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"The Education Tech Series is supported by Dell The Power To Do More, where you'll find perspectives, trends and stories that inspire Dell to create technology solutions that work harder for its customers so they can do and achieve more.\nIt's not hard to grasp the concept that making learning fun can lead to better results, so we're bringing you a selection of eight excellent gadgets that offer an educational take on play. \nOur curated list of techie toys spans all the development ages right from the womb to the tweenager stage, so whatever age your little one is, there should be something here to suit. \nHave a read below for eight great gadgets that make learning fun, and please share in the comments any educational gadgets, toys or games you've seen success with. \n1. Bellybuds\n\n\n\n\n\nResearch suggests that unborn babies can hear audio from as early as 20 weeks. This means you can play your unborn baby soothing sounds, uplifting music, messages from far-off loved ones, stories and more. More importantly, the same research says that babies retain what they have heard in the womb for up to 12 months, meaning at the very least you can help teach them to recognize voices of those who are going to be important to them.\nAge Range: Pre-natal Cost: $49.99\n2. Fisher Price Laugh &amp; Learn Smart Screen Laptop\n\n\n\n\n\nHow old were you when you got your first laptop? We're guessing it wasn't before your first birthday, unlike lucky recipients of this colorful faux computer. Described as a \"baby-appropriate laptop,\" it boasts nine easy-to-press keys that animate numbers, shapes, colors, object names and initial letters on the screen and offers activities and sing-along songs. The best bit however, is that the laptop is bi-lingual, so all the learning can be done in both English and Spanish.\nAge Range: 6 to 36 months Cost: $18\n3. LeapFrog Chat &amp; Count Phone\n\n\n\n\n\nThis cute handset connects your little one with Scout (LeapFrog's puppy pal) in order to exchange calls and voicemails as well as sing along to songs about counting and phones. In addition to the obvious early number sense, this helps develop your child's pretend play and social skills. The fact that you can hand over the kiddie handset instead of your precious smartphone when Junior fancies a phone fix is, of course, just a bonus.\nAge Range: 18 to 36 monthsCost: $14.99\n4. Playskool Alphie\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Who better to explore the world with than someone who's new to it?\" asks Playskool, summing up the premise behind Alphie, a robot on a field trip from his home planet to find out all about Earth. This, of course, means that as Alphie learns about the world around him, so does your rugrat. Lessons include letter sounds, shape sorting, cause and effect, vocabulary development and more.\nAge Range: 3 years and upCost: $39.99\n5. VTech V.Reader\n\n\n\n\n\nWhile grown-ups have their Kindles, Nooks and iPads, children have the VTech V.Reader. As an interactive e-book reader, the system boasts the engaging building blocks to take your child from a pre-reader to a confident and fluent reader. Stories come as downloads or cartridges offering fully narrated and animated stories, reading skill games and a dictionary.\nAge Range: 3 to 7 years Cost: $59.99\n6. VTech MobiGo\n\n\n\n\n\nThis handheld gaming system will greatly appeal to kids under 8 years of age with its cool colors, touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard. What they won't know is that the content for the device is educational \u2014 as the child plays, he or she learns about colors, shapes, spelling, math, logic and more.\nAge Range: 3 to 8 years Cost: $59.99\n7. Hexbug Nano Bugs\n\n\n\n\n\nHexbug's Nano bugs are robotic creatures that are programmed to behave like real bugs. Beyond just satisfying childrens' desires for creepy-crawlies, the Nano bugs teach kids about science. Children can design and build habitats for their Nano bugs and register them online (where there are more learning resources). The collectability of the range and pocket-money prices of the expandable system means you might also be able to use the Nano bugs as a way to teach Junior about the importance of saving up for something he wants.\nAge Range: 3+Cost: From $9.99\n8. Mindflex\n\n\n\n\n\nMindFlex offers that rare quality \u2014 true wow factor \u2014 that we're confident in saying will make any child sit up and take notice (if not develop a life-long love of physics and maybe even neurology). The object of MindFlex is simple: move a ball through obstacles. What's wow is that you move that ball with your mind. We can't think of a better way to teach children how powerful their brain is than this memorable family game.\nAge Range: 8 years and upCost: $79.99\nSeries Supported by Dell The Power To Do More\n\n\n\n\nThe Education Tech Series is supported by Dell The Power To Do More, where you'll find perspectives, trends and stories that inspire Dell to create technology solutions that work harder for its customers so they can do and achieve more.\nMore Education Resources from Mashable:\n- The Case For Social Media in Schools- 10 Cool Tech Toys for Kids [PICS]- 15 Essential Back to School Podcasts- 5 Fun iPhone Accessories for Kids- 5 Innovative Tech Camps for Kids and Teens"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/12/28/fun-learning-gadgets/>