Reaching a New Generation of Educators

“The key to effective teaching is not just presentation, but real learning which comes about through experiences someone has.” — Mark Lacy, LetterPress Software Inc.

Reading, writing and arithmetic are as important now as they were 100 years ago. And new products come on the market every year that teach these same skills — and many more — to a fresh crop of kids. How do educational product manufacturers keep kids interested?

“Even though the skills are the same, new product materials and new research on how children learn continue to drive the development of new educational materials,” explained Carolyn Hurst, president of Barker Creek.

Sam Reich-Dagnen, founder of Braincandy, said that while the three “Rs” are important, also essential is “ensuring that we create products that embrace and honor the ‘whole’ child — their cognitive ability as well as their social and emotional development, which are increasingly important in the complex culture we live in.”

Luna Russo of Wonderland Inc., makers of Onionhead educational products, agreed that there is raised awareness in this field. “People are just now beginning to understand that people’s EQ (emotional quotient) is more important than their intellectual IQ,” she said. She added that one out of every 166 children is now being diagnosed with some degree of autism and that an expanded market is springing up to address this new understanding.

“Everybody’s kind of had to get on the bandwagon for toys that teach or play with purpose. It’s become such a big part of the toy world,” said Angela McNamara, director of marketing with Moonjar(ToyShow). Her company’s newest line of products, Conversations to Go, provides children and parents an opportunity to practice the art of conversing. “Life skills still fall under a learning category,” she said.

From a moral standpoint, Daina Bennett, CEO of Educational Materials Distributors (ToyDirectory), said “we’re just trying to make sure we do a good service to the Christian body at the same time” when it comes to marketing her company’s product, The Books of The Holy Bible Learning Activity. While the bible has been around for quite some time, Bennett said it’s never been broken up across different books before in an educational format.

On a different note, Emma Crawford, marketing communications specialist with Creative Teaching Press, said “we try to do things associated with what’s current.” The product development division of her company is made up of former teachers who “have access to what’s going on in the classroom” and can develop new products based on those needs as they emerge.

Becky Geist, creator of Speedspell (ToyDirectory), agreed with Crawford’s sentiment. “Even though the basic standard topics may not change much, the kids we're teaching are changing rapidly, their world is changing rapidly, so we need tools that work with the kids of today,” she said.

Similarly, Mark Mashaw, vice president of marketing for Educate Inc., makers of the Hooked on Phonics product line, said the company tests products with moms, kids and teachers to hear feedback on how products can be improved. Such feedback has helped shape the product line, which “builds success into each program,” Mashaw said. “Kids accomplish the task at hand which means they get confident as they go. It’s less daunting for them each time.”

Finding new ways to captivate children works for Richard Vincent, president of Kutoka Interactive, as well. “A great story, engaging characters and a clear goal are what get kids and will keep kids involved in playing,” he explained of his computer software programs. “Once they are ‘hooked’ you can add the pedagogical content and they won't even notice they are learning.”

Board game manufacturer Ron Toelke, president/head of development of Chatham Hill Games Inc., said that educational software games provide “an interesting complement to what we do. We like it because it gives us a foot in that world.” His company’s games are put into software format by LetterPress Software Inc. and sold on CD-Rom by Chatham Hill. LetterPress sells the online version to schools and educators.

“There’s a science to teaching,” explained Mark Lacy, principal and senior vice president of product development at LetterPress. “The key to effective teaching is not just presentation, but real learning which comes about through experiences someone has. Software provides the opportunity for learners to try out what they’ve just been taught.”

Julie Gibbons, vice president of marketing with Digital Blue, noted that today’s young learners are increasingly interacting with computers and that this is continuing to drive development of new products. “Digital Blue’s products combine cutting-edge consumer electronics hardware with our innovative educational software,” she said of the company’s new microscopes. “By encouraging creativity and innovation we allow the user to share his or her ideas digitally.”

What follows is more detailed information on individual educational products that manufacturers think will sell well during the 2006 holiday season.