A life without Benjamin Blümchen, My Friend Connie and the Grüffelo is unthinkable, especially for younger children. You probably remember your own favorite cassettes or radio play CDs from your childhood. As a modern variant of the classic listening media, there are nowadays so-called listening boxes. But what exactly can Tonie, Tigerbox and Co. actually do?
Listening boxes, also called music boxes, are available from various suppliers. Depending on the manufacturer, the prices differ, but are mostly under 100, – €. When you buy a box, stories are often included. However, if you want more audio stories or songs for your child, there may be subsequent costs.
The boxes all work on a similar principle: they are child-friendly and usually designed like a cube. Above all, they are easy to use. Colorful pens or figurines in the form of animals that you plug into the audio box, or connect via Bluetooth, can play all kinds of stories. You can also get creative yourself and record (your own) stories.
Listening boxes are specially designed to meet the needs and motor skills of younger children and are designed not to break quickly. The few functions are easy to perform, so your child can operate the box independently. Selecting and starting stories themselves, pausing, stopping or exchanging them as needed – the young users can do all this on their own. Children as young as about two years old can operate the devices intuitively. This can boost your child’s self-confidence.
Some boxes offer the possibility to set a time limit. This will help your child stick to agreed upon listening times.
Audio boxes can be used to play audio games and music, whether for entertainment or to learn new things. If the stories are stored on animal figures or similar, these figures can also be used as toys.
Find out about the different listening boxes to decide which one is right for your child. What is the right shape? Are the stories stored on some kind of USB stick or does the box always have to be connected to the Internet? How much do new stories cost?
Research what age the stories you want to listen to with the box are appropriate for. Since your child can also use the listening box on his or her own, an age-appropriate selection is especially important. Also inquire about the data protection of the respective box: What private data is collected? How is the personal information of the users protected?
We present the most popular boxes in more detail on the Parents’ Guide: Tigerbox, Toniebox and Hörbert.
An audio box does not replace the togetherness of your own reading aloud: Regularly take the time to read to your child from their favorite book or listen to the audio stories from the box together.
There are many ways to do small media projects with kids. Especially uncomplicated are projects around photography. Because there is actually a camera in every family, whether in the smartphone or as its own device. Plus, you don’t have to depend on the Internet or a power outlet (when the battery is charged) to take photos. So some ideas can also be implemented quite easily outside! What kind of camera you use for a small photo project, whether photo camera, smartphone or tablet does not matter in most cases. You can get creative together with your child and try out what can be photographed besides selfies and vacation snapshots – with the photo camera on the go.
Anyone who takes photos themselves knows that the view through the camera lens is often a different one. When photographing, perspectives and proportions change completely. Go on a journey of discovery with your child. Macro photography, for example, is particularly well suited for this. That is, you get very close to objects. If available, you can also use the zoom of the camera to help you. Flowers, insects and other things look much bigger with it. This way, you can discover things together that you didn’t consider before. No less exciting is taking photos from a great distance or height. You can go in search of the best places to take pictures.
You may know this photo action from your vacation in Paris or Pisa. Photos are taken there that look as if the leaning tower is being propped up or the Eiffel Tower is being gently held between index finger and thumb.
The technique is called forced perspective. This allows you to make objects appear larger or smaller than they actually are by positioning yourself at a certain distance. This often results in funny photos that do not correspond to reality.
Such perspective photos can be easily implemented at home or outside, because any building or object can be forced into funny and crazy perspectives. Just try it out with your kids – “play” with different perspectives.
For a fun YouTube video to get inspired, click here:
Do you still know the photo love stories from Bravo? Behind it is the simple comic principle, combining images and short texts. Photos always tell stories and children love stories. Think up a little story together and package it as a photo story. This way, children can also try out their acting talent. It is even easier to create collages on a specific theme, such as “animals” or “nature”. With various apps, you can easily edit, arrange images and add text. Among other things, “Pic’s Art Photo and Collage” and “Edit Pic Collage Photo” let you edit pictures, create collages and insert stickers. “Snapseed”, on the other hand, relies on filters and correcting sharpness and contrast.
