Multi-Syllable Word Party App Review

Jan 2017 Overall Rating   3.5	Review of Multi-Syllable Word Party  by Ricki Block, MS, CCC-SLP  www.preschoolspeechie.com Rating 1-5 (5 is best)
Feature	Description	Results	Suggestions
Ease of use & flexibility 3	Can use app quickly, instructions from developer, no glitches, can switch from one activity to the next, recordings	Voice recording is male. Pictures are clear.     My students were unable to read the part of the word which is printed in  yellow.	I would eliminate yellow and choose a different color. I would add a female voice and an option to record words and sentences.
Interest 4	Captures attention of user, nice graphics,     maintains interest	Search feature – very easy to switch between the 4 games by pressing the “house” icon.  Just click on the house icon and change. Tap Tap- A visual and auditory pacing board that reinforces players through color and sound. Students like tapping on the color coded dots. They can repeat the segments then repeat the word.  They can tap the word numerous times to practice.  It’s easy to move from one word to the next Outline- Find the matching shape and then use the pacing board seen in all games Remember- Match the picture and then use  the pacing board after each match has been made. Say & Slice-learn syllable segmentation- Students  swipe syllables off of a word and then adding them again.  It makes a cool swooshing sound. When student taps the word it is repeated.	For all games -  1.It doesn’t always say segment when you tap on the colors. 2. I would love to see the ability to tap the picture or word so student can repeat just the word multiple times rather than the dots for each segment. 3. Praise words should be an option , e.g. “awesome, etc” rather than be after each word.   4. Say & slice works perfectly the first time. When repeating the word the letters may swipe down but students can’t put them back on. Word only repeats one time when tapped.
Value Outcome 3	Accountability-  ability to complete task, improved student performance- records data	This app is $3.99. Very easy to manually record data for the segments.  You can choose 2 to 5 segmented words.  It can be used for all age levels in individual or group sessions.  Progress has been noted with my older students.  I expand this activity by incorporating the identification of suffixes, e.g. ing, tion, ity.	This app is a little pricey for what you get but still worth the purchase.
Mobility		iPhone and iPad
Overall impression -  Home Speech Home has the right idea with this app!  The Multi-syllabic Word Party App ties right in to the Common Core for helping children learn and/or strengthen their phonological awareness skills  for learning to  read and speak fluently, and address syllable reduction.  I continue to use my multisyllable word lists (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Multisyllable-Words-562933) and HSH’s multisyllable word lists during therapy ,( http://www.home-speech-home.com/multisyllabic-words.html) as well as Multi-syllable Word Party (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/multi-syllabic-word-party/id1029886073?mt=8). My older students enjoy playing  the games “Tap Tap” and “Say and Slice.”  I have noticed progress when used consistently.   Manual recording of data is easy with this app because you can choose from two to five segmented words for each game. It can be used for all age levels in individual or group sessions.  This app has so much potential but needs some revisions, e.g. fixing glitches, be able to tap the word/picture to hear production rather than always needing to tap the pacing dots, provide recording button for student to repeat words and produce a sentence, offer student ability to repeat a word multiple times, ability to turn off the “praise” button.  This app at $3.99 is a little pricey for what you get, but still worth the purchase.  Luke and Hollie from HSH are passionate about speech and have provided free materials above and beyond.   Check out their website today.  It is loaded with valuable lists and free activities! http://www.home-speech-home.com

                                                                                                                          

      

                                                                                               

Review of Listening Power K-3 App

Review of Listening Power K-3 app

Click on the link under picture to go to itunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/listening-power-grades-k-3-hd/id1065753089?mt=8

Listening Power K-3  provides over 1000 listening practice questions on the iPad. Designed by Patti Hamaguchi, a licensed speech-language pathologist. It can be used with children 5-10 years, ESL students and older students with cognitive challenges. I have personally used this app with challenged students ranging in age from 10 years to 17 years old. I have already used it as a screening tool, follow up after a hands activity and as a reward.  Every speech therapist would find this app a valuable addition to their speech toolbox. 

There are 5 activities with varied levels of easy, intermediate or advanced and with choices in a field of 2,3 or 4 pictures.

 1. Listening for Descriptions: provides listening practice for adjectives and descriptions in increasingly longer sentences with 2 to 7 critical elements, including exclusion.  50 questions for each level. Total 150

2. Listening for Meaning:  vocabulary terms are introduced in context with a follow-up question. Intermediate: The infant was sitting in the chair. Who was sitting in the chair? A baby/teenage boy/woman/very old man 50 questions for each level. Total 150

3. Listening for Grammar: practice listening for incorrect grammatical concepts including regular and irregular plurals, verb tenses, articles, omission of auxillary verbs, pronouns, and negation. 50 questions for each level. Total 150

4. Listening to Stories: a story is read slowly and clearly with accompanying pictures and sound effects, followed by questions about the story such as who, what, and where questions. As stories become more advanced, there are less pictures.  There is also a “background noise” button feature.  25 Stories for each level, with 5 questions each. Total 375.  Stories can be printed. 

5.  Listening for Word Memory: student touches a sequence of 3,4,5 or 6 objects in the correct order from a field of 9 pictures starting with a slow presentation of 2 words with pictures to a fast presentation of 3 words with delay in showing the pictures.

 

Video - see link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhLCTH1u09E

                             

Rubrics Rating 1-5 5 is best	Listening Power K-3	Likes	Suggestions
Curriculum 4	Material is accurate & evidence based and addresses specific tasks.	I love that this app focuses on 5 different listening activities.   Now I can utilize a hands on activity and follow up with this app for learning and as a reward. Little do students know that they are still working!     Activities can be aligned to the Core Curriculum. I am thrilled that I was able to print out all 25 stories!!	Would love to  be able to print out a list of concepts in advance for: 1.Listening for Descriptions-student needs to know concept before working on this skill. 2.Listening for Grammar –I would find it helpful to have list of printed sentences to assist those students who require a visual along with auditory.
Flexibility 5	Flexibility to adjust settings & add/delete photos, add/delete tasks,  audio recordings, back button	There are a variety of settings which can be adjusted: auto advance vs manual. Depending on your student’s level, you can provide choices in a field of 2 to 4 pictures. You can start with an easy level and quickly change to a more advanced level. There is a “hear again” button if student requests to hear the sentence again.  It doesn’t change the score but is recorded in the Session Record.
Ease of use 5	Can use app quickly, instructions from developer, no glitches	Love the simplicity of this app – it’s self- explanatory. There is an info button which explains how to use this app.  You can turn the text on or off, I like that you can manually control when to go to the next sentence
Interest 5	Captures attention of user, nice graphics & sounds/music, interactive, maintains interest	I work with challenged older students 9 to 21.  This app has maintained their interest, especially when they look for an object behind a door or shoot a basket on the “rewards” page.
Value – Outcome 5	Accountability- time needed to complete task, results in improved student performance- records data	This app provides a valuable source for helping a child to improve listening skills. You can keep track of the student’s data.  There is also a “play missed items” button.  It is a little pricey at $19.99 but worth the price. I would highly recommend purchasing Listening Power Preschool HD for $15.99 (can be used with older challenged students.) Having both apps gives the therapist a broad range of activities for students of all levels.