Educational Apps for Low-Income Areas

Dinosaur Train

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) are providing free educational apps to Head Start centers, local PBS stations, and other organizations in underserved communities.

The apps will be downloaded onto devices that families have access to in local Head Start centers and other community organizations. This outreach effort is a service of the Ready To Learn Initiative, an early learning effort led by PBS and CPB with funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

Recent research has shown that access to computers, smartphones and tablets is much less prevalent in lower-income households, limiting children’s exposure to educational apps.

Through this program, PBS, CPB and Head Start are working to help bridge this “app gap,” increasing access to educational mobile content for children from low-income families at the community organizations that serve them and are equipped with mobile and tablet devices.

“A growing body of research shows that educational apps can open up learning opportunities for kids, so we are committed to extending the reach of our apps to more and more of America’s children,” said Lesli Rotenberg, senior VP, Children’s Media, PBS.

“Through this new initiative with Head Start, we are taking a step towards helping bridge the achievement gap by offering access to the latest educational media content to kids in underserved communities across the country.”

The apps, All Aboard the Dinosaur Train! for iPad and Dinosaur Train Camera Catch! for iPhone, launched Thursday, March 8, on the App Store. Based on the Dinosaur Train series produced by The Jim Henson Company, the apps are designed to help kids ages 3 to 5 build critical math skills.

Photo courtesy: PBS