If your child has taken particularly successful photos, he or she can present them to other children in a children’s photo community such as Knipsclub or Kamerakinder. While on Instagram and the like, it’s usually the shining filter, a virtual wreath of flowers on the head or the rushing sea in the background that leads to lots of likes, the Knipsclub or the camera kids are all about the essentials: taking photos. Many photo activities and the nomination of the “Photo of the Month” encourage people to participate and try things out. In the digital exhibition, images can be marked with “Like” and commented on. Children up to about 12 years old can exchange ideas with each other. A kids’ photo community is a safe place to try out social network options in a protected space before your child posts photos and more on Instagram and other social apps starting in their teens. Talk to your child about what kinds of photos they share and which ones may be nobody’s business.
Another great idea, for advanced photographers is painting with light, also called light painting. A guide on how to do this with children can be found at“Growing up well with media“.
Even more ideas and tips for photographing with children can also be found at Knipsclub and Kamerakindern.
The cell phone raised in front of you and your lips twisted into a pout – this is what it can look like when young people in particular take a photo of themselves. This quickly ends up on WhatsApp, Instagram or Snapchat. Maybe a filter is put over it beforehand to make the colors shine more and you virtually put on bunny ears.
Young people in particular always have their smartphones in their pockets, and in any situation they can quickly whip them out to take a picture of themselves and their friends and capture the moment.
These self-portraits with the smartphone are very popular among young people. Selfies are used to put oneself in the limelight and to test one’s own effect on others. This desire on the part of young people in the midst of their personal development is nothing unusual or new. But smartphones and social media make it especially easy. The most beautiful pictures are published on Instagram & Co. – in the hope that as many people as possible will like them. From this you can see your own popularity and attractiveness. But there are other reasons to take selfies. Young people can be creative and have fun posing together. It is not uncommon for selfies to be taken simply out of boredom.
And if truth be told, many adults also take selfies to show how you’re feeling, what you’re doing, and where you are. Selfies are a great way to capture memories and share yourself with others.
It becomes problematic when an excessive amount of photos are taken or erotic selfies are posted. Young people copy this from influencers or other people. If you notice this in your child, he or she may be looking for attention. Self-dramatization is increasingly taking place digitally. Children and young people can get the feeling that they have to present themselves and constantly show what they are experiencing. Especially erotic pictures that end up on the net can damage your child’s reputation. You as parents should counteract this by staying in conversation with him! Make it clear to your child that once anything ends up on the web, it can’t be properly deleted and you have no control over where and how images spread.
There are situations or places where selfies are not appropriate. Posing at a memorial site, for example, is not very tactful. You should also talk to your child about this and set a good example yourself. This also applies to the protection of personal rights when other people are visible on the selfie. They must agree to be photographed and published.
Self-dramatization and self-presentation are important topics in adolescence, as this is how children and young people come to terms with themselves. It’s important that they try out – this can also be in the form of selfies! Accompany your child in this process and, if necessary, also show him the downsides of this trend phenomenon. Very personal pictures do not belong on the web and some experiences are much nicer as memories.
In the following video, our media educator Björn Schreiber answers a father’s question about his daughter’s self-promotion on Instagram:
Did you know that your child can hear even before he or she is born? The ear is the first sensory organ to be formed during pregnancy.
Hearing also plays a special role in baby and toddlerhood. Babies can recognize mom’s voice at an early age. Hearing is important for perceiving the environment and learning to speak. Since young children cannot yet read, they are especially dependent on hearing. They like to be read to or listen to radio plays. As soon as children begin to speak, they narrate to themselves while playing.
Especially at kindergarten age, children can be inspired with audio media. It doesn’t always have to be movies and videos. From the age of about 3 years, you can produce small audio games together or play games with sounds. This trains accurate listening and helps to learn to speak well.
With small children (about 3 years), you can just take a walk and listen carefully: What do we hear? What actually makes a noise?
If your child is already a little older (from 4 years) you can go on a sound safari together. Every smartphone has a built-in microphone, and many also have an app for recording voice memos. Go outside, e.g. to the forest, collect all kinds of sounds together. When you listen to it afterwards, do you or your child recognize what the sounds were?
