Technology Tuesday

This week’s Technology Tuesday features another edition of “Stephanie’s High Five” – where Imagine!’s Assistive Technology Lab facilitator Stephanie Tilley shares five apps for tablets and mobile devices that may benefit individuals with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Stephanie is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist who has worked for Imagine! for more than 10 years, and is the author of “101 Adapted Games for Kids,” which provides adaptations for children’s activities to create inclusive activities and environments. 

 Stephanie’s High Five – April 15, 2014 

 Hungry Fish 

A fun and visual math activity with a fish! The fish has a number on it and the object is the feed the fish bubbles with that same number on them. Players must use hand/eye coordination to drag the bubble over to the fish to feed it while the fish is swimming around. Bubbles can be combined and added together by hovering the bubbles over each other to create a new number (i.e. - a bubble that has a 2 on it and a bubble that has a 3 on it to make a bubble with the number 5). The fish gets bigger each time it is fed and gets smaller when it is not. If the fish is not fed enough, it becomes too small to continue. The fish’s body and fins are color customizable. The free version of this app includes 18 addition levels with In-App purchases available for subtraction and negatives levels, or the full version of the app can be purchased for $5.99.

Endless Alphabet 

This engaging and interactive app works on letters, spelling, and defining words. Words are organized alphabetically. Little monsters run across the screen sending the letters of the word scattering across the screen. Players must drag the letters back to the word to spell the word again. Each letter makes its sound when touched and moved into place. Once the word is spelled a short animation takes place to show the meaning of the word and then a voice gives a brief definition. This app has a free and paid version. The free version has limited words and the full version cost $1.99 and has over 50 words and new words are added often.

Bob Books #1 & #2 – Reading Magic 

A must have early reading app and winner of 2001 Editor’s Choice Award and Children’s Technology Review, 2012 Parents Choice Approves, Parenting Magazine “Best App for Kids”, and 15 Great Apps for Kids by Babble.com. This app uses short sentences with fun animations. Players have the click on the words or pictures to spell the words. Once the main words in the sentence are spelled the picture turns from black and white to color and an animation occurs while the sentence is read aloud. There are 4 levels: matching letters, spelling the word in order, spelling without the visual hints, and picking letters to spell the words. This app works on letter sound correlation, sounding out letters, spelling, reading, and fine motor skills. Bob Books #1 has 12 scenes including 32 words and cost 3.99. Bob Books #2 has 12 scenes with over 50 words and also cost 3.99. There is a free version as well to try out the app before purchasing it.

Feel Electric 

This app helps with exploring emotions by working on building expressive vocabulary skills as well as understanding facial expressions. There are three sections. “My Life” has a mood character to create and change, mood tales (which are like Mad Libs), and moodosphere, where you choose words to describe how you are feeling. “My games” has matching of facial expressions to words in three different activities. “My Stuff” has my pictures, my music, and my videos which are all ways to show feelings or encourage healthy expression of feelings. There is also a digital diary and a glossary of 50 emotion words and definitions. This app is a 2012 Parent’s Choice Recommended and won the 2013 ON for Learning Award.

The Human Body 

Explore the human body systems in six interactive and animated layers. Each layer can all be put on the body individually or at once. There are interactive tools for each system, such as a feather or a needle with the nervous system. There are 6 systems - Nervous system, Respitory System, Skeletal System, Circulatory System, Digestive System, Muscular System. Many of the systems have a zoom in function to see exactly how the system is working, such as in the heart, lungs, or digestive system. Smart device features include a front camera view to demonstrate vision, a microphone to show how hearing works, photo and video libraries to demonstrate brain function, and device orientation to show the effect of gravity on the body. The app is multi user, so each person can choose and name their own body avatar from one of four characters. A 7th system, the urogenital system, is available through in-app purchase via the parent’s section. This app was voted App Store Best of 2013 with 4.9 million downloads.