Introducing WePlaySmart, Our Latest Innovation

For a while now, we here at Hatch have had a pretty big goal – to create an entire suite of products for the “21^st Century Classroom” that would meet the needs of and support success for both teachers and students. TeachSmart was the first part of the suite, and was designed for teaching large groups using an interactive whiteboard. The iStartSmart touch-screen computer and iStartSmart Mobile came next, both designed for use by individual students. The last piece of the puzzle was a device designed for a small group of two to four children. Well, we’re proud to say that today we are officially launching that innovation, and we call it WePlaySmart.

While TeachSmart and iStartSmart focused on developing math and literacy skills for young learners,  WePlaySmart is designed to help children develop the social and emotional skills they need to succeed at the next educational level (and in life, for that matter). Based on extensive research and study, WePlaySmart utilizes games that help children in developing empathy, cooperation, patience and self-control – all while having fun and getting positive encouragement when they do the right thing!

Why focus on social and emotional development, things that can’t be tested and quantified like math or literacy? First, we feel TeachSmart and iStartSmart do a great job of helping kids develop those important skills. Second, social and emotional development is an area often overlooked in creating products for the pre-k classroom, but they are just as (if not more) important than academic skills. Multiple studies have shown that children who do not develop good social and emotional skills early on can enter school at risk for escalating behavior problems, being vulnerable to peer rejection and victimization, and down the road, developing adolescent problems that can result in school failure, substance use, depression, and criminal activity.

WePlaySmart takes a very structured approach to developing these social and emotional skills, using over 275 different activities for two to four children that are played on a state-of-the-art multi-touch table. But the children don’t simply sit down and choose a game to play. Each child logs in using a simple picture ID, so WePlaySmart is able to track each child’s development and knows the skills each child needs to work on. The device then offers up games that will help the children playing at that particular time develop new and better skills.

One of the truly challenging components of social-emotional development is the ability to have authentic data that’s tracked over time so that developmental assessment isn’t based on isolated incidents or observations.  At certain intervals, WePlaySmart makes a brief audio recording of the children playing. This allows teachers to hear how particular children interact when no adult is close by. As time passes and other recordings are made, the teacher is able to compile the recordings to show each child’s development, and this can then be shared with administrators and parents.

Of course, WePlaySmart also has the other progress monitoring tools teachers and administrators have come to expect from Hatch technology. It can produce easy-to-understand reports showing the progress of an individual child or an entire class in a variety of key social and emotional areas.

With the launch of WePlaySmart and the completion of our 21^st Century Classroom suite of products, we feel Hatch is truly leading the way to the future of early childhood education technology. Our official “launch event” will take place today at 5:30 pm ESTat the Florida Education Technology Conference in Orlando (we chose to do it there because all the most important launches have taken place in Florida, like the one that took man to the moon!). But if you can’t get to Orlando, don’t worry – you can experience a “virtual launch” on our Facebook “Mission Control” page, also at 5:30 pm. We hope you’ll join us, and please give your opinion of our new WePlaySmart  here or on Facebook!