Produce your own radio play (suitable for children from approx. 4 years). Almost every child has a favorite book or story. Make a little radio play out of it together. Read the dialogues with divided roles and think about how to implement sounds. What does it sound like when it’s raining or storming outside? An overview of how you can create sounds yourself can be found here.
If the weather doesn’t invite you to go outside, your child can solve audio puzzles at audiyoukids.de or Planet Schule, set a story to music themselves or put together an audio play. Accompany your child in this process – especially if he or she cannot yet read. Older children (elementary school age and up) also learn to edit sound recordings here.
Also, check out the reading tips further down this page. There you will find more ideas for creative media projects and more.
Then let’s get to the ears and have fun listening and making sounds together!
When young people on the street hold their cell phones in their hands much like a sandwich or talk excitedly into the air with headphones, it’s hardly surprising: they’re probably recording a voice message. This is also a popular way for families to stay in touch with each other in their often busy daily lives or over long distances.
Almost every messenger has the function to record voice messages. To do this, press and hold the microphone to the right of the text field within a chat or group and speak the message into the smartphone. After releasing the microphone button, the voice message is automatically sent to the selected person. This can listen to the message as many times as desired and also pause in between.
Voice is usually a better way to express how a message is meant. Does the voice sound angry, perhaps? Or is someone making a joke? The spoken voice can replace the emojis of a text message and make the message more authentic. With a voice message, there is more scope to express and communicate thoughts and feelings to others in less time than typing.
The advantages of this type of communication are the low effort and time savings that voice messages bring. On the road, for example, you can quickly ask in the family chat at the supermarket with shopping bag in hand what is needed for dinner. Eternal typing or the planning of telephone calls, for which both conversation partners must have time at the same time, are eliminated.
Voice messages can also help keep in touch with friends or family members who live farther away. Using your own voice is a quick and uncomplicated way to make it clear that you are thinking of each other.
Voice messages can also be annoying: Some people use them because they don’t feel like typing long texts. With voicemail, some get into the talking and don’t really have anything important to share. Instead, you get minutes of audio. Not always the received persons are able to listen to a voice message. While text messages can be read, voice messages must be listened to again in order to comprehend what may be important information. This is especially annoying with long audios.
Voice messages are sometimes sent faster than intended as soon as the microphone icon is released. Many messenger apps now offer the option of listening to the recorded message before sending it and checking whether it should really go out that way.
When recording and listening to voice messages, people in the vicinity should not feel disturbed. A text message can be read and typed silently – this does not apply to voice messages. Therefore, care should also be taken to ensure that when a voice message is played, not everyone can simply listen in. To avoid eavesdropping, many young people play the messages very quietly and hold the speaker of their smartphone very close to their ear. What may look a bit strange at first glance is a way to use voice messaging in public as well.
When recording voice messages, loud noises such as road noise or wind can interfere. Sometimes it also happens that you accidentally close the microphone, which means that the recipient cannot hear what is being recorded. Be aware that voice messages are a convenient option, but can never replace face-to-face exchanges. Make an agreement within the family and also with other people for which messages and in which situations audios are suitable and when not.
This scavenger hunt, which works with a smartphone or GPS device, is also fun for older kids and teens. Try it out and go on this special treasure hunt together with your child.
Geocaching involves using a GPS receiver to find small treasures that other players have hidden in different places. These caches are located in cans or jars of different sizes. The respective GPS location is registered on a platform, e.g. geocaching.com or opencaching.de, and can be saved and retrieved via app. Whoever finds a cache enters his or her name in a so-called logbook, which is attached to the cache. After that, the can is closed again and hidden in the same place, so that the next person also has to look for it.
Geocaching is a popular hobby among adults, children and teenagers. The treasures are hidden all over the world, so even on vacation you can go in search and discover exciting places. For some geocachers, it’s all about finding as many caches as possible and signing logbooks around the world.
There are caches in different categories and sizes. All important information is in the cache description. Some caches require special equipment for the search. With puzzle caches, tasks must be solved beforehand in order to get the GPS coordinates. Depending on the cache, children as young as 4 can join the treasure hunt. Older children can already read the descriptions themselves and be more independent in their search.
