Apple's iPad has always been a wonderful tool for both education & entertainment, but used improperly, they'll tend to keep youngsters from interacting in the real world.Anyone with kids and an iPad should checkout the Osmo interactive platform which combines the digital world and the physical world using the iPad as a base.It provides educational game play by using physical items that will interact with the app which extends the activities outside of the physical iPad.The basic components of the platform are the stand and a plastic cover with a mirror in it, which sits over the iPad's front-facing camera. This is what allows the app to see items on the surface directly in front of the iPad's display.The startup kit offers various activities ranging from word games to puzzles, but I really like the Masterpiece activity.Think of it as a 'virtual lightbox' allowing young aspiring artists to trace out items displayed on the screen to the paper right in front of the iPad.The Osmo platform
