The Kid Lab always has a blast during our product testing sessions. This video features a few kids testing out our new PDA toy, Text and Learn. I love seeing kids getting tech savvy, and kids love imitating their parents through role play! Look out for the ‘let’s throw it on the floor to see if it does something else’ clip. After watching the video, tell me what other content you'd find interesting for my blog. Would you like to see more bloopers? Want to see testing videos of our other projects? Which product in particular would you like to see?

This month LeapFrog Kidlab would like to introduce you to Erin Gray, Senior Producer for Learning Toys.  I had a chance to sit down with her and ask her a few questions.   If you have any questions you would like to ask Erin about working with kids to create great products, we'd love to hear from you.

Hello Erin, thanks for talking to us. First, tell me a little bit about yourself and what you love about working with LeapFrog Kidlab?
I’ve worked at LeapFrog for over 5 years. Testing products with real kids in the Lab has always been one of my favorite parts of the job. Showing a toy-in-progress to a kid can validate a great idea, or send us back to the drawing board!

What did you do to prepare for Text and Learn testing in the Kidlab?
Early in the development process we made Flash prototypes for kids to play on the computer. This gave me an idea of what games were going to work for the age group. Then, once we began software development, we tested with a “looks-like-works-like” prototype so that kids could feel like they were playing with the real toy.

What was the most difficult part of developing Text and Learn?
We wanted to make a toy that seemed like a real PDA to kids, but with content and curriculum that would work for a 3-year-old.

What are some of the previous projects you worked on?
I started at LeapFrog working on the LeapPad. I then worked on Fly, Little Leaps, and now I’ve been on Learning Toys for 3 years.

What is your favorite toy you made while here at LeapFrog?
Scribble and Write – the look on kids’ faces when they write a letter for the first time is amazing. It was so much fun to test it.  (more to come on this in the summer!)

Now that I’ve asked you some serious questions.  How about some fun questions!
Sure!

What is your favorite cookie?

Peanut Butter, preferably with chocolate chips.

If I take a look inside your refrigerator what would I find?

Pretty normal stuff: veggies, cheese, milk, cat food

What is your favorite childhood toy?

Hula Hoop!

Where is the last place you traveled to?

The Galapagos Islands, where my boyfriend proposed to me!

Don’t forget! If you or your child has any questions for Erin, please ask!
We’ll be posting pictures and videos from Erin's Text and Learn lab tests soon.  So, check back!

Erica

Hello everyone! My name is Erica Atencion and I have been working at LeapFrog for over 4 years running our Kid Lab - where the magic happens. I have the pleasure of meeting families from all around the Bay Area who come to LeapFrog to test our new and upcoming products.

We test with kids of all ages. My favorites are the l'il itty bitty babies who come in with their parents. We even meet with mommies and daddies alone to get their opinions and advice on what they like and the high quality they expect from our learning products.

I want to share my fun experiences with you, so check back often to see highlights from our test sessions and meet the Froggers that test with these families. They are a great bunch as you will see from future videos! Click on the clip to get a mini-tour of one of our labs at Emeryville.

We're interested in what you think about LeapFrog products, so let me know if you'd like to see any particular product testing highlights. See you soon!