LeapFrog Connect Service
When you get the LeapPad, it comes with a CD to install the LeapFrog Connect service. This is a program that installs itself on your computer and communicates with the LeapPad via the included USB cable. When you first install it and run the program, you’ll be asked to create a profile (as a parent) — this will allow you to move apps on and off the LeapPad, buy new apps, and a few other features that I’ll talk about shortly.
After creating the profile, you’ll see a standard interface that’s easy to navigate — there’s the App Center where you’ll go to browse and buy apps of interest to you. You’ll also find the Creativity Gallery which is really cool — you can share photos and videos your child has taken with the LeapPad via email and even on Facebook. The files are transferred from the tablet to your computer and then they’re yours to archive, email out, post online, etc. A nice feature for those of us with grandparents who are somewhat computer savvy.
One of the apps I’ll talk about later is the PetPals app — when Decker first ran the app, he was asked to customize his pet (dog or cat) and pick its color, its ear shape, its tail, etc… he even named it Perd (no idea). The PetPals app seems to be about teaching your child a bit of responsibility, similar to what I guess would be done if you had a real pet — it has to be fed, it has to be bathed, it has to be played with, and you can teach it tricks. (Thankfully they chose not to include the potty-training portion of pet ownership… but then again… maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad.) As they teach their pet tricks and take care of them the earn Pet Points that can be exchanged using the LeapFrog Connect service — the points are swapped out for special treats, shampoos, foods, and other items that can be used with your PetPal. This is not a micro-commerce type thing where they have to buy these items — Decker simply earns points as he take care of his pet and then he gets to go shopping.
One of the features I (as a parent) have been using on the LeapFrog Connect service is the ability to check Decker’s progress on most of the games he plays. (I use the term “games” here because even the most educational app has a game spin on it, so please know when I say games, I mean any of the apps that Decker opens and uses.) The Learning Path feature allows me to see, for example, statistics on his spelling challenges in games like Roly Poly Picnic and Alphabet Stew. I’m including some screen captures here so you’ll see what I mean. You’re not going to be overwhelmed with pie charts and line graphs of various events — instead, the achievements are spelled out in plain English with numbers and percentages included — an example would be Find an object that rhymes with the given word (Nail, Snail, Whale) and Decker’s results are displayed as 17 out of 26 right. I get to see his total playing time for each game, as well as the time he’s spent on various specific activities within a game by burrowing down into a list of categories (such as Consonants, Vowels, or Word Parts). The same types of feedback are collected and stored on the LeapPad for a variety of categories that include Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Learning for Life (interestingly, one of his favorite games right now called Sugar Bugs, a teeth brushing educational app, has some funny statistics to report such as 5 out of 5 for Brushing away stains on teeth).
Other benefits to using the LeapFrog Connect tool include the ability to see which apps are stored on the LeapPad including their filesize (most are under 10MB but Decker has two unusual ones – 58MB and 29MB that have a large number of video/photos associated with them and a lot of animation and sound files, respectively). There’s also a Skill Selector that allows certain games to have an internal switch thrown that increases or decreases their complexity — these appear to be mainly spelling and math related apps.
The App Center is easy to use — every game comes with a preview video that gives a bit more information about its gameplay and purpose. You can browse by category or specific skills and, when you’ve found a game you want to buy, you use the shopping cart system. If you don’t want to use LeapFrog App Cards (pre-loaded amounts that you buy from stores) you have the option to store your credit card info with LeapFrog (just like Apple’s App Store) so you can buy with a single click. (Don’t let your kids see you doing this!) Most apps are also fairly inexpensive — $10 or less. The $25 apps are more involved and have a lot more content, but I’ve found that Decker enjoys the $5 and $7.50 apps just as much as the more expensive ones.
