By Helen Wagner

Overall Impression

Apraxia Ville really helps to meet a tremendous need in the area of severe speech/motor disorders, by providing for highly individualized practice on multiple levels. Offering lots of customization, this is a very versatile tool for the SLP. I really like the Sound Window CV practice area, and the ability to use the camera to let the students see themselves producing their sounds. I love being able to select my target sounds from the spinning wheel. I always love an app that lets us record our productions! It is great to have an option to create homework sheets from what you practiced! The data tracking is awesome, with bar graphs and a production history! Apraxia Ville helps me to fill in some articulation gaps with my students! Recommended!

Overall Rating: 4  

Appy Ratings (Appy’s):

• Educational Value: 5
• Entertains/Engages User: 4  
• Customization/Settings: 5
• Value for the money: 5
• Ease of Navigation: 4
• Quality of Graphics: 4 
• Overall Rating: 4  

Category:

• Speech

Goals:

• Articulation
• Beginning Sounds
• Motor Planning
• Apraxia

Age Group:

• Pre-School (Age 4-5)
• Lower Grades (Age 6-8)
• Upper Grades (Age 9-10)

Overview

Apraxia Ville, by Smarty Ears Apps, is designed for the treatment of childhood Apraxia of speech, as well as severe articulation disorders. Best suited for preschoolers through early elementary grades, this app provides multi-level speech/motoric practice along with plenty of stimulus items and customization options. For groups of up to four, students practice articulation skills on individual levels, within a farm theme.
Set up is easy! From the main menu, choose Quick Play to get started with one student quickly, or Select Student for multiple players (and improved data tracking). In Select Student, enter student name, select an avatar from a list, or use the student’s own picture from your camera roll. Now, select your activity!
There are 3 activity levels:
1. The Sound Windows: Here the student practices the selected target sounds. Choose a consonant (boy) and a vowel (girl) by rolling the selection spinner. They will pronounce the sound for you and you can even replay and watch it in slow motion. For additional practice, click the blue camera icon and use the front facing iPad camera to allow the student to practice making the sounds.
2. The Farm House: Practice words at the farmhouse and keep data. The user selects from one of 7 syllable structures and picks the target sounds and vowel groups.
Syllable structures included are:
Level 1: CV and VC
Level 2: CVC
Level 3: CVCV
Level 4: CCVC
Level 5: Bisyllabic
Level 6: Three syllables
Level 7: Four syllables
In the farmhouse, students practice target words located in the farmhouse doors. Press to hear each word pronounced. Window cues from the Sound Windows are available if needed to help the students practice their sounds. Players occupy the upper windows of the farmhouse, where data is tracked. The chimney contains a recording feature.
3. The Words Farm: Here the student practices sets of words. Choose to practice 2 or 3 words at a time. Select your sounds and syllable types, practice the words, record when desired, and easily take, store and share data from the reports section.
Homework: Yes! Included is the ability to create printable homework sheets on the level of your choice.
Before you start, be sure to watch the included VIDEO, which will give you an overview of the app and instructions on use. This is really helpful!

Issues/Wishlist

• I would like to see a sentence level.
• It would be nice to have the targeted word in the farmhouse doors larger, for increased focus. The farmhouse is a little busy, with lots of things to look at (players in the windows, recorder in the chimney, Sound Window on the windows). Larger pictures might help delineate the targets better.
• It would be fun to have a little game to play for freestyle practice.
• Consider actual video footage of sound production models/cues in the Sound Windows. With the cartoon faces, you don’t get the detailed production variables that you would get in true life models. The target audience is children with severe difficulties. They need all the detailed visual cues we can give them.

Price and Download link

The post Apraxia Ville By Smarty Ears appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.

By Helen Wagner

Overall Impression

Verbal Reasoning is a good tool to have available for those older students (or adults) on your caseload who need to work on cognitive skills (thinking and reasoning) and verbal expression. I like that it uses photographic stimuli for this age level. I like that some of the question sets have multiple questions. I also always love an app where I can record student responses. Data keeping is a little odd due to the nature of the data keeping system where users can click correct /incorrect buttons multiple times for each question, thereby possibly skewing the accuracy of the data collection. As long as the instructor is monitoring, this would not be an issue. I like the photograpic puzzle tasks; however, I would disable play during the game, and allow it as a reinforcer on completion of a therapy session.

