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As a group, we evaluated 32 apps to provide a wide range of resources to users. Each group member was responsible for selecting 6-7 apps to evaluate. On this page, we highlight each group member's favorite app.
Amanda's Top Pick
Amanda's Top Pick
Small Talk Pain Scale
Lingraphica. (2016). SmallTalk Pain Scale (Version 3.4) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smalltalk-pain-scale/id403058256
Price: Free
Rubric Score: 18/22
Age and intended audience: 4+, nonverbal and young users that have difficulty describing pain
Review: Lingraphica presents a simple, user-friendly tool to help young children and nonverbal users of all ages describe their pain. The personalization features include choosing a male or female voice and the ability to limit the icons in order to focus on specific areas of pain. The emoji style pain level icons are relatable to the young audience and help them to understand how to describe the amount of pain they are experiencing. The use of icons along with the word reinforces literacy skills. Common pain scales used in hospitals are often on a level of 1-5 or 1-10 and are difficult for children or low functioning users to understand. SmallTalk Pain Scale adds a visual concept to pain levels and includes body parts, positional descriptions, and types of pain in order to assist users in accurately describing exactly what they are feeling at the moment. The app has not had an update in three years but works free of glitches. It would benefit from providing an option to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of today’s families, but overall this is a helpful app.
Jason's Top Pick
Jason's Top Pick
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
Sesame Street. (2014). Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame (Version 1.6) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breathe-think-do-with-sesame/id721853597
Price: Free
Rubric Score: 19/22
Age and intended audience: 2-5, For children learning different emotions
Review: Produced by Sesame Street, Breathe, Think, Do With Sesame is an app designed to teach children self-awareness, self-control, and problem solving skills for five unique challenges that present themselves in everyday life (separation from parents at school, waiting for a turn on the slide, and bedtime among others). With each challenge, the child helps a monster to stop, breathe and calm down, think of a solution, and then put that solution into action, emphasizing the title of the app: Breathe, Think, Do. The repetitive nature of each activity encourages the child to retain the methods taught; however, the repetitive nature of each activity could cause a child to lose interest quickly. Designed for children 2 to 5 years of age, the app comes complete with an expansive parent’s section that includes ways to optimize and personalize the app for the child. Parent engagement, colorful animation, interactive elements, a repetitive formula, and real-world situations make this an app that can truly benefit children as they learn self-awareness and self-control.
Lanecia's Top Pick
Lanecia's Top Pick
Visual Reading
Visual Reading j.s.a. (2017). Visual Reading (Version 1.6.11) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.normex.visualreadingenginapp&hl=en_US
Price: Free (In-App Purchases Offered)
Rubric Score: 18/22
Age and intended audience: For children with developmental disabilities learning to read.
Review: Visual Reading is a mobile app designed to enable children with disabilities to learn how to read. The app targets those with Autism, speech disorders, hearing impairment, Downs syndrome, ADD, ADHD, poliomyelitis, and many more. Users can choose from various languages and subject categories within the app. Learning features focus on areas such as phonological comprehension, speech therapy, vocabulary development, and dysphasia/aphasia therapy. To access features in the app, users will have to sign in through the app or using a Google account. That app suggests readers use 10, 9, or 8 inch tablet screens for optimal experience. After logging in to the app, users follow the steps to set up an account and can customize their gender, avatar, and provide a name. You may then choose the educational style preference such as special, school, and pre-school education. There is a detailed questionnaire that customizes the user experience and materials. Upon completion of the account set up, users are introduced to literacy materials according to their educational development.
Jill's TOP Pick
Jill's TOP Pick
I Like Books
Grasshopper (2017). I Like Books (Version 2.0). [Mobile application software] Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-like-books-37-picture-books-for-kids-in-1-app/id460795092#?platform=ipad
Price: $1.99
Rubric Score: 18/22
Age and Intended Audience: 1-6; Children with developmental disabilities or those learning to read
Review: I Like Books is a collection of simple photo stories that encourage young children ages 1-6 to actively engage in stories while learning more about the world around them. This app has been designed for the youngest viewers to enjoy a digital story with a caregiver or for an emerging reader to discover the connection between letters, words, and text as he/she learns to read with independence. Highlighted words accompany the cheery female audio narrator, and there is an option for auto-play or to turn the pages independently. The text highlights can also be turned off as reading independence grows. The app has capabilities for personalization of stories and voice recordings and could include stories self recorded in other languages. Encouraging caregiver engagement with the child while using the app, the stories yield themselves to many discussions about the world around us. The stories encourage the development of vocabulary and social behaviors making it a strong choice for those adults who also work with children with developmental challenges. The large size of the app resulted in a slow download, but it operated without glitches on the iPad once downloaded. The Privacy Policy states that any information collected will be used to improve services provided within the app. The collected data is only kept as long as the account is active and is not sold to any third parties. The downside of a child using this app independently is that each story ends with a button for “Get More” which takes the user directly to the Grasshopper App page where additional app purchases may be selected.
Elissa's top pick
Elissa's top pick
Articulation Station PRO
Little Bee Speech. (2018). Articulation Station Pro (Version 2.6) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/articulation-station-pro/id491998279
Price: $59.99
Rubric Score: 18/22
Age and ability level: Pre-k - 5th grade, moderate to high functioning user
Review: The app was designed for younger kids who need practice with saying target sounds such as their l’s or m’s. The app has levels that get progressively more difficult, so a child who is working on a specific sound would start with words (easy) and work their way up to stories (difficult). A child could use this app independently and not get lost in navigation or end up on social media. This app definitely won cute points for its attractive, kid-friendly interface. The were several ways to customize the app, including adding your own pictures and changing the words in the practice lists. There were plenty of support pages and links designed for to help the parent understand the activities the child is doing. This app does connect to social media.
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