uKloo App Review
App Info
Price: Free In-App Purchases
Overview
Surprising, fun animations reward young readers who go on this app’s treasure hunt! Early learners will enjoy finding the hidden cards based on reading the clues provided.
Features include:
- Levels build sight reading skills progressively
- Ten levels to keep the challenge going
- Adjustable number of clues for each item
- Two detailed scenes to explore
- Words range from simple three letter words to those with multiple syllables
Quality
This app is very high quality. The hidden animations are creative and entertaining, and the scenes are detailed enough to hold children’s interest. The directions are clear, using visual prompting as well as spoken instructions to help new users get the hang of using the app. All of the features in uKloo work as they should and the narration is well-read.
Education
Are you looking for an app that really delivers in the reading department? uKloo promises to provide nonthreatening, engaging and fun practice for beginning readers in such an entertaining way that they hardly know they are learning, and it does just that. Two scenes (a farm and a farmer’s market) contain uKloo cards hidden in random spots. A written prompt instructs students where to search for the hidden card. The prompts range from simple sentences using very basic sight words and CVC pattern words such as “dog” to very complex constructions using complicated sentences, words with multiple syllables, direction words, and pronouns. There are ten levels of complexity, so this app will meet most beginning readers with the best level to move them forward with their skills.
The app also includes a built in dictionary to help learners who get stuck on a word. The dictionary contains word lists categorized by their function (such as action words or nouns), with each word pictured and printed. Pressing on the word causes it to be spoken out loud, so young readers can get exactly the right level of help.
Want to take the fun out into the real world? The makers offer an Early Readers Treasure Hunt game that you can set up in your own home. The game includes 14 Level 1 cards for early readers, 14 Level 2 cards for intermediate readers, and 26 Level 3 cards suitable for middle elementary students (grades 2-3) that will have your players scrambling all over the house to find a hidden surprise. Cards are similar to those on the app, using the same language at each level, but with this game, the kids are instructed to look in a hiding place, and you can have another card hidden there to send them to the next card, and so on. Put a “treasure” at the end, and you have a great, engaging activity that will get them up and moving as they practice reading comprehension. The game is well-made and of very high quality, and I highly recommend the activity. It also includes a picture dictionary to help players gain skills and a set of hints and tips for parents. It is available at the uKloo.com website and also from other retailers. There are several versions and levels available, so check out the options for more experienced readers, as well.
Entertainment
Get set for fun! The main source of entertainment in uKloo is the hidden animations that are activated each time a user finds a card on the scavenger hunt. A basket of eggs on the farm hatches into snakes, for example, and a cow pops up in a tutu and does a little dance. There are literally dozens of these gems to find, and children will love every minute of it.
Value
This app is an excellent value! It’s game-like nature will please most children, and it offers a nice range of difficulty levels. Nearly all young readers can use the type of practice it offers, and most truly won’t realize they are doing “schoolwork” as they play.
Child Friendliness
There are no outside advertisements in uKloo, no links to social media, nor any in-app purchases. The parents’ section does have links to the developers’ website as well as links to the sites for awards the system has won, but all of the links are protected by a text-dense security gate that will be next to impossible for young children to read. It requires mental math to pass, as well, which is an effective combination to prevent young children from unauthorized internet access.
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