Today's app review is for Phono Learning Center. It was created by Smarty Ears and can be found in the Itunes App Store for $14.99. I would like to start out by shouting,
"It's here- the app I've been waiting for!"
This app was just what I was hoping for because it approaches phonological process therapy in much the same manner as I do. I often ask my students for a lot of repetitions while we play fun and educational games that are designed to elicit certain responses and that is what this app does too.
Phono Learning Center is an engaging and motivating app for all ages of students and it was developed to target phonological disorders in children using the Hodson's Cycles Approach, PLC. The games within the app only require a simple touch and drag. This allows my younger students to achieve productive imitation and stay focused on task without other complicated operating tasks. In addition, the older students enjoy the motivating factor of task completion, which the games provides!
Please continue to read for a description of this fabulous app. Also, if you are a visual learner, here is a video tutorial from Smarty Ears of the app:
Author: Mary Huston, MS, CCC-SLP
Phone Learning Center was designed to assist in sound production therapy for students who are highly unintelligible. What is really cool is that careful consideration was given to the development of this app. In fact, a hierarchy of primary and secondary targets developed by Barbara W. Hodson (2010) was utilized to determine which patterns and phonemes would be targeted. Areas covered include: syllables, initial consonants, final consonants, clusters, anterior contrasts, liquids, and more!
*multi-user play with data collection
*four interactive and motivating games with play options
*the auditory bombardment feature
*the homework pages
*the ability to import users from the free Therapy Report Center app from Smarty Ears
*ability to individualize targets (primary, secondary and/or advanced)
*settings button allows further customization for the student
*the use of the cycle approach and the ability to turn it off if you would like to use more than one target
*individualized goals and report cards for each student
*the ability to rate the students performance and store results
easy to use and quick to set up
*students enjoy being able to select their own picture
*students enjoy the reward of watching something grow or a task to be completed
*good support from Smary Ears for technical issues
Thank you for reading our review. We hope that you can leave a comment to let us know what phonological process that you work on the most in your therapy room and take the time to enter the giveaway. Please see the Rafflecopter entry below.
Have a great day!
Shanda and Manda, SLP's
Twin Sisters Speech & Language Therapy
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I do a lot of lisp correction and gliding in terms of phonological processes. I can tell you that the most unusual process I corrected recently was /l/ for /ng/ substitution
ReplyDeleteLots of /s/ and /sh/ remediation, as well as quite a few /r/ elementary school kiddos. For my Head Start students, fronting is fairly common.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely fronting for my youngest students!
ReplyDeleteI work mostly with gliding and lisping.
ReplyDeleteFRONTING....for sure! Although I have to admit....I love to get the occasional backer...they are too funny saying...."oh my 'Gog'!"!
ReplyDeleteI seem to work on cluster reduction frequently.
ReplyDeleteFronting and cluster reduction are my most frequently targeted processes. This app would be GREAT to have!
ReplyDeleteI'm starting back to work after taking off 9 yrs to be a stay at home mom. Looking for ANY materials to help me get back into the swing of things and refresh my memory, and this app looks like a winner!
ReplyDeleteI'm really just starting out with a caseload that's looking like I will have a lot of artic/phono work, and I bet the kids would love this one, thanks for the info :)
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of kids with final consonant deletion and cluster reduction. I would love to try this app out with them.
ReplyDeleteSmarty Ears always puts out high quality apps. This looks like another terrific program!
ReplyDeleteCluster reduction!
ReplyDeleteFronting and cluster reduction
ReplyDeleteFronting and Cluster reduction here, too.
ReplyDeleteThe app creator is a colleague of mine, and she is an amazing therapist with tons of experience in the treatment of phonological disorders. I am so excited that she has worked to create this app. What a great addition to a therapist's "tool box!" Thank you, Mary. Also, thank you for blogging about this app!
ReplyDeleteI work in the public school system with K-5 students. The processes I see most often are fronting and cluster reduction, especially with kindergarten students. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for leaving your comments! It was super interesting to read about what phonological processes that you are all treating the most! It seems like fronting and cluster reduction got brought up the most. We have a winner for the app and it is Chris W. Congrats! An email has been sent to you with the code for your free copy of Phono Learning Center. Sincerely, Manda & Shanda
ReplyDeleteAmanda R. thanks so much for the comment. How cool that you know the app creator! Yes, it is a great addition for all of our therapy tool boxes!!
ReplyDelete