Overall Rating: 4  

Appy Ratings (Appy’s):

• Educational Value:4  
• Entertains/Engages User: 4  
• Customization/Settings: 4  
• Value for the money: 4  
• Ease of Navigation: 4
• Quality of Graphics: 3  
• Overall Rating: 4  

Category:

• Speech

Goals:

• Expressive Language
• Problem Solving Skills
• Thinking and Reasoning

Age Group:

• Middle School (Age 11-13)
• High School (Age 14-18)

Overview

Verbal Reasoning (Virtual Speech Center, Inc.), was designed to improve critical thinking and reasoning skills. Intended for children and adults ages 12 and up, this app is designed for adults with cognitive deficits, aphasia, and children with language disorders and/or autism. With over 1,000 stimuli, the following goals are targeted: *Identifying problems, possible causes, and solutions *Stating problems, possible causes, and solutions *Identifying what will happen next *Predicting what will happen next *What would you do if….? *What would happen if….? *Stating pros and cons *Stating similarities and differences *Answering why-questions *Answering negative wh-questions EASY SETUP: Select START button, enter each student/adult, and choose goals. Target questions are given according to the goals selected. Option is available on the left side of the screen to record responses for each question. Option is available on the right side of the screen to score correct/incorrect for each question. When finished with game play, select Finish button and the screen takes you to the Session Report, which contains the session data by date and client name. Results can be shared via email. Puzzle Game: The app contains a puzzle game reward which can be turned on or off in the settings area. Settings: The app does provide some simple settings to customize for paging, audio, instructions, enable reward, and award counter.

Issues/Wishlist

• Grammatical errors need correction; example “The man was in the hurry”.
• The data keeping system is odd in that if your student misses an answer and is scored an X (incorrect), by further pressing on the checkmark (correct), the accuracy level goes up with each press of the checkmark, on the same question. This may be a feature intended by the developers; however, it did feel strange to be able to manipulate the data this way.
• I would like an airprint option to print out data.

Price and Download link

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The Jellybean Tunes App Report 80: What is the Terrifying Building in Eyeville?

How do you explain cancer to a child? The Terrifying Building in Eyeville offers an allegorical tale to ease that conversation. Apps Kids Love returns with Cars Jigsaw Puzzles, the latest in their popular line of animated puzzles. Challenge your child or yourself with Blocks Rock! from Zephyr Games (developers of Math Evolve along with Interaction Education). Plus, a curated youtube app for children, an introduction to animals and climate zones, and a news magazine for kids this week in apps from our family-friendly app network.

Please take a moment to read the full app descriptions, and to screen the apps you download, in order to fully understand the features and elements in the app. If you find an app you like, please write a review.

If you are a developer with news or an app to announce, visit the information page.

- Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

Apps for Little Ones

	Cars Jigsaw Puzzles by Apps Kids Love – LLC Cars Jigsaw Puzzles combines high quality cartoon animations and the classic Jigsaw puzzles that kids love! After each puzzle is completed a fun animation plays and kids enthusiastically play each one to learn how the cars work and what they will do next. iPhone and iPad: Free + $0.99 In-App Purchase
	Alphabeasties by CJ Educations Alphabeasties Amazing Activities is an interactive version of the original follow-up activity book, created by award-winning graphic designers Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss. From an alligator made from the letter A to a yak made from Ys, Alphabeasties Amazing Activities includes 26 original letter tracing – beastie revealing activities, 26 uniquely interactive coloring, sticker, and activity pages, with a full bonus set of animated flashcards. iPad: $3.99
	100 Trucks by Whyse ApS Know a child who love to look at and talk about large trucks? We’ve got them! 100+ high quality truck photos. Videos of trucks in action. iPhone and iPad: $0.99 + $0.99 In-App Purchase
	Shiny Party by Shiny Things Charlie and Alice are throwing a surprise birthday party for their friend, Ralph! Can you help them throw a party to remember? Shiny Party is a learning tool for 2-5 year olds, providing a fun and engaging way for children to explore vital early mathematics concepts. As children play Shiny Party they will be practicing essential basic geometry skills, but they’ll never know that they’re learning! iPhone and iPad: $2.99
	Toonia Colorbook by 3fs Toonia Colorbook turns your iPad into a beautiful coloring book with 48 Toonia designed coloring pages in 6 themes. Each theme comes with a unique selection of crayons for your children to discover and combine in any way they like. Toonia Colorbook also supports multi-touch so your kids can color together with friends or siblings and learn about the importance of cooperation and the joy of sharing. The more fingers the merrier! (Watch Video) iPad: Free + $0.99 In-App Purchase
	ChildrenTV by CyberWalkAbout With more than 1,000 videos and growing, the app provides a fun way to keep kids both occupied and educated during long car rides. ChildrenTV is carefully designed and tailored for kids age 2-10 years old. Cute and colorful graphics, an array of entertaining cartoons in 10 languages, together with a kid-friendly interface make ChildrenTV a great addition to a child’s iPhone library. (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: Free

