My First Clock Review

Posted by Amy Solomon on March 8th, 2011
iPad App - Designed for iPad

My First Clock is a learning app for iPad that I think would be highly effective in teaching kids how to tell time on an analogue clock. Kids will like interacting with these clocks which are adorned with friendly animal faces that nicely interact with the child who is playing, especially in Set Time and Tell Time Quiz modes.

During Free Play Mode kids are able to move the hands of the clock at will and then tap to hear the time spoken or see the time displayed digitally as well. I really like that the hands of the clock move the way one would expect, as the minute hand moves minute by minute, the hour hand also moves slowly as well, keeping the spacing consistent with an actual time unlike some other clock games I have seen where the two hands move with no relation to each other - more like dials or spinners than hands of a clock. There is also an option for youngest players to explore the clock with the minute hand moving in five minute intervals as well for a simplified introduction to telling time.

As with Free Play Mode, parents can also choose the appropriate difficulty level for their child in Set Time and Tell Time Quiz modes, making this app an excellent teaching tool for both beginners and more experienced players. In Set Time Quiz Mode the player moves the hands to correspond with a given time, made easier with dots holding the spaces of the minutes between each five-minute time slot between 1 and 12, something missing from other time-telling apps. Tell Time Quiz Mode challenges kids to read the time on an analogue clock and select the correct time.

I really appreciate that these exercises are very intuitive and it is fun that these clocks include cute faces that talk to and engage the player. I remember having a hard time learning to tell time and I think this is a skill that could be difficult to teach as well. This app makes learning this skill as simple as possible and I highly recommend it for this reason, as it avoids distracting bells and whistles and has an interface that is very easy to navigate. I will use this app when my son gets old enough to learn how to tell time, knowing that with the use of this easy-to-understand app, he will have an easier time that I did.

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

My First Clock screenshot 1 My First Clock screenshot 2 My First Clock screenshot 3 My First Clock screenshot 4 My First Clock screenshot 5
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