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Lots of parents want their children to learn STEM skills. They also want to make sure their kids’ screentime is spent on worthy content. This can be difficult for many parents. Osmo can help! Osmo is a physical extension used with an iPad or a Kindle Fire that turns your tablets into a beacon of fun learning.

Osmo uses physical interactive pieces in conjunction with the screen. It’s a super fun way for little kids (and even older kids) to learn coding basics and explore theiry creativity.

While Osmo has recently added more math and spelling/word games to their available kits, our review will focus on the Coding Awbie Game on Osmo. We’ve used this game with hundreds of kids and it is ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser!

What is Osmo?

Osmo is an educational toy that works with your iPad or Kindle Fire tablet. It uses a base (where you stand your tablet) and a red reflector that is put over your device’s camera. You use physical tiles and game pieces to play the games and they work in conjunction with your tablet. The physical pieces you use have consequences kids can see on the digital screen. It makes learning, especially coding, ,tangible and accessible, even for young kids.

How Does Osmo Work?

By placing your tablet in the Osmo base and attaching the red reflector over your device’s camera, Osmo scans the table where the physical tiles are placed. The red reflector allows your device’s camera to see the pieces on the table (or desk or wherever you are playing) and then those creations, directions, etc. come alive on the screen!

In order for Osmo to work your device does need to be in the Osmo base ( the height and angle of the base allows for the reflector to work). One to Osmo, is that in order to use the base, your device cannot be in a case. For some parents, it can be hard to take the tablet out of a protecive case, but we’ve never had any problems when using our tablets with the Osmo base.

What is Coding Awbie?

Coding Awbie is the beginner coding game with Osmo. Kids work to guide Awbie through a forest. They use the coding tiles to help Awbie get through the forest, chase bunnies, collect strawberries, gather wood and build his campsite. Awbie is a cute character, and the colors and elements are bright and fun throughout the whole game.

How Does Coding Awbie Work?

To play with Coding Awbie, you’ll open the Coding Awbie game and kids can get started. They’ll use different tiles to code Awbie to run, jump, turn, grab and more! The tiles fit together easily, and kids include tiles that make Awbie do one action multiple times in a row. Once kids have all the tiles together that they want to use, they attach a “play” tile that has a yellow triangle button on it. When they press the yellow triangle, they’ll see Awbie do exactly what they’ve coded him to do with the tiles.

Sometimes kids will need some adult help and direction to actually make progress in the game (build his campsite, collect strawberries, etc.) We have found that without some direction, kids will still have fun coding Awbie, but their directions will be more random and without as much problem solving. However, that being said, even just allowing kids to play with Awbie gets them to explore coding concepts and learn how the tiles, logic and pattern recognition work.

The difficulty level of Awbie progresses gradually as they play, and eventually introduces more complex concepts like looping and sequencing.

Kids’ Reaction

Kids LOVE Osmo. We use Osmo in our Coding Foundations classes, and it is always a class favorite. There is something about using tangible blocks in the real world to interact with their digital screen that kids love. Our Coding Foundations class are typically geared towards kids in grades preK-2nd grade. However, kids (and adults) of all ages are always captivated by Osmo.

Coding Awbie is a great combination of the physical and digital, as well as fun graphics and just enough of a challenge that kids of all ages want to play. It is by far one of our most popular coding activities.

Pros and Cons

Let’s go over some of the Pros and Cons of Osmo before we get to our final thoughts.

Pros

• Interactive- uses physical pieces to interact with digital screen

• Compatible with iPad and Kindle Fire tablets

• Durable base, reflector and tiles

• Easy set up

• Coding challenge level increases as child progresses through the game

• Variety of coding, spelling, math and drawing games available

Cons

• You need to have an iPad or Kindle Fire to use Osmo

• Price- you can buy a Kindle Fire for cheaper than an Osmo kit

Final Thoughts

Osmo is a fun and interactive way for kids to learn coding concepts. We have used Coding Awbie hundreds of times with hundreds of kids, and they all LOVE it!

Using the physical tiles to code Awbie on the screen of a tablet is a fantastic way for kids to understand how their code works and tells Awbie exactly what to do. The bright colors and cute characters also help give the game wonderful visual appeal.

Coding Awbie is one of our favorite ways to introduce coding principles to kids. The complexity of the game increases as their skills develop. If your child graduates from Coding Awbie, there are two other coding games you can play with Osmo: Coding Jam and Coding Duo. These are designed for older kids who already understand some coding basics.

Although an Osmo kit is expensive, we think it is worth it. If you decide to buy one, you’ll want to get your money’s worth. Explore all the different apps and games, get kids started young, and let their friends use it too (it would be great to share in a playgroup).

We hope our Osmo review has been helpful to you. Have fun coding!

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