Osmo is a system that transforms the way kids interact with iPads and vice-versa! The base set ($79), which I reviewed when it came out years ago, comes with a stand and mirror that lets the iPad see what is being drawn or placed in front of it and a set of tangram tiles that work with an app called "Shapes". There are three free apps that can be used with paper and markers, or with the Osmo Creativity set. More about that below. The Osmo Genius Kit ($99) includes the stand and two additional sets of manipulatives (words and numbers).
Two sets have been added to the original offerings, and I like them both.
Osmo's Creative Set ($49.99, but requires basic Osmo set, sold separately) comes with three unique experiences that all draw on the magical power of technology to stimulate the imagination. Included in the box is a special dry-eraser board, markers and soft case that doubles as an eraser. In one app objects that are drawn on the board appear and become animated objects in the game. In the Newton app, kids solve physics problems by drawing on the board and then seeing the objects come to life. Finally, Masterpiece is an app that is part drawing program, part tracing program, with a bit of Instagram-style filters thrown in for fun. Kids can snap pictures and then apply transformations to them, or even color on them using the dry markers. The results are transformed to the digital versions. Alternatively, by putting paper on the board you can trace an image on the computer and have a copy on paper, an updated way of how we used to copy maps from an encyclopedia to a hand drawn, read "traced", version.
Osmo's other offering, Coding ($49.95, but requires basic Osmo set, sold separately), an introductory adventure into the world of programming. Taking a cue from the world of "object oriented programming", the set comes with tiles (or objects) that can be combined to make things happen in the game. In other words, kids build programs from the objects. One thing that was a bit odd is that the button object which is used to start the programs is placed at the bottom of the stack of tiles, rather than the top. Execution of the objects is performed top-down. The order can be confusing. On the other hand, the concepts of programming are integrated in a game-oriented way that cleverly disguises the pedagogy being performed.
