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Osmo

playosmo.com

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Re: Osmo

#51

Post by joshcrowder »

dkrich wrote: post #43
TruthSHIFT wrote: post #36

I love this so much. But, when I step back and look at what you're getting for $58, I'm wondering why I can't build one myself. It looks like I'll need an iPad stand, a small mirror, and a fisheye lens. Then, I'll just use the same apps as the other Osmo users.

Really? How much are a mirror that you have to fashion yourself, a fisheye lens, and an iPad stand going to cost you? And after you've found all that you still don't have the games. $58 shipped to you seems pretty reasonable to me.

My thoughts exactly $58 is a decent price, there are a lot of scrooges in here. The argument of "geez i can build this in a day and the materials will cost me less than 10 bucks" are tiresome and stupid. If you value your time at more than $2 an hour its a good price.

Re: Osmo

#52

Post by MarcScott »

butterfi wrote: post #46
Greenisus wrote: post #14

I don't understand all the hate in this thread. This is a clever and creative use of technology that combines a favorite toy (iPad) with the one thing it lacks: physical interaction with real world objects. From what I understand (I'm a new dad so I'm still reading and learning), this sort of thing is very important for a developing mind.

The educational world is besieged by companies convinced that their technology is not only the solution to our educational woes, but a fat business opportunity waiting to be exploited. Teachers in classrooms have been burned so many times by technology that fails to deliver and uneven implementation across the district, that they instinctively cover their wallets every time a new company shows up promising to "revolu…

I've been teaching for over 10 years now and have weathered the storms of many technology revolutions in the classroom.

Interactive white boards It grows very tiresome.

Re: Osmo

#53

Post by thoughtpalette »

rainmaking wrote: post #49

Needing to give kids an iPad raises all sorts of issues: Cost, breakage, internet exposure... I would be very likely to buy a self-contained colored digital etch-a-sketch that logs everything ever drawn on it, which I can later put on my computer. I know that would be very big brother of me, but it's for cute's sake!

it's really simple to turn kiosk mode on in your iPad. It makes the app full screen and you can only exit out with a pin you set up when you launch kiosk.

Re: Osmo

#54

Post by Pxtl »

It's a neat concept - a nice, polished AR kit. The actual tangram concept is a bit disappointing though - dragging simple objects around on a flat surface is already something the iPad excels at. In this case it feels like it's somewhat obsoleted by modern touch-screens.

Obviously there are cases where touch-screens fail, but simple tangram puzzles work just fine with them.

I'd be interested in seeing this expanded to things that require too large a play-area to do conveniently with a tablet, or that involve manipulation that doesn't correspond to simple dragging (which you can already do well on the iPad).

Either that or focus on vision-impaired students. Maybe a set of braille algebra-tiles[1]?

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra_tile

Re: Osmo

#55

Post by minalecs »

I don't know I just get the overwhelming feeling that a lot of people aren't parents in this thread. My daughter loves these types of puzzle games on our touch devices. As soon as I saw the video, I have a good feeling she will like it. Really it looks fun , and the word game looks like something we can do together. I'm excited about this product. I really could care less about the actual learning aspects and more interested in the technology + fun aspect.

Re: Osmo

#56

Post by [deleted] »

wuliwong wrote: post #34
Greenisus wrote: post #14

I don't understand all the hate in this thread. This is a clever and creative use of technology that combines a favorite toy (iPad) with the one thing it lacks: physical interaction with real world objects. From what I understand (I'm a new dad so I'm still reading and learning), this sort of thing is very important for a developing mind.

I'm with you. People citing their absence of research and their certainty that this will be discarded in a day is amusing. What those academic papers lack is an actual product and customers deciding to buy and use that product of their own free will. When someone releases an app to "connect people" or make some day-to-day taks easier, nobody seems to want academic papers to back their claims. I also feel like it goes…

[deleted]

Re: Osmo

#58

Post by minalecs »

Pxtl wrote: post #54

It's a neat concept - a nice, polished AR kit. The actual tangram concept is a bit disappointing though - dragging simple objects around on a flat surface is already something the iPad excels at. In this case it feels like it's somewhat obsoleted by modern touch-screens. Obviously there are cases where touch-screens fail, but simple tangram puzzles work just fine with them. I'd be interested in seeing this expanded t…

I disagree, on the tangram aspect. Most games have an almost auto snap feature that if you drag the piece close enough it just snaps into place. I like the fact that it takes more of hand eye coordination and understanding of physical space for the physical objects to create the shapes on screen.

Re: Osmo

#60

Post by abraininavat »

bullfight wrote: post #16

I really like this. It seems to me to be an early approximation of Neal Stephenson's A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer from The Diamond Age . A commensurate companion, guide, and teacher. Sure this may only be a few activities but the responsiveness and seeming magic to it is fantastic. I particularly like that you can set down a toy in front of the camera and it renders out a flat illustrated version of that toy.

Did I miss something? This thing looks like a cool toy, but how is it a companion, guide, or teacher, any more than any other interactive toy or game?
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