Kid's mode text reader

[Scott Goodrich]

What I would find really handy is a way to put the text reader into "kid's mode", where the file browser is restricted to one directory on the SD card, and there are fewer options (esp. in the dictionary) to frustrate them when they press the wrong thing.

I'm guessing that this wouldn't be too hard to code, but the UI (re)design might get involved (more options... what should work, what doesn't...).

I'm happy to mull over it more and come up with a more fleshed-out proposal if this has any potential.

Thanks for the great dictionary. I've been using it since PalmOS.

-Scott

 

[mikelove]

Thanks! Sensible idea (and one with particular appeal to me as somebody with a young daughter who's already contemplating her future Chinese learning possibilities), though I'm not entirely sure if your file browser restriction would be doable on our end now that we're forced to use Google's file browser system rather than our own. (we might be able to work around that by having you designate the directory to read from in the grown-up version and using the security authentication from that to open files in our own separate browser in the kid version, but it'd be tricky)

 

[Scott Goodrich]

Perhaps the file browser is more than is really needed. There's already a "recent file list", there could be something like a "selected file list", or a "favorite file list", which is the only thing available in kid mode. That and some checkboxes to turn off displaying most of the options, perhaps the flashcards until they're ready to use them. The full dictionary itself is still handy, esp. for stroke order diagrams. By the time the kids are organizing their own personal e-library and understand the file browser, they'll just plug the tablet into a PC and root it to get at what they want. Meanwhile, they'll be perfectly happy not knowing about font sizes, etc.

It's not really a matter of security, but of annoyance. If there are too many buttons and such, it's frustrating for the kids, and for me, since I have to go rescue the tablet every time they push the wrong button and don't understand what's happening or how to get back. I find the tablet in "Google Search" a lot, thanks to one of their games having a swipe up gesture. "Angry Birds" was short-lived because they couldn't read how to close the incessant offers (which was fine with me...).

-Scott

 

[mikelove]

That would certainly be easier than modifying the file browser, but the larger project would be a pretty sizable challenge - really almost need a whole new UI at that point. But I can certainly see some sizable sales benefits if we do do something like this, particularly given the rather poor state of UX in dictionary apps in general.