Some caches are not easy to find. This can quickly frustrate children. Therefore, read the cache description carefully beforehand. Often there are still important hints in the comments of the digital logbook (under each cache description). Occasionally it happens that a cache is no longer in hiding because someone has destroyed it or taken it away.
In some caches are barter items, such as a toy figure, a coin or the like. Some items have a mission. For example, they are to get to another country or place by barter. All information is available on the geocaching platform. An important rule is that geocachers search inconspicuously so as not to draw the attention of so-called muggles to the cache. Throwing away trash or destroying the landscape is not welcomed in the geocaching community and is against the rules of geocaching.
Do you remember scavenger hunts from your childhood? Today, if you have a smartphone with a suitable app likeActionbound, you can add digital options to the scavenger hunt.
Actionbound can be played with family or friends, for example as a rally for a child’s birthday party or on vacation to explore a new place. Actionbound can be played alone or as a group.
WithActionbound, digital scavenger hunts – known as bounds – can be played using a tablet or smartphone. As you play, clues, puzzles, challenges, and media content appear directly on the screen. The bounds contain varied game elements such as GPS locations, QR codes and mini-games. When using the GPS, the tablet or smartphone shows the players the way by displaying a directional arrow.
Bounds are either created and published by other Actionbound users or you can create a new bound yourself.The app contains numerous bounds on topics such as nature, culture, leisure activities or sights. This turns a city tour into an exciting experience, for example.
Own bounds can be created on the computer via the internet browser in the Bound-Creator. This requires a free registration with Actionbound. Creating a Bound is very simple.Images, videos and audio can be integrated, quiz questions and tasks can be set and QR codes can be created. If you want to share your bound with selected people, you can choose the “secret bounds” function. Creators pay seven euros per compound (as of July 2022).
Click here to go directly to the offer:actionbound.com
Actionbound can also be used with younger children. In this case, however, you should introduce your child to its use, or better yet, accompany your child in the process. When creating a Bound, be sure to use lots of images and little text.
The creation of a bound can take some time. Please also plan to spend time conducting the rally or scavenger hunt. If your child is older, it can be a fun experience to create a Bound together. Note that in the free version all bounds are public. When creating, be sparing with sensitive data such as children’s photos and personal information. If you want to make the bound very personal, the paid option “secret bounds” is worthwhile.
You can also play existing bounds with your child on many different topics. Use the search function in the app to select a suitable scavenger hunt near your location. Keep in mind that here the content is not exactly tailored to one’s needs. Check that the Bound fits your child’s age group.
Actionbound is an app from Germany, therefore your data is subject to European data protection.
Your child loves taking pictures and maybe wants to be a photographer one day? For Instagram it may still be too young, but in the Knipsclub it can learn more about photography in a child-friendly way and exchange ideas with others.
The photo community Knipsclub is suitable for 8- to 12-year-olds. Knipsclub is a platform where they can publish their own photos, share them with others, and talk about them. Knipsclub offers a protected space on the Internet for this purpose. Through animations, video clips and hands-on activities, children learn more about photography and safe behavior on the Internet, e.g. on topics such as Data protection, copyrights and secure communication with others. In the “Knipstipps” tips are given, e.g., for the correct picture detail, the correct light or the use of filters and how one can work on a picture.
Many children love picture stories or comics and like to draw. With photos, they can discover their environment in a new way and learn how to deal with (digital) technology. Children at this age are curious and want to know a lot.Many are already on the Internet. At Knipsclub they can gain their first experience and learn what they need to watch out for, e.g. that you can’t simply upload pictures of others to the upload to the Internet.
Take your child’s wish seriously if they like to share their photos and be independent on the web. Social networks such as Instagramoffer little protection and no guidance for children and are only recommended from a minimum age of 13. There, they may encounter advertising, cyberbullying, and cybergrooming, which can overwhelm or frighten them.
In Knipsclub, you can slowly introduce your child to using the Internet. You must upload a written consent form to register. Familiarize your child with the rules on the net and discover the platform together. Start a collaborative photo project. Here you will find some ideas for this.
With Mitmalfilm children can easily participate in a short animated film. To do this, templates are colorfully painted, photographed and uploaded. The result is then an animated film individually designed by your child.
