Edtech startup magikbee makes YouTube educational and safe with new kiddztube app

Portugal (10 October, 2017) – Magikbee, the Portugal-based edtech startup, has released kiddZtube, a video-quiz app that makes YouTube content educational and completely safe for preschoolers. The app offers a wide range of popular videos, all selected by a group of real-life teachers who, using the kiddZtube technology, add questions to each video that teach children spelling, colours, emotions, directions, and more – all by asking kids about what they are watching. It is available worldwide now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Amazon for Android.

The app was developed in response to both kids’ love for YouTube videos and parents’ concerns over the quality of time spent in front of a screen. As kids watch videos on kiddZtube, questions – which are asked aloud – appear and are answered with a row of four coloured stars combined with emojis, making the experience interactive and visually appealing to the youngest boys and girls.

Because all of the content is chosen and curated by teachers, kiddZtube is completely safe for kids to use. Parents can also track their child’s progress and set time limits on use of the app, giving them full control over its usage.

kiddZtube Lite is available for free with access to 20 videos with quizzes. Meanwhile, the full version of the kiddZtube app costs US$4.99 and offers the full experience with more than 1,000 videos and 7,000 quizzes to view from your device.

kiddZtube is easy to navigate and designed to appeal to children. As a child watches a video, for example about autumn apple picking, the quiz question appears: what colour are the apples? The options to respond appear inside four stars, coloured blue, yellow, red or green. To respond, a child just has to select the star with the correct answer. Kids will instantly know if the answer is correct or should try again. It’s a fun and engaging way to learn.

Hugo Filipe Ribeiro, magikbee Co-Founder & CEO, said: “We wanted to develop something positive, safe and at the same time engaging and fun for kids.”

Some parents may currently be familiar with YouTube Kids, where preschool content is freely available. The big difference is the ability of kiddZtube to transform screen time into an active learning experience. Moreover, YouTube Kids promotes passive screen time and sometimes very young children can get dragged to inappropriate contact that makes it past YouTube’s filters. That’s not possible with kiddZtube.