CHICAGO, April 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — At the Annual National Head Start Conference today HITN Learning, the educational division of non-profit, Spanish-language media network HITN, demonstrated its new suite of 15 Pocoyo Playset apps for preschool that prepare children for Kindergarten success in math, literacy and English language development (ELD). Two of these apps just won prestigious 2017 Parents’ Choice Awards for Mobile Apps and a 2017 Kidscreen Award. HITN, providing educational programming to more than 44 million American households for 35 years, is on the floor in booth #202 to demonstrate the variety of tablet-based apps on iPads and talk with educators about how they can help preschoolers, early learners and transitional Kindergartners up to age 5 develop both the academic and socio-emotional skills necessary for a successful start in Kindergarten.
The English-Spanish bilingual apps feature familiar characters from the animated Pocoyo series, entertaining while teaching children to enjoy learning. Educators are invited to stop by the booth to see product demos with HITN Learning Pocoyo Playset Executive Producer, Erica Branch-Ridley, and HITN Learning Director of Product Management MaryEllen McLaughlin, and enter a raffle to win educational play kits and prizes. Also, a free sample Pocoyo Playset app is available for educators to download from GooglePlay by searching for Pocoyo Playsets.
“Kindergarten readiness for Spanish-speaking children is the ultimate goal of HITN Learning’s Pocoyo Playset apps, which we developed to the highest educational standards with a Ready-to-Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education,” said David Rust, General Manager, Education at HITN. “Our apps support the National Head Start Association’s mission to give every child a chance to succeed in school and life. Recognized for high quality and educational effectiveness by 2017 Parents’ Choice and Kidscreen Awards, the Pocoyo Playsets engage each child in exploring, creating and learning new concepts and vocabulary with fun and laughter.”
Each Pocoyo Playset app addresses one of three educational categories: English language development, early literacy development or early math development. Some examples from the suite of 15 titles include the award winning Pocoyo Playset: 3D Shapes, an early math app, Pocoyo Playset: Let’s Move for English Language development, and Pocoyo Playset: Helpers for early literacy development.
In Pocoyo Playset: Let’s Move children ages 3 to 5 follow Pocoyo characters, in activities that teach English and Spanish words describing different kinds of movement. Children can play Get Moving, Pocoyo Says, The Word Machine and Story Maker activities. Preschoolers build fluency in spoken English and expand their English vocabulary learning words, while also sharpening their listening skills and ability to follow directions.
The Pocoyo PlaySet apps were developed by the Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) between HITN and Zinkia Entertainment, the creator of the award-winning animated series, Pocoyo. HITN‘s creative design and focus on solid academic and social-emotional skills were brought to life through the renowned and revered Pocoyo brand, and through the support of a $30 million Ready-to-Learn grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Pocoyo Playset educational resources were proven effective through summative studies and pilots in the USA and Puerto Rico.
The entire suite of 15 Pocoyo PlaySet apps are available on the Apple App Store for $1.99 each and for subscription on GooglePlay.
HITN is the leading Spanish-language media network focused on educational and cultural programing for the whole family. It reaches over 44 million homes across the United States and Puerto Rico through DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-verse TV, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast, Charter Spectrum, Frontier Mediacom, CenturyLink Prism, and Cablevision. For more information, log in to www.hitn.org.
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