When using Mitmalfilm, children can create an animated film in just a few steps:
The movies are pre-animated, which means they cannot be changed. Still, it’s a great experience for kids (and parents) to see their own colors and elements (a bird in the sky, for example) in a professional animated film.
In the coloring book there are also stories with the sheep Claude Momäh and the rat Ranksy as a comic. In addition, there are some tips and hints for the design of the images.
Children grow up with many colorful animated films and series. When they themselves can easily participate in such a film, it often triggers great joy. It’s a great moment when they see what they’ve come up with and worked on in motion on the screen.
Compared to do-it-yourself stop-motion movies or self-created online cartoons, paint-along movies are easier and involve less work. Thus, it is also suitable for very young children and children with impairments, if they are accompanied by adults.
Mitmalfilm is fun and can help children understand how media content is made by people: Children go from being mere consumers to producers of media. This can be a first step towards participation. For this, however, children need the company of adults.
In addition, Mitmalfilm also simply provides the opportunity for nice joint activities in the family and will elicit a smile or two from parents.
“Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?” is a popular question asked of children. The answer “I want to become a YouTuber!” is not uncommon. At the latest, when children start secondary school, the desire grows in some to have their ownYouTube– or Instagram-channel with real followers and earn a lot of money with it – just like their social media role models. For some parents, this is hard to understand.
Making videos and getting paid for it is not a “real” profession that you can study or for which there is training, is it? Every day, kids and teens see influencers on social media who can make a living – and have a lot of fun doing it. It seems like it’s quite easy to become a social media star and earn money with quickly created videos and photos.
Many social media stars have actually not learned this and can make a living from it. But there are courses of study or training that can be helpful if the career goal is YouTuber or Influencer. Read more about it at Studycheck or aubi-plus.
Thanks to mobile media connected to the Internet, it’s not hard, YouTube and other social media channels. It doesn’t seem to take much more than a smartphone and your own channel – and you’re ready to go. So, theoretically, your child could also reach an audience of millions with their own videos. However, it is not quite that simple.
Creating content for social media and video platforms is a creative process. It can strengthen children’s and young people’s self-confidence and media skills if they are accompanied in the process. However, it also involves a lot of work that takes time. Famous influencers didn’t become successful overnight or immediately make a living from their content. In the beginning, YouTube videos were often simple in design. Nowadays, many videos are high-quality and were produced with a lot of effort. In addition, an influencer is usually active on several channels in order to reach as many people as possible. In addition, social media stars earn money primarily through advertising contracts. They have to be able to deal with that, too. Many of the successful influencers or YouTubers have their own management. To be truly successful, YouTubers and influencers have to set themselves apart with their content and invest a lot of money and time in good content.
In the second part of “My child wants to become a YouTuber – What now?” you will learn how you can support your child if he or she has this desire.
Telekom’s cloud gaming offer provides over 100 games of various genres that are played online via an app. You can create up to five profiles and customize usage based on your child’s age.
If you decide to take out a paid subscription with MagentaGaming , you’ll have over 100 games of various genres at your disposal, such as sports, action, adventure, and strategy. A total of five profiles can be created with one subscription. Relevant for parents is the possibility to protect the individual profiles with a PIN and to set an age limit. To do this, simply enter the age in your child’s profile. Your child will then only be provided with games that are approved for that age group.
Through the cloud-based system, the games can be used from different devices via an app. The game scores are stored in the cloud and are thus independent of the respective device. You don’t need a console or a powerful gaming PC, but can play via smartphone, PC or tablet. Only one person at a time can play within the app, simultaneous use is not possible.
In recent years, digital games have become increasingly present in the lives of children and young people. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets make it much easier to access them, as you are often not dependent on a console to play online. Digital games offer children and young people countless possibilities: They can race cars against friends, build their own city, or solve puzzles. To a certain extent , there is nothing wrong with that. Your child is growing up with media and digital games are a part of it. They offer room for creativity, promote certain skills and can also contribute to the transmission of values – not least, they are fun.
There are digital games that are not suitable for children. It is therefore advisable to create your child’s own profile and set it accordingly. MagentaGaming bases the age restrictions on the USK age rating according to the legal rules of the German youth protection. You should look into these age groups and decide for yourself if they fit your vision as a parent. You can also find helpful information about this in our article on age restrictions for games.
