Do maths apps add value to early education?

Touch-screen tablets and educational apps are gaining popularity in classrooms worldwide, with increasing investment by schools and governments (Tamim et al., 2015). In the UK, over 70 per cent of classrooms have access to tablet technology (Clarke , 2014). Tablet devices are mobile, lightweight and do not rely on the motor skills needed to use other technologies, such as a computer keyboard and mouse (Kucirkova , 2014). They can also store a wide range of child-friendly educational apps, some of which have been shown to support young children’s mathematical development in early education (Schacter and Jo , 2017); (Park et al., 2016); (Szkudlarek and Brannon , 2018). For example, increased time learning mathematics with an educational story app at home improved children’s mathematical skills in primary school (Berkowitz et al., 2015). To grow this evidence base, we are conducting an international research programme evaluating a series of educational apps developed by the UK-based charity onebillion (onebillion.org).