Books

The Terrifying Building in Eyeville by Joel Grondrup The purpose of this story is to give parents and grandparents the opportunity to explain to children what cancer is – through colorful storytelling. This isn’t a perfect allegory for the nature of cancer, and the goal is that the child won’t even realize that the story is about the illness. In this way, it’s up to parents to explain what the story can represent. Thus, the story also works as a good children’s story. (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: $0.99

Daniel and the Lions’ Den by NEST Family Apps Read the enduring story of Daniel’s powerful faith during his time in the den of lions, brought to you by NEST Learning – recognized by Parenting Magazine and The Parents’ Choice Foundation. This enlightening story is enhanced with educational moments. Enjoy reflective family study with NEST Family Chat. It is also a wonderful teaching aid, the source material for this app has received the highest rating from Practical Homeschooling. iPhone and iPad: $2.99, Google Play: $2.99, Amazon: $2.99, Nook: $2.99

Games

	Blocks Rock! – A Fun Puzzle Game for Kids by Zephyr Games From the minds of middle school students, to their classroom, to a board game – Blocks Rock! has arrived on the app store and is ready to bring the puzzles and fun to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Blocks Rock! is a great way to challenge the growing minds of elementary school kids – and big “kids” who want to keep their minds sharp! Blocks Rock! is suitable for ages 5 and up and involves color and shape identification, visual perception structure coordination and computation. iPhone and iPad: Free + In-App Purchases from $0.99 to $1.99
	Wubbzy’s Mash-Em Fun by Cupcake Digital Get ready to Mash-Em! The Robot-Cluck 3000 and hundreds of robo-chicks are on the loose and it’s up to you to save Wuzzleburg! Pick up a mallet and tap, tap, tap to mash! Mash-Em Fun is Wubbtastic gameplay with two levels to challenge kids of all ages. You’ll love the bright graphics, awesome sound effects and easy-to-play interaction. a iPhone and iPad: $1.99, Google Play: $1.99, Amazon: $1.99
	Kids Boats by Pyjamas Apps Pyjamas Apps – a team creating educational games for kids – just released Kids Boats. In the game players will need to maneuver a paper boat in the river collecting stars, messages in the bottles and evading obstacles. The game introduces kids to different climate zones and animals living there – so they will learn to recognize different animals and environments. A variety of control options develops fine motor skill and allows selecting the most comfortable one for every child. (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: Free + $0.99 In-App Purchase

Magazines

News-o-matic, daily for kids by Press4Kids News-O-Matic is an exciting and fun newspaper for kids! Kids will love reading every day about current events, including sports, science and much more. They will love playing fun & new educational games every day all in an interactive and safe environment. A child-psychologist vets every article! iPad: Free + In-App Subscriptions from $1.99 to $49.99

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The Jellybean Tunes App Report 79: Celebrate Fraggle Rock’s 30th Anniversary

Cupcake Digital brings us back to the world of Fraggle Rock, Vito Technology Inc. (makers of the acclaimed Star Walk) takes us back to the time of the dinosaurs and Math Evolve recieves a big update (is there anyone who doesn’t have this app yet?). Plus, mix virtual paints without the mess, make birthday cards, and design your own town with apps this week from our family-friendly app network.

Please take a moment to read the full app descriptions, and to screen the apps you download, in order to fully understand the features and elements in the app. If you find an app you like, please write a review.

If you are a developer with news or an app to announce, visit the information page.

- Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

News

Apps for Little Ones

	Frosby’s Bouncy Castle by Frosby Studios Frosby’s Bouncy Castle is a fun little ’cause and effect’ game for toddlers and young children aged 1-4. To play: drag the little eggs up the ladder and watch them bounce around in every direction! Touch the stereo to change between 3 scenes with different music: park, beach and night. Put an egg on the moving cloud, and watch it disappear! iPhone and iPad: $1.99, Nook: $1.99
	Colours! by Happy Blackbird Colours! is a fun game/teaching app that helps developing a “sense of colour” by simulating real-life colour mixing. You have the three primary colours, white and black to combine into whatever colour you please and you can also play a “guess the mixture” game where you need to find the right mix of primary colours to achieve a given tone. iPhone and iPad: $0.99
	Baby Pad by Mofables Sp. z o.o. Baby Pad is colorful edugame for the youngest – around 1 year old. It helps babies develop eye-hand coordination and let parents introduced rules on handling tablets. Baby Pad is supposed to help your children understand that there are situations when electrical devices need to be left alone. We intended this game to be the last one before the child will have to hand over the device. Tell your child that the Pad is tired and will want to go to sleep in a while. iPhone and iPad: $0.99
	Sharing with Duckie Deck by Duckie Deck Development Sharing with Duckie Deck is a beautifully designed collection of six educational games targeted to children 2-5 years old. Each game is full of colorful characters and delightful sounds. Our mission is to teach kids important life values and support their creativity. We will help children learn why sharing with others is so important and what friendship is. There’s no in-app purchases or advertising, it’s fully free now. iPhone and iPad: Free
	123 Counting in the Sea by Kid Games Interactive LLC 123 Counting In The Sea, is an interactive animated adventure inspired by the summertime beaches of Montauk NY, when a father took his son down to the sea. iPad: $1.99

Books

Fraggle Friends Forever by Cupcake Digital “Fraggle Friends Forever!” is a great experience for fans old and new to jump into the one-of-a-kind world of Fraggle Rock. This new enhanced story app includes tap-and-play animations on every page, hilarious special effects and entertaining games! When Boober comes face to face with a very big, very hungry, very ticklish Slurp, he realizes that a Fraggle has to do what a Fraggle has to do. Can Boober save the Great Hall? And will his friends arrive in time to help? (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: $3.99, Google Play: $3.99, Amazon: $3.99, Nook: $3.99

My Annoying Little Brother by Kid Games Interactive LLC My Annoying Little Brother, is an interactive reading adventure, originally published as a children’s printed book. It allows kids to overlap sounds, animations and words, read whole pages or click on individual words, and search the page for the hidden animations. This is an app where learning is a pleasure, entertaining, and beautiful. iPad: $1.99

Creative Play

	Leo’s Birthday Card Maker by Kidaptive New, from the makers of Leo’s Pad (the award-winning app that is both fun and educational)! Take Leo to your iPhones and iPods! Make and send birthday cards more easily than ever! Leo’s Birthday Card Maker will help young learners explore their artistic talents and learn colors in a fun and collaborative way! A beautiful, interactive way to paint and decorate, designed by Stanford University education researchers in conjunction with Emmy award-winning animators! iPhone and iPad: Free
	Bunny Fashion by We Are Interfaces AB Bunny Fashion is finally here! This dress-up game is designed to bring you lots of fun and hip style ideas. Name the cute rabbit, take a photo with him and share it with your friends, exchange looks and ideas, create your own fashion! Whatever your style preferences may be, you’ll find there more than enough to express yourself. iPhone: Free (for a limited time)
	PlayWorld House Designer Pro by LeicesterAppDesigner.com PlayWorld House Designer Pro brings out the interior designer in you! Design a home the way you would like it. Let children discover the art of designing a house, and have them take imaginative play to the next level, by designing towns, cities and shopping malls. With over 300+ items, the possibilities are endless! iPad: $1.99 (50% off)

Math

Math Evolve: A Fun Math Game by Interaction Education We have just released our biggest and best update ever for Math Evolve for iPhone and iPad. In Math Evolve, kids can practice their skills as they journey through three exciting worlds on an adventure to save the universe! There are many great additions that will make Math Evolve even more enjoyable for both younger and older players. New Features Include a brand new level screen, new tutorials and animations, improved gameplay and balance, and enhanced menu screens. (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: $1.99

Science

Dino Walk: Continental Drift by Vito Technology Inc. Millions of years ago the Earth looked quite different from what it does today. This app is a stunning visualization of a billion-year-long change happening in less than a minute. It will also show you who inhabited the planet in respective time periods and tell you all about them. iPhone and iPad: $2.99 (Introductory Price)

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The Jellybean Tunes App Report 78: Learn with the Cat in the Hat

Wubbzy is back with a cute coloring book, the Cat in the Hat knows all about butterflies and honey bees, Jazzy wants to take you on a musical journey, and Dan Russell-Pinson (of Stack the States fame) invites you to explore the world of Tipping Point. All this and more (space cakes anyone?) await you in apps this week from our family-friendly app network.

