A recent article identified that teacher approved apps on Google play are not necessarily reviewed by teachers and may or may not have educational value(Zomer & Kerssens, 2026). The article urged parents to use indepent wevsites including the 'Children & Media Australia' to review the apps that they allow their children to use (Zomer &Kerssens, 2026). This blogpost will discuss 5 additional questions for families to consider about educational apps.
- Is this app appropriate for my family?
'Teacher approved' apps may not be appropriate for all families. Apps may contain visuals which may not be appropriate for all cultures. They may contain a chat feature which may have security and privacy issues or they may contain ads or references that can trigger individual trauma. The best way to resolve these concerns is to give the app a go yourself before allowing your children to use it.
2. What are my child's individual needs?
Countless educational apps exist. Any good quality educational app will address some educational needs, but no app can address all needs. For example, the educational needs of a year 12 student are clearly very different to the needs of a prep student. However, even in the same year level children can have different needs. For example, imagine two year 1 students with numeracy challenges. The first has challenges reading clocks while the second has issues adding up groups. These are different educational needs which require different interventions. If apps are used as part of these interventions it is likely that different apps will be needed. The good news is that teachers are masters of differentiating activities to address the needs in their class. When in doubt, ask your kid's teacher about their needs.
3. How much time are they spending on the app?
Green time is as important as screen time. Yes, apps can give kids invaluable learning opportunites. But they can also be addictive. It's important to monitor this and make sure that they are not having to much screen time. As a teacher, if I have delegated kids tasks on 'Reading Eggs' or other such apps, I typically do not allow them to spend more than half an hour on these tasks without moving them an alternative task. If your kids are spending hours on apps it is worth considering whether they could benefits from offline activities as well.
4. How can I support my children to move on from the app?
There is a concept in teching called scaffold depedency. Educators provide scaffolds and assistance to help students to understand new concepts or to deepen their existing understanding. These supports are then carefully removed when they are no longer needed. Being dependent on a scaffold can stunt student's growth. If your child can only count in the context of an app that is a problem. It can be really helpful to ask your child questions that require them to recall or apply the content that they are learning outside of apps. Apps will naturally have different scopes of learning experiences, when your child has outdeveloped the app move on to appropriate new challenges. If you kid wants to keep using the app for fun that is fine. Just make sure that at that point, your child understands that this is an enrichment or leisure activity.
5. Make sure that it is fun.
Apps are a mind tool. They are a stimulation which is meant to be engaging. This engagement really helps children to learn. It is worth considering your childs interests when picking an app to use. The more individualised they are the greater capacity they have to help your children learn.
Conclussion
Apps are a common feature of modern life. They can offer a lot of fun and educational value. But it is important to be clear on what purpose they are serving. We need to keep being critical and asking questions about apps to ensure that kids are enganging with them on a positive level.
Bibliograpgy
C.Zomer & N. Kerssens. (14/4/26).Google promotes teacher approved apps for kids. Here is what parents need to know. The Coversation. https://theconversation.com/google-promotes-teacher-approved-apps-for-kids-heres-what-parents-should-know-278663
Children & Media Australia. (2026).Children and Media Website.https://childrenandmedia.org.au