The media magazine Scroller is intended to introduce children to current media topics and support them in a competent use of YouTube and the like. The characters Trixi and Tom guide your child through the world of media.
Scroller is an offer of Teachtoday, an initiative of the German Telekom. It deals with everyday topics such as cyberbullying, data protection on social media channels and conspiracy theories – in a child-friendly and playful form. Children are encouraged to deal with current topics in the media world.
The magazine can be read digitally on the website or ordered free of charge as a brochure. In addition to a German and English version, the magazine is also available in Arabic.
The content of the media magazine is geared to the everyday lives of children. It’s about issues they deal with every day. The website is colorfully designed and offers many options. Young readers can take tests on their own media literacy , watch videos with craft instructions, and click through the picture stories. In the format “The Children’s Reporters”, children themselves have their say, conduct interviews and shoot short reports.
Scroller ‘s website can be visited by children without any risk. No advertising is displayed and no data is requested. There is no way to communicate or get in touch with each other through the website. However, through links on the website, kids can quickly land on YouTube and easily access other content.
Because of the many icons and related links, it can be a little more difficult for younger children to find their way around the website on their own. There is an enclosed parenting guide in the print edition of Scroller . This way, you can discover the world of media together and discuss media topics with your child.
Playing with friends or family is fun. Online games, especially in times of Corona, are a nice way to do something together with friends and other family members without having to meet. Here’s a little guidance for parents and grandparents to navigate the world of online games.
Interaction with friends and family members is very important for children. Along the way, games can improve general knowledge, encourage strategic thinking, teamwork and creativity, or simply be fun! Many online games are free and playable both on the smartphone and on the computer via the browser.
Pen-and-paper games: A video connection via computer or smartphone is sufficient as a technical prerequisite for an evening of games together: Each player takes a pad and pen and pen-and-paper games can be played together as usual. These include games that require only a small amount of material, such as city-land-river or sink ships. Alternatively, you can play it at stadtlandflussonline.net or battleship-game.org.
Game apps: From Uno to Monopoly – many well-known card and board games can nowadays also be purchased as apps in the PlayStore or AppStore for a few euros. The knowledge game app Quizduell, where you can compete against your friends, has enjoyed great popularity for several years. Depending on the app, advertising clips can interrupt the game process little to significantly. It’s best to try out an app before the online game night you have planned.
Board and card games: Various classics such as checkers, backgammon and memory are offered for free by the English site Playingcards.io. Without registration it is possible to invite other players via a link. At schach-spielen.eu you can play either against the computer or with a friend via an invitation link. Board games for printing are available on Print & Play from Asmodee.
Drawing and guessing: On skribbl.io, one person draws a word on the screen, which the other players have to follow live and guess as quickly as possible. When setting up the game, set the language to German (Deutsch), invite friends via link and off you go!
Strategy games such as Settlers of Catan or Risk are also available as a free app and can be played with all friends who have registered with their e-mail address. However, extensions and premium version have to be paid. The free basic version of Settlers of Catancan also be played via the web browser at catanuniverse.com.
Especially with free online games, contact with unfamiliar players can happen quickly. Cybergrooming is a possible danger. Parents should therefore accompany younger children in particular during their first experiences with online games. At the same time, parents can look out for hidden costs, e.g. through in-app purchases, check information on data protection and the operator of the site and, if possible, make appropriate security settings.
On many game pages you can expect advertisements and pop-up windows from external sites that have nothing to do with the game. These can also be advertisements for games that are not age-appropriate or websites with content that is not child-friendly. On the portal Spielaffe.de, which is aimed at children, there is less of a risk of this happening, but the large amount of advertising for other games can be very annoying here as well. Questionable is the subdivision into categories such as ‘girl games’, where games about hairstyles, decorating and baking are listed. Such gender images in media can have a problematic impact on children’s development. A selection of child-friendly online games is also available at Seitenstark.
If you think 360° photography or virtual reality (VR) is only for people with a lot of money and the necessary technology, you’re wrong. Take some cardboard and glue, your own smartphone and you can dive into distant worlds and virtual realities. We explain how you can experiment with VR & Co. together with your children at low cost.