Please take a moment to read the full app descriptions, and to screen the apps you download, in order to fully understand the features and elements in the app. If you find an app you like, please write a review.

If you are a developer with news or an app to announce, visit the information page.

- Garry Froehlich | Jellybean Tunes

News

Apps for Little Ones

	Wubbzy’s Animal Coloring Book by Cupcake Digital Wubbzy’s Animal Coloring Book lets kids tap-to-paint bright, colorful scenes starring Wuzzleburg’s favorite residents. Meet the giant sillyasaurus, style the snappity snap turtles, and discover many more lovable Wubbzy friends! iPhone and iPad: $1.99, Google Play: $1.99, Amazon: $1.99
	Peek-A-Boo Farmhouse – Play ‘N’ Learn by Doodahboo – Dreamware Solutions A great amusing experience for kids to learn the exact name of animals in multiple different languages as well as to associate them to the related animal sounds. We do believe that the nice part of our App is the interaction between cute animal illustrations, animal sounds and the possibility of choosing among different languages (at present time English, Spanish, Italian… more languages will be implemented in future updates). (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: $0.99
	Little Farm Preschool 2 with Chinese Language Learning by PlayFino Inc Learn and have fun with farm animals – pigs, cows, sheep, chicks, and more! Little Farm Preschool 2 is a collection of 8 exciting educational games in 40 levels for your preschoolers (ages 2 to 6), with additional Chinese Learning Feature – learn one Chinese word in each level. iPhone and iPad: $0.99 (50% off)

Books

	On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects by Oceanhouse Media The Cat in the Hat is your tour guide as you learn all there is to know about insects. Come along and see how these fascinating six-legged creatures, from butterflies and crickets to fireflies and honeybees, inhabit our environment and make everything better for the world around us. iPhone and iPad: $3.99 (Introductory Price)
	Kids YoPoweR! Journey by YoMagination Wellness & Education YoPoweR! App provides parent/teacher a powerful therapeutic tool with comprehensive, structured guidance to improve resilience and the social/emotional health of child. First in a unique app series, children learn to recognize the physical signs of anxiety/anger and how to alleviate them with evidence based calming techniques and coping skills. In an immersive sensory experience, incorporating Metronome Diaphragmatic breathing, magical visuals, narration and transformative music, children will be empowered to manage emotions, anxiety and transitions that relate to real life situations. That’s Kids YoPoweR! iPad: $1.99
	Beauty and the Beast by StoryToys A charming adaptation of a much loved classic, “Beauty and the Beast” is given the magical StoryToys treatment. Beautifully illustrated and with a variety of fun interactive scenes to participate in, readers will delight in joining Belle in her adventures as she must leave her family to live with the (adorable) Beast in his enchanted castle. Can she really find happiness and her own true love? (Watch Video) iPhone and iPad: $4.99, Google Play: $4.99

Creative Play

Space Cakes by Mrs. Judd’s Games Learn number sense and early math in a galaxy of fun as children bake, decorate, and deliver their very own Space Cakes to Earth! What do you get when you mix the right amounts of stellar sugar, moondust, orbiting eggs, and meteor milk? Levitating Space Cake batter ready for your child to bake, decorate, and deliver to loved ones back on planet Earth! iPhone and iPad: Free (with sponsored-by advertisement)

Pretend: Kids Storytelling & Family Photo Fun by Mrs. Judd’s Games What would it be like to float through space as an astronaut, skate near a snoozing polar bear on ice, or perform an underwater magic show in front of the big fish? Set the stage for the budding dramatists in your home with Mrs Judd’s Games digital spin on a timeless childhood activity, Pretend! iPhone: Free

Games

Tipping Point Adventure Game by Dan Russell-Pinson Tipping Point is an immersive, photorealistic adventure game that stimulates both sides of your brain. As you solve a myriad of challenging puzzles, you’re rewarded with a satisfying story filled with drama, humor and unexpected plot twists. Original music, lifelike characters, animals and scenery all come together to create a cinematic experience. You can explore the world of Tipping Point at your own pace and use the in-game hint system if you ever get stuck. iPad: $1.99

