ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy

Age of Learning, Inc.

ABCmouse.com is produced by Age of Learning, Inc., a privately owned education technology company. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Glendale, CA. Age of Learning launched ABCmouse.com in 2010 after three years of development, guided by a team of educators, and following testing by 10,000 families.

Members of Age of Learning’s Curriculum Board include 2006 National Teacher of the Year Award recipient Kimberly Oliver Burnim, 2014 National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Rebecca Palacios, and Science Writing Award-winning writer Stephen M. Tomecek. The board is overseen by two-time Peabody Award-winner Dave Hendry.

In 2014, at the White House Summit on Early Education, Age of Learning pledged to the Invest In Us campaign to provide services valued at more than $10 million to preschool, pre-k, and Head Start classrooms over two years. In 2015, the company partnered with another White House initiative, ConnectHome, to make ABCmouse.com for free to families living in public housing in 27 cities and one tribal nation, serving up to 65,000 children. In 2016, it was reported that Age of Learning raised $150 million from Iconiq Capital, giving the company a $1 billion valuation.

Content and structure

ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy content currently consists of 7,000 learning activities and over 500 lessons. The preschool through first grade curriculum is laid out in a sequence called the “Step by Step Learning Path.” Parents can register up to three children and set each one at his or her own level based on age and ability. Children can also use any of the content outside of the set learning path. Activities include videos, coloring activities, learning games, poems, puzzles and songs that cover reading and writing, math, art, music, social studies and science. The same content is available whether children log on using their computer or mobile device (iOS, Android, Kindle).

To some, the amount of content “seems almost endless” but can be “almost overwhelming,” suggesting kids will “likely need help navigating the site.” Others have judged it “easy enough for even the youngest computer users” and “well designed for children to use” with an “interface that is intuitive for them.”

However, according to BBB, customer service is almost impossible to be reached considering the majority of calls are regarding billing issues.

Navigation and rewards

Children navigate the site with the aid of “voice-overs, images, and text,” but younger kids may need help. Children earn tickets each time they complete a learning activity, which they can use to shop at virtual stores to decorate their room or “buy” things for their pets.

The ABCmouse.com rewards system is one of its more polarizing features. A review on Common Sense Media said that rewarding learning with shopping may be “teaching a potentially unintended message.” Others have expressed that this motivation encourages completion of activities, understanding of responsibility, and “budgeting and prioritizing.”

Educational apps and videos

The ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy curriculum can be accessed on tablets and smartphones using apps from iTunes, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Some Age of Learning apps, such as its Aesop’s Fables series Beginning Reader series, have been discontinued and are instead available on the ABCmouse.com YouTube channel.

Awards

The ABCmouse.com website and apps have received the following awards: 2015 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Winner, 2015 TabbyAwards Winner and Tabby Awards Users' Choice Winner, The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval for Spring 2015, Tilliywig Brain Child Award Winner in 2013, Winner of the 2011 Parents' Choice Award-Gold, the 2010 Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award, and the Web Marketing Association's 'Outstanding Achievement in Web Development' award in 2010.

ABCmouse for Schools received a Best of Show Award at the ISTE 2016 conference.