, your entry will not be valid.)
  • Share one Ruckus eBook title that your child would enjoy reading. Include your email/Twitter handle. (1 entry)
  • Subscribe to Tech Savvy Mama via RSS or email. Include your email/Twitter handle to let me know you’ve done so. (1 entry)
  • Tweet this daily and leave a link to each Tweet: @TechSavvyMama reviews new @RuckusReader & has an #iPad #giveaway w/ 6 mos service from @RuckusMedia. Enter: www.TechSavvyMama.com (1 entry/day)

For complete giveaway details, visit my Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Ruckus Reader provided me with 6 months of their service and a product demo. No compensation was received for this post or hosting the iPad giveaway. All opinions are my own and based on personal experience. Images courtesy of Ruckus Reader.

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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aimee @ Smiling Mama says

    Our kindergartner is just starting to show interest in reading books on his own and he’s getting really good at sounding things out. But, he tends to just start guessing when he gets impatient.

  5. Jenefer! says

    My son has a speech impediment and medical issues so he misses school a lot. Because of all of this, he just struggles to read. Thankfully he’s got a great teacher and speech therapist who are working with him. It’d be great to have something more to help him at home.

    snowlover1225@gmail.com

  10. Jessica says

    My 2-year-old is getting ready for reading with lots of alphabet talk. He loves using his therapist’s iPad, especially the Sesame Street app with letters. He’s really taking to the iPad platform!

  11. Jessica says

    SeaWorld Penguin Pals looks like it’d be great for my early reader who loves penguins!

    @jessicaesquire

    (Forgot my twitter handle in last comment!)

  20. PsychoTwin (Kelster) says

    My niece showed no interest in reading. She was OK if you read to her but on her own she wouldn’t. We had to come up with ways to make reading more fun for her. We worked out a reward system. We turned reading into a game. We didn’t push too hard if she wasn’t interested because we didn’t want her to resent it. Eventually she became interested on her own.

  22. Evic Oropilla says

    I am a father of 3 kids 6 and under (2, 3 & 6). My wife and I are running into the problem of spending quality time with each child 🙁 Our oldest is at that stage where she can easily get discouraged to read when encountering words that she doesn’t know or has difficulty sounding out. Our middle child is already showing interest in reading as she likes to mimic her older sister and the youngest just likes to be read to. We want to foster and encourage them all but there are only two of us and time is never on our side. Looking at the Ruckus Reader it looks like it can definitely help with the activities and content it provides to act as that “3rd parent” helping to develop their reading skills and keeping one child busy while my wife and I can spend that quality time with the other two then switch when needed 🙂 I also love the fact that Ruckus thinks about the parents too with a tool like the Reader Meter Progress Report thank you!!!

    twitter handle: @evico

  24. John says

    Our son is an avid reader and has been for the last 18 months. My daughter gets frustrated easily and has memorized some stories so she is ‘reading’ without reading. We are starting with the BOB books on the iPad now to see if she can get started.

  36. jenmalonee says

    My son is just starting to read and his attention span is a little less than average. Keeping his attention is very difficult. I would love to win and be able to help him develop a stronger interest in reading!

    Jennifer Marie

    lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

  42. monicazyoung says

    Since my son is bilingual our challenge is to make sure he pronounces the words with the correct accent and the letters in the correct language
    @monicazyoung

  46. susan says

    A success has been that our little one loves books however the challenge is to get him away from one genre. I’d love to see him explore others!
    @susanlanai

  52. Sasha says

    P was recently placed in the special ed reading class and has made such an improvement now that he is in a smaller group. I would love to use this product to track his future success. @SashaSaysBlog

  57. Lindsey says

    Connor isn’t reading yet but as a teacher, I see reading breakthroughs each day. We have a fifth grade student that is reading at a first grade level. To see him breakthrough and get to the second grade level after almost a year’s work? So rewarding. I would use this iPad and this program to enrich him through the summer. lindseynstorm @ gmail . com

  62. Beeb says

    I don’t have children yet, but my reading success as a child was having parents that loved to read and made sure I always had access to loads of books. Thank you for the giveaway!

    ~Beeb
    supercoupongirl AT gmail.com
    @hardertobreathe

  64. Beeb says

    I loved My Little Pony when I was little so I would have loved reading My Little Pony: Rarity Loves Fashion if e-readers had existed back in the 90s! 🙂

    ~Beeb
    supercoupongirl AT gmail.com
    @Harderotbreathe

  65. Beeb says

    I subscribe to your blog via supercoupongirl AT gmail.com, which is also where I may be reached if I am the lucky winner. 🙂

  67. dfalln1 says

    my baby has a bit of a speech impediment, we are slowly working through it. A iPad would be great for practice anytime.
    @dfalln1

  68. Some Lucky Dog says

    We are instilling a love of reading in our grandson by reading WITH him. We’re tackling books above his grade level and he has excelled. The best part is that he now wants to read and loves to figure out new words without help!
    someluckydog at gmail dot com

  77. amweeks says

    My daughter has always been a voracious reader! But her younger brother, not so much. My biggest challenge with him has been finding books that he’s interested in reading!

    annmarieweeks at verizon dot net

  80. ChristinaZ says

    My 10 year old has always struggled with reading. She is very bright but just one thing we had hard time with until this year She has made so much improvement. She just struggles with big words and now our challenge is to find books that interest and keep it. @chrissiemz

  82. Windy says

    The boy won’t curl up with a book to save his life, but we can’t keep him away from all things electronic. I’m thinking an iPad app would do the trick!

    Windylou at gmail dot com

  90. coriwestphal says

    My biggest challenge is finding books that my 8 year old son is interested in. He is a great reader, but has a hard time relating to a lot of the books made for kids his age. He reads them, but complains they are boring!

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

  97. Michelle says

    My youngest daughter is 5, and she’s slowly starting to understand that letters make sounds, etc but she is progressing slower than her big brother did… Thanks for the chance to win!
    mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

  103. Elena says

    My son’s reading challenge is that he likes to read non-fiction book and doesn’t like fiction books. We try to pick the most interesting fiction books so he could read them

    elena150980@yahoo.com

  129. Kristen says

    My three daughters would love this opportunity. My 6 year old has articulation difficulties which has affected her learning to sound out words as she is learning to read.

  147. Tabathia says

    I have experience success in placing my daughter in the summer reading program to encourage a love of reading (plus the prizes are an incentive) and I get fun books and biographies to make reading interesting.
    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  154. Tamra says

    My nephew is just learning how to read, it’s a slow process, but very rewarding every time he pronounces a word correctly! This would be a great tool to help him!

  197. morninglight mama says

    My kindergartner daughter went from sounding out a word or two back in August to fluently reading now, and she’s so excited to have a 2nd grade level book as her homework this week. I want to do everything in my power to keep reading an enjoyable activity for her!

  209. Stimey says

    Jack has had a really hard time transitioning from picture books to chapter books. He’s told me that reading hurts. I think it is hard for him to focus with all the lines of text.