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Which “Educational” Apps Truly Promote Learning?

Anne Hauth • June 9, 2025

If you peruse the internet, you’ll find thousands of programs and apps that claim to be educational. But do they really promote learning? Or is the word “educational” just thrown in to make them more appealing to parents and teachers?


As you know, it depends. As parents, we need to be able to determine which applications are worth our children's precious time. A team of experts examined this question and published their findings in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. The findings, published here, present four pillars that lead to an educational outcome. These pillars are active involvement, engagement, meaningfulness, and social interaction.


  • Active involvement means the child is required to actually think. Too many apps are largely brainless, addicting games. A truly educational app requires the child to actively work to understand a worthwhile concept or skill. Giving children the ability to make decisions as they engage with the app is a key component. According to the research, "Well-designed software affords children an appropriate level of control and agency depending on their age and experience, allowing them to proceed at their own pace and sustain their interest."


  • Engagement refers to a child's ability to stay on task. The bells and whistles that make an app exciting should all be related to the educational goal. If these features are just for fun, they’ll distract the child from learning. Structured feedback and progress monitoring greatly assist with engagement. Researchers found that, "By carefully structuring the feedback as well as allowing progressive access to content (e.g., presenting more advanced content through a series of game levels or adaptively, based on user profiles), apps can focus children’s attention on the app experience and extend engagement for a long time."


  • Meaningfulness refers to how children are required to process new information. Studies have shown that deeper learning takes place when children relate new knowledge to their current knowledge. Educational apps promote these kinds of connections. As stated in the article, "Learning meaningful information motivates children to stay engaged and on task. If children are given causally rich information about a novel object, they will stay engaged in a boring task that rewards them with this information."


  • Finally, it’s important that the app facilitates social interaction. When children interact with others about what they’ve learned, their understanding of the material is reinforced. As the article states, "Active, engaged, meaningful, and socially interactive experiences support learning, and if these concepts are harnessed within apps, the potential benefit for learning in early childhood is significant."


One Minute Reader is educational in every sense of the word. For example, the One Minute Reader program requires kids to be actively involved with the material. As readers work through the steps, they’re required to think critically and work hard toward a learning goal. They decide which story to read and are able to progress at their own pace in an appropriate level of material. The structured steps of the program keep them actively involved in each task.


The program's high-interest content and motivating strategy keep kids engaged and on task. Built-in progress monitoring, consistent feedback, and the motivation to progress to more advanced content ensure that kids remain engaged as they work through the steps of the program.


One Minute Reader also promotes meaningful thinking. Kids make reading predictions and answer comprehension questions that require them to connect their personal experience to what they’re learning. High-interest, nonfiction stories ensure they are consistently learning novel and exciting information.


And finally, One Minute Reader fosters social interaction with parents and friends. Kids are inherently motivated by their own progress within the program. This motivation is enhanced when they celebrate their success with parents and friends. They are also often excited to share fun facts that they've learned from the stories.


We’re hopeful that the Psychological Science in the Public Interest findings will help parents make informed choices about app purchases, and we’re pleased with how well our program aligns with the research.

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By Anne Hauth September 23, 2025
Reading fluency is a crucial skill that bridges the gap between decoding words and understanding their meaning. One effective strategy to build fluency is repeated reading —a technique where a student reads the same text multiple times until they achieve a level of fluency that feels natural and confident. What Is Repeated Reading? Repeated reading involves selecting a short passage at an appropriate reading level--ideally at or slightly above the student's instructional level. The student reads this passage several times, focusing on improving speed, accuracy, and expression with each reading. This practice allows for mastery of the text, leading to fluent and confident reading. Fluent reading should sound like conversational speaking--natural and expressive. Why Does It Work? Research shows* that repeated reading can lead to significant improvements in reading performance. The benefits include: Improved Word Recognition : By encountering the same words repeatedly, students become more familiar with them, leading to quicker and more accurate recognition. When these words become automatic, the students no longer need to put effort into decoding them. Increased Reading Fluency : Reading the same passage multiple times allows students to build fluency--each time reading it more smoothly and with greater expression. Enhanced Comprehension : As fluency improves, students can focus more on understanding the text, leading to better comprehension. This improvement in comprehension extends to unpracticed passages as well. Increased Confidence : Repeated reading is a form of mastery learning. Many beginning or struggling readers don't often get the opportunity to hear themselves sounding like fluent readers. After reading a passage multiple times, they've mastered it--and they sound great! This is a huge confidence boost that motivates them to keep reading. Repeated Reading at Home Incorporating the repeated reading strategy into your child's home reading routine doesn't have to be complicated or boring. In fact, many kids already do it! You've probably noticed that they often want to read the same book over and over. Don't discourage this--as long as they haven't totally memorized the entire text, they're building skills each time they read it. To work on repeated reading with your child at home, here's a simple strategy: Use an Appropriate Passage : Have your child choose a new short text that is slightly challenging but still within their level. Listen to Your Child Read : Have your child read the passage aloud to you. Note any words that are difficult for them to decode. Read Aloud Together : Read the passage aloud with your child, modeling fluent reading. Do this one to three times. Identify the difficult words together, and provide definitions. Independent Practice : Encourage your child to read the passage independently a few more times, focusing on improving their expression with each reading. Celebrate Progress : Affirm how much your child improved from the first reading to the final reading. Acknowledge their hard work and progress to build confidence and motivation. Additional Tips Keep Sessions Short : Aim for 10- to 15-minute sessions at first, to maintain focus and prevent frustration. Consider Using a Timer : If your child is open to the idea, set a timer each time they read the passage. Note their improvement in time, and celebrate their fluency growth. Make the timing element a fun challenge, but emphasize that this exercise isn't about speed reading--it's about building fluency. Repeated reading is a powerful strategy that can significantly enhance your child's reading ability. If you're looking for an easy-to-use program that incorporates this research-proven strategy, check out One Minute Reader . This program uses repeated reading and gamified learning to help kids at various reading levels build fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence. * Dowhower, S. L. (1987). Effects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional readers’ fluency and comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly , 22(4), 389–405. Kuhn, M. R., & Stahl, S. A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology , 95(1), 3–21. LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology , 6(2), 292–323.
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