It doesn’t have to be expensive VR glasses. For many purposes, a smartphone or tablet is already sufficient. You can use it to view 360° photos by swiping your finger to the right or left over the image.
To really dive into virtual worlds, however, VR glasses would be great! It’s very easy and cheap to make, for example, from a pizza box. Glasses like these are called Cardboard. And crafting and painting such your very own VR glasses is fun too! How exactly this works is described in this manual. On this page, you can also order the optical lenses needed for the VR glasses for a few euros. The smartphone is then placed in the glasses and off you go on a voyage of discovery!
Assembled Google Cardboard VR mount, CC by 2.0; Author: othree (https://www.flickr.com/people/12452841@N00)
Especially for the first try out, Google ‘s applications are a great thing! Is there a place your child has always wanted to travel to? Search for it together on Google Maps, such as Niagara Falls. Go to “Photos”. Among them there are also photos in a 360° view, so you can see the place from all sides. If you have Google Street View installed, such images can also be viewed in VR view with cardboard VR glasses. To do this, click on the icon in the upper right corner of the photo, which shows a small pair of VR glasses. Now the image splits and the smartphone can be inserted into the VR goggles. Let’s go to Niagara Falls!
With Google Expeditions you can go on exciting expeditions, for example to the dinosaurs or to a space station in outer space. There are also exploration tours, where the virtual environment has been enhanced with text panels and images, so that you can get information by clicking on an icon. You can even bring the dinosaurs into your own children’s room with the AR mode. AR means augmented reality. You don’t need VR goggles for this, just your smartphone with a built-in camera that films the surroundings. Dinosaurs will then appear on the display in your own child’s room!
On YouTube there is a large number of 360° videos. If you have the YouTube app installed on your smartphone, you can travel with your child into space or dive with sharks in the Caribbean Ocean with just a few clicks. Search for 360-degree videos and activate VR mode via the glasses icon.
With the Street View app, you can also take your own 360° photos, view them and share them with others, for example to show dad how nice it is with grandma at the zoo. To do this, tap the icon with the photo camera in the bottom right corner of the app. Then tap the icon again and the camera opens. Now follow the orange dot and take as many photos on the right, left, top and bottom until there is no more gray area on the display. The app helps with this. Once you have ticked the checkbox, the 360° photo is completed and it can be viewed with or without VR glasses. The photo does not have to be published, but can also be shared privately.
Maybe you’ll manage to trick reality and capture a person several times in one 360° photo!?
It takes a moment to get used to looking through the VR glasses because the brain first has to superimpose the two images that a smartphone displays in VR mode. Sometimes it helps to slide the smartphone slightly to the left or right to make it fit.
Some people also get “seasick” when they put on VR goggles. This is what you should look for in your child. For starters, it is best to choose such content that does not contain movements and fluctuations. For other content, it can help to move along with the image or video.
Precisely because the virtual environment feels so real with VR goggles, the addictive potential for children is greater than for adults. In general, immersion in virtual worlds with VR goggles is only recommended from around 13 years of age. You should always accompany and time your child’s VR experiences. Approach the technology slowly with your child. Look at photos first before playing videos.
There is a lot of content and games for VR goggles that are not for every age suitable. For example, first-person shooter games can also be found in the app stores. Weigh which apps and games are beneficial, but which may scare your child.
With our series Making Media Yourself, we regularly offer ideas on how to easily implement media projects at home with the whole family. The aim is to stimulate creativity around digital media and, above all, to engage with it together. Children and adults sometimes use media in different ways and find different things about it exciting. In a joint media project, people can explore media together and learn how others use them. Even the child can show the parents how something works! You also learn that media is more than watching videos and listening to music.
The LETSDIGI site also takes up this idea. There you’ll find a collection of 25 colorful project ideas all about collaborative design with digital media: from a digital scavenger hunt to a family blog to a human robot and digital research diary. The projects are structured according to different themes. You can view the tutorials by project duration or by keyword. There are projects that can be implemented with young children and those in which grandma and grandpa can also participate. Have fun trying it out!
