Teachers Pet have released their What time is it Mr Wolf ? iPad app and last week we took a look at it and we were impressed for many reasons.
The opening interface and the game itself looks and feels really slick and primary focussed. It is also really nicely animated too and I particularly like the spinning clock hands and the way the moon in the spooky sky becomes the clock face. I am not sure why I am mentioning this, but I was also taken by the music too! Charlie said to me, “Daddy it is a bit spooky” and lets face it spooky is always good if you are a boy and under 10!
Onto the game, this is simple drag and drop of times underneath a succession of analogue clocks that change and reanimate, get it right and the wolf lets you know!. Mess up and he tells you to try again, he has a very wolf like voice too!
Charlie learning to tell the time with :
What's the Time Mr Wolf?
Simple enough and rewarding to play, but this app has been further enhanced by a feedback chart for players which saves to your camera roll.
It is also customisable, so that you choose to focus on the times that your child or group are working on. To put this into context Charlie (3), was able to play the game very happily by having me setting it to just feature o’ clock times, while for Leo, who is an older (Year 2 but SEN) child, I changed the settings to encompass half past and quarter past. Leo worked away at the game for some time and it was good to assist him on those that he struggled with at first. With more work on this with a supportive adult he could really get to grips with telling the time, perhaps more so than having death by worksheet.
If I were to nag for some feature requests for this app there would be just a few. Both Charlie and I wanted more Wolf time. While I would like to see a variety of responses other than the “try again” and “well done”, Charlie asked, “How do you get it to say whats the time mr Wolf?”. I think he associated the title of the game with something he plays at school! I‘d also like to get out of the game and change my options to make the game easier or harder, rather than having to go through all ten questions. Oh and as this is Teachers Pet, then a certificate would be a nice addition too.
Leo and Charlie Playing - What's the Time Mr Wolf?
I have said before that it is hard to find half decent apps that are UK primary focussed and that you’d actually use more than once with your class. I think I’ll be adding this to my list of iPad must haves, and if you need to know why then ask my two testers who are even now nagging for another go on “The Wolf Game”.