Math

Splash Math Kindergarten: Fun Educational Worksheets for Counting Numbers, Addition, Subtraction and more [Free] by StudyPad Prequel to the successful Splash Math Series Grades 1 to 5 – Splash Math Kindergarten app allows kids to get started with Math practice in fun way. Ideal for kids 3-6 years in age, it’s a superb math game for kids in preschool and kindergarten. In-app purchase required to get full access. (Watch Video) iPad: Free + $9.99 In-App Purchase

Music

Jazzy World Tour – Musical Journey for Kids by The Melody Book Join our two kittens on a magical journey as they travel the world in a hot air balloon. Visit Brazil, Spain, India, Australia and more, as we explore each country’s unique music and culture. Play the different musical instruments with interactive fun pages filled with entertaining sounds and vivid illustrations. From the sandy pyramids of Egypt to the wildlife of Kenya, Jazzy World Tour is an adventure that is sure to broaden your child’s horizon. iPad: $4.99 (complete version), iPad: Free + In-App Purchases from $0.99 to $4.99

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**SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE—LIMITED TIME ONLY!**
**THIS APP REQUIRES iOS 5.1.1+ and iPad 2+**

Description from Developer

**SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE—LIMITED TIME ONLY!**
**THIS APP REQUIRES iOS 5.1.1+ and iPad 2+**

Dive into Elmo’s imagination and create your very own silly stories of adventure together! Based on Sesame Street’s newest segment, this app introduces your child to the basics of story-building using kooky characters, interesting objects, and more!

Play Features for Kids:
•Choose Elmo’s costume, from Elmo the Clown to President Elmo!
•Create scenes with settings, characters, and objects from Elmo the Musical
•Use their face or a friend’s face to create new characters
•Record their own voice telling the story, or have Velvet tell it
•Watch, listen, and read the story from start to finish

Curriculum and Skills:
•Emphasizes basic story structure: beginning, middle, and end
•Illustrates how creative choices affect a story along the way
•Supports collaboration and connection with friends
•Encourages imaginative play and storytelling

Features for Parents and Kids:
•Parent tips for helping your child create imaginative stories
•Send stories to friends and family, and receive them
•Collaborate on stories with friends and family

The post FRESH Discounted App – Elmo the Musical—Storyteller By Sesame Street appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.

By Christie Dwyer

In a Nutshell

This app contains 12 different mini-games to play and learn with. But buyer be aware, that even though the game is targeted towards the age range 2-6 years old, it will probably be best for the 4-6 year unless your toddler is used to using the sliding finger to change the page as well as back buttons to get in and out of games. As in the other Playground apps, this is a global friendly app as there are fifteen different languages to choose from.

Overall Rating: 4 

Appy Ratings (Appy’s):

• Educational Value: 4
• Entertains/Engages User:  4
• Customization/Settings: 4 
• Value for the money: 3 
• Ease of Navigation: 5 
• Quality of Graphics: 4
• Overall Rating: 4 

Category:

• Game
• Language Arts

Goals:

• Coloring
• Drawing
• Find Different Objects
• Find Same Objects
• Fine Motor
• Matching
• Music
• Tracing Skills

Age Group:

• Pre-School (Age 4-5)
• Lower Grades (Age 6-8)

Overview

Playground 1-Best of Edition is best targeted towards the preK/K age level as it has a menu with multiple sub-games and requires back buttons to start a new game. Unless your toddler is used to this more sophisticated usability function, the parent will most likely be needed to help the younger child when transitioning between games. But install this one app, and you have 12 mini-games at your child’s fingertips!

To access the settings section, one must hold the icon in the top right corner down for three seconds. In here, one can access the developer by various Social media options as well as access iTunes for other Playground apps. Each of these options requires pressing down for 3-5 seconds just like getting into the settings section. The parent/teacher can choose how long the learner can play, in 5 minute increments. And finally, there are fifteen different languages to choose from, so this app is very user-friendly.

