Sunday, September 5, 2010

Zoodles review and giveaway

Recently I had the opportunity to review Zoodles- a kid friendly game site. In exchange for hosting this giveaway, I was given a premium membership to the site to check out the features. As a teacher I of course LOVE the fact that you can choose the subject areas of games that are available! The games have all been tested by educational experts so you know that there will be actual learning and reinforcement going on and not just fluff.

One of my favorite things about Zoodles is that you don't have to worry about your child getting into something that they don't need to be seeing. The Zoodles brower covers the entire screen, and the only way to get out of the browser is to type "quit". This eliminates fear of your child deleting something important off of your computer or accidentally stumbling across an inappropriate web site.

Once you sign up for your account, there's this pie chart where you can go in and choose how much or how little of each subject your child has access to. I teach reading, so you can count on me choosing that subject as an area of importance for my trial. I'm excited about looking further into the reading games and implementing these into my classroom activities.




There are videos available to help teach and reinforce different subject areas. I looked at the Mister Roger's video because I love Mister Roger's. Does he still come on t.v.?

Zoodles also has popular characters that kids watch nowadays like Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, and American Girl just to name a few.

Another feature that I like about this site is that parents get an email showing statistics from the work done during the week. You can see how much time your child spends on each subject. There is also a way for you to adjust the amount of time that your child spends on each subject. When you are logged in, you can go to a tab called "progress report" which shows the subject area that your child has spent time in along with the amount of time spent on each.

Although I didn't try this feature out for myself, there is the ability to record yourself reading a book and upload it so that your child can hear you read a book any time! Although this is no substitute for reading to your child, I think it is great to use in conjunction. Other features for parents include the ability to block shows, sites, and games; the ability to limit violence; and the ability to add content that you find appropriate for your child elsewhere on the web.

I like Zoodles, and I think that it is something that I will implement in my classroom. I played some of the games and enjoyed myself so I'm sure my students will too. I'm a teacher so that might be why I find the educational games so entertaining, since they are geared towards children. There is a free two week trial if you are interested in giving it a try. There are so many more features available that I can't even describe them all to you. Click here to read more about the additional features. You'll have to try it for yourself- it's free!

Buy it: Have I piqued your curiosity? The membership fee is really quite reasonable. Of course you can always use the Zoodles web ap for free, but if you want the premium membership you can try before you buy with a free two week trial. The two week trial gives you access to the premium membership for two weeks which allows you to have access to parental controls. Click here to check that out.

Win it: Now for the best part. Zoodles has given me the opportunity to give away a premium 3 month membership to one of my readers!

Mandatory entry- This must be done first before other entries count!
Subscribe to this blog- you must click on the verification link in the email you receive for this to count!

For two additional entries each-

+ Like Zoodles on facebook. Tell them that Mystery shopping teacher sent you!
+ Like me on facebook (Mystery shopping teacher)
+ Follow me on Twitter
+Follow Zoodles on Twitter
+Put my button on your blog (it's on the top left sidebar of this page)
+Follow me on networked blogs
+Become a google friend connect (GFC- left hand sidebar) follower of my blog
+ Leave a comment telling me where or how you found this giveaway
+ Leave a comment on another post on this blog
+ Enter another of my giveaways

+ Post the following as a status on your facebook page: The Mystery Shopping Teacher has a giveaway going on for a premium 3 month membership to Zoodles.com. The site features kid- friendly educational games.

+ Tweet about this contest once per day! Copy and paste: Giveaway for a premium 3 month subscription to Zoodles- safe, kid-friendly educational games at http://www.mysteryshoppingteacher.blogspot.com/


This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, 18 or older. This contest will run from today until October 2nd.

Disclosure: I was given access to a Zoodles premium membership in return for hosting this giveaway. No monetary compensation was given, all opinions are my own!

11 comments:

kelley c said...

I'm a subscriber. I teach first grade and I know my students would love this!

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

kelley c said...

I liked zoodles on facebook and told them you sent me.

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

kelley c said...

I'm following you on twitter - pandahugger76

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

kelley c said...

I'm following zoodles on twitter - pandahugger76

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

kelley c said...

I'm following you on gfc.

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

kelley c said...

I found this giveaway through your newsletter.

pandahugger(at)gmail(dot)com

nicolesender said...

I'm an e-mail subscriber.

nicolesender@yahoo.com

nicolesender said...

I'm a GFC follower.
+2

nicolesender@yahoo.com

nicolesender said...

I entered the Yo Gabba Giveaway.
+2

nicolesender@yahoo.com

nicolesender said...

I entered the Balloonatiks DVD giveaway.
+2

nicolesender@yahoo.com

Kitamu said...

Hey! I liked you and Zoodles on Facebook (+2 +2)

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