Friday Fodder: What Do Apps For Toddlers Have To Do With The Future of Work

Yep, that’s right, toddlers.  There is no denying that technology is moving into digital natives earlier and earlier.  Two years ago, it was cute to see a parent comfort a fussy 2-year-old by handing her an iPhone with some happy music and colorful images dancing on the screen.  We imagined the tot was actually “using” the iPhone, but it was most likely nothing more than a digital pacifier.  Something fun to hold, and touch, and feel secure about clutching… and put in your mouth.  Kind of like most of us with OUR devices.

But now developers and education companies are coming together to create thousands of games and activities designed to help young children improve fine motor skills, vocabulary and understanding of important concepts.

A mix of educational content and fun, the latest apps offer everything from potty training to musical experimentation to a digital doll house.  The pitch to parents:  “you can compress an entire playroom into one device that weighs under 1 pound.  You’ll spend less time hunting down doll’s shoes in couch cushions and more time exploring and creating with your toddler.”

As someone who likes to find a rogue Lego, or an action figure who had defected from the unit in the couch cushions, I’ll let others decide if they want to sanitize the playroom.

But here’s the point.  At Knowledge Infusion we’re helping to prepare our clients for what we call Workforce 2020 “the future of work”- a connected, collaborative, and  mobile workforce we haven’t even fully imagined yet.  These kids will be around 10-years old in 2020, giving them another 10 years to push the technology envelope before they enter the workforce.

We tend to think that technology innovation happens because business power users demand more, and that those innovations trickle down to the consumer.  Sort of like how we got memory foam pillows, or water filters from NASA.  Maybe in the early days of IBM, but no longer.

Today, delivering a consumer-grade user experience is what business applications are striving to replicate.  Gamification, mobile, social and collaborative technologies are now the drivers of business applications that need to engage users in the way consumer applications do. 

With toddlers now driving innovation, I don’t think we can begin to understand the trajectory we’re on in terms of technology advancement.  Talk about unbiased, out-of-the-box problem solvers!  Have you ever seen a 2-year-old dismantle a “child-proof” cabinet in pursuit of some gummy bears?

If you’re not preparing for Workforce 2020, talk to us – it’s going to be here before you know it, and nothing like you expect.

And of course I’m going to list the top Apps for Toddlers – you might even want to see if you can master them yourself. 

1. Pat the Bunny – an Easter egg hunt in every scene
2. Piano Ball – a multi-instrument keyboard to teach your child about different instruments
3. Potty Time with Elmo – get your child excited about potty training with Elmo
4. My Very First App – Eric Carle, the artist behind The Very Hungry Caterpillar, goes digital in this three-level interactive game
5. Curious George at the Zoo – takes the world of Curious George to the next level
6. Drawing Pad – photo-realistic crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils, stickers and roller pens
7. Dress Me Up – dozens upon dozens of choices of characters, outfits and accessories
8. Dog Story – teach your toddler opposites with this interactive storybook
9. PlayHome – a doll house for the iGeneration
10. Shape Builder – 146 puzzles, the app positively reinforces cognitive thinking and fine motor skills

Another infusion of knowledge…

Tags: Workforce 2020