Pass The Drop
Pass The Drop gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Pass The Drop is a concentration tool designed to help kids focus on keeping a virtual water droplet in a circle as they pass the device to others. Developed as a group activity, it requires kids to not only keep the iPad still and level, but also to maintain their attention as others are holding the device. This tool seems especially useful for kids who have attention deficits but might be difficult for those with sensory or gross motor issues.What kids can learn
The moving drop and the challenge of getting it directly in the middle makes Pass The Drop enticing to all age levels.
Pass The Drop follows practices outlined by Susan Kaiser Greenland's book The Mindful Child to focus attention and develop teamwork.
This tool is accessible to most learners but does not collect data to track patterns in focus or extension information about how to apply the app activity to other parts of life.
What's it about?
Kids open PASS THE DROP to a purple screen that prompts them to reflect on their current concentration level: five degrees between Not at All Focused and Extremely Focused. Then kids choose the easy, medium, or hard level. Once they make their selections, users work with their partner or group to get the virtual water droplet to the middle of the red-lined circle. As they move the iPad, the app adjusts and moves the bubble at a different rate based on the selections kids made at the beginning. Kids have to focus on how they're receiving the iPad from their teammates, how they center the iPad on their own, and then how they pass the device on to their next teammate. If the droplet rolls outside the line, the circle turns red. When completed, a prompt asks "How focused is your class right now?"
Is it any good?
Pass The Drop is an easy to use, visually pleasing, challenging activity that does exactly what it claims to do. Kids gain concentration skills and practice focusing their attention on the immediate task at hand: centering the drop and making sure their teammates can keep the momentum going. Pass The Drop brings awareness to kids' attention, provides an opportunity to include others in identifying focus, and helps kids directly reflect on their concentration level. It's only shortcomings are that the directions and rationale are only accessible to kids who can read, as there is no sound, and the final prompt is directed toward a teacher instead of the kids themselves. Also, extension activities to help kids apply focus to other activities would help transfer what they learn from using the app.
Families can talk about...
-
Families can talk about how difficult it is on each level of Pass The Drop. Ask kids how they felt as they worked through the easy, medium, or difficult levels and how they dealt with the higher levels of stress.
-
Ask kids to think about times when they need to add put more attention toward an activity they're doing. For instance, when completing a difficult or multi-step homework assignment, discuss ways they focus their attention to the task at hand. What are some techniques that might help them keep their focus?
App details
| Devices: | iPad, Android |
| Price: | Free |
| Pricing structure: | Free |
| Release date: | March 20, 2015 |
| Category: | Education |
| Size: | 26.10 MB |
| Publisher: | Momentous Institute |
| Version: | 1.0.0 |
| Minimum software requirements: | 8.0 or later |