The app has the following 12 simple mini-games, each of which have been handpicked by the developer’s children:
*SEARCH- search for differences between two pictures,
*PAIRS- match pairs to help improve memory skills,
*PUZZLES- solve puzzles, 2 modes available- toddler (4 pieces) & Pro (8 pieces),
*DRAW- color and draw pictures, which can each be saved,
*ERASE- scratch off scenes to discover new animal friends,
*SLIDE- solve sliding puzzles,
*CATCH- a think fast game trying to catch five animals of the same type,
*REMEMBER- remember song combinations- very similar to the Milton Bradley game Simon
*PIANO- play an animal-themed piano (with 8 different animals)
*COLLECT- a line tracing type app where Mama fish collects stars for her fish
*ROLL- a toddler version of #6- the sliding puzzles
*COLORS- a bubble shooter in which you match three or more of the same colored fish together to score points.

Playground 1-Best of Edition was fun for my preschooler for a little while. It is not at the top of her list. However, it is great to have all these games at one’s fingertips within a single app. It contains a lot of solid content and is definitely user-friendly with all the fifteen languages to choose from. So this app can help reinforce language lessons for your children as well if they are learning a new language. The app is targeted towards 2-6 year olds but I would say if the user is a toddler, to be prepared to help them out rather than just letting them maneuver through the app.

Issues/Wishlist

• With the Piano game, the frogs sound like more like cats.
• The game as a whole is not easy for a toddler to maneuver without an adult (at least at first.)

Price and Download link

The post Review of Playground 1 – Best of Edition. 12 games for kids in 1 App. appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.

*** Join us for Better Hearing & Speech Month & win $25 Gift card ****

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month. Throughout the month, we will be highlighting technology, developers, and resources specifically geared towards improving the quality of life for those experiencing difficulties in the areas if communication, understanding, and/or hearing.

You can find the Best Apps Recommended by SLP’s, Teachers & Special needs parents by clicking on the link below. If they are on SALE, you will see the app with the SALE icon. Join us on our Facebook page to learn about apps, instant deals and Giveaways. Best of all you will have fun and get to know other parents.

The post FREE & Discounted Apps during Better Hearing and Speech Month appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.

By Lauren S. Enders

Overall Impression

Avaz for Autism adds a nice, user-friendly option to the list of more robust AAC apps that provide access to core vocabulary and text-to-speech with word prediction. The app is still relatively new, so I expect more good things and refinements with future updates. Though there are now hundreds of AAC apps now on the app store, all apps are not created equal. Avaz for Autism makes it into my list of favorites.

Overall Rating: 4 

Appy Ratings (Appy’s):

• Educational Value: N/A
• Entertains/Engages User: N/A
• Customization/Settings: 4 
• Value for the money: 4 
• Ease of Navigation: 5 
• Quality of Graphics: 4 
• Overall Rating: 4  

Category:

• AAC

Goals:

• AAC

Age Group:

• ALL

Overview

Avaz for Autism (version 2.0) is a customizable dynamic display augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app for iPad and Android tablets. As with other customizable core word AAC apps, depending on the features needed by the user, this app may be appropriate from toddlers through adults.

Anyone who follows my posts knows that I am a big proponent of providing all individuals who need AAC access to core words (the words that all natural speakers use approximately 80% of the time to construct spontaneous and unique messages). This app offers a solid start on core word programming with color-coding for parts of speech (another important feature) in fields of 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 15, and 24 buttons. Adding, deleting, and editing buttons is achieved easily within a very user-friendly interface. When screens have more buttons than the number chosen within settings, additional buttons can be accessed either by scrolling downward or hitting a page down, page up button in the right toolbar (option in settings). Pictures may be selected for buttons using the available Symbol Stix library, photos from the camera roll, or direct access to the device’s onboard camera within the editing screen. At this time, the app is accessed via direct selection (touch) only.

Like some of the other robust AAC apps, Avaz includes a feature that allows those teaching the user communicate to enable (show) or disable (hide) buttons. This feature allows the user to develop a motor plan between buttons that is not destroyed with the addition of additional vocabulary.

There are some unique and well-thought out functions in Avaz. The toolbar (always available on the right) offers a go back button, a home button, and a button that can be linked to the Core Words screen or the Quick screen, a screen of quick responses that includes common conversational responses, social greetings, responses and comments. Two additional tools on the toolbar are unique and clever. A Mistake button simply says, “I made a mistake.” An Alert button makes a sound (like the two-tone sound on an elevator) for gaining attention. Another unique and helpful feature of Avaz is a search button at the top of the screen that allows you to type in a word to see the paths to finding that word in the programming. Backups of customized vocabulary are done through an in-app connection to Dropbox, allowing for easy backups and restorations. An additional feature that may be appealing to therapists and parents is the ability to track data during a particular period of time. Using a start/stop tracking feature within settings, teachers, therapists, or caregivers can identify when to start and stop collecting usage data. Finally, Avaz includes an optional and customizable zoom feature that enlarges the selected button once it is selected.

Users can switch quickly between the picture based vocabulary screens and a text-to-speech keyboard by hitting a keyboard button that is always available. The keyboard screen offers a unique feature that provides symbol support within the predicted words. In addition, the keyboard allows users to save and load sentences and select from a customizable quick response bar. There is an option within settings to select the standard QWERTY keyboard layout or an ABC layout.

Issues/Wishlist

Some features that would improve Avaz for autism would include:

• ability to modify the color of buttons, text options, and visibility of buttons more than one button at a time
• Ability to name and re-use categories created on one page on another page.
• Ability to change verb tense or plurality of words
• ability to save more than one user’s vocabulary within the app

Price and Download link

The post Avaz for Autism By Invention Labs appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.

By Melanie Broxterman

Overall Impression

State Bingo and Road Trip US was both entertaining and challenging. I consider myself ‘geographically challenged’ and I have to admit that I struggled a bit with some of the state facts as well as some of the geography questions. Now, on the other hand, my assistant reviewer (my husband) who has traveled across the country and is quite the history buff, found the app to be much easier. Another tester for this app was my 7 year old daughter. She found it to be very difficult not only to answer the quiz questions, but to read some of the questions as well if playing the app by herself. Her experience with the app was more of a “trial and error” to answer the questions. When working with a adult, she enjoyed playing the game with assistance. The graphics are nice; however, I wonder if they are too young for students in the grades that would be using this app independently. We experienced no technical problems during testing phase. Some features of this app that we liked were the clue/help option when playing the bingo game which provided the user with a map, the graphics were well done, and the levels provided noticeably different questions.

Overall, this app would be good for reviewing state facts and basic geography of the states for students 8+ years old. At this point, the common core standards do not address social studies; however, many states still have state social study standards. For Ohio, state geography isn’t part of the official standards until fourth grade with national history standards starting in fifth grade.

Overall Rating: 3  

Appy Ratings (Appy’s):

• Educational Value: 4  
• Entertains/Engages User: 3  
• Customization/Settings: 2 
• Value for the money: 2  
• Ease of Navigation: 4
• Quality of Graphics: 4  
• Overall Rating: 3 

Category:

• Game
• Social Studies

Goals:

• Problem Solving Skills
• Vocabulary

Age Group:

• Upper Grades (Age 9-10)

Overview

State Bingo and Road Trip US is a iOS app that teaches United States geography through a set of quiz questions. The app has 2 different types of games. State Bingo asks questions and the user is expected to choose correct slot on the Bingo board. The quiz questions are directly related to the state which is the answer. Once the user gets a line of bingo, the user earns a state to add to the user’s statehood collection. The second game is where the user can go on a road trip across the United States. The game starts at a given state. The user is given quiz questions to answer making their way across the US with each correct answer. If the answer is incorrect, the user gets a flat tire. After three flat tires, the game is over. The quiz questions are not always directly related to the state chosen. The question can be relate to the state or neighboring states. If you do make it through the road trip, you will also get state to add to your statehood. Both game sections have can be leveled. Both games offers Easy, Medium, and Hard. In the road trip game, you also have the choice of picking a trip route: eastbound, westbound, Lewis and Clark Trail, Oregon Trail, or Pony Express Trail.

Issues/Wishlist

• There are a few items that I think could improve this app and make it more appealing for more users.
• option to have quiz questions read to user
• option to have background music on/off
• a “how to play” section
• In addition, some suggestions from my other testers are as follows:
• From husband:
• making the statehood awards more engaging, possible using the state quarters and adding a component to “buy” items  on your road trip 
• adding a teaching section so that users would learn/explore some of the state facts before going into game
• adding a compass icon to help with navigation on the road trip 
• From daughter
• option to choose girl/boy car
• some type of activity to go with the statehood timeline, maybe put them in order

Price and Download link

The post State Bingo and Road Trip US By Niyaa LLC appeared first on Technology in (Spl) Education.