Today my co-worker, Stephanie, is going to share her thoughts on Conversation Builder by Mobile Education Store. Take it away Stephanie!
I am so pleased to have the opportunity to review the Mobile Education Store app, Conversation Builder ($19.99 for iPad in the App Store, $7.99 for the iPhone in the App Store). If you’re anything like me, teaching social
language skills is a tricky area.
Despite my best efforts to portray a range of facial expressions, vocal
intonations, sarcasm and humor – most of the time my kids probably just think
I’m crazy! They’re so right! But, I
digress…
The Conversation Builder app is formatted very
similarly to other Mobile Education Store apps, opening right up to the
settings page. All of the important set
up information can be accessed very easily.
The first step to getting started would be to input your user
information.
You can manage your user information by selecting from
existing users or creating a new user.
The last group of selections are called “Conversation
Modules.” These are theme based
conversations about a variety of topics.
They include: animals, friends
around town, holidays, playground, water play and winter. There are 20 different conversations, paired
with a picture prompt, for each of these modules. There is also a “Base Conversation Module,”
which includes 6 or 7 conversations from each theme, for a total of 40. Finally, there is a “Randomize” button, which
randomly selects conversations from each of the theme modules.
Now, its time to get talking! When you press play, you move into the
conversation mode. A picture is
presented, along with 3 multiple choice answers at the top. Depending on the conversation initiator you
selected, either a peer will begin speaking or the student will be prompted to
think about “What’s the best way to start this conversation.” Then, by looking at the picture prompt, you
can make your selection from the above choices.
When an appropriate answer is chosen, the student is able to record
their selection using their own voice.
The app guides you through each conversational turn until it is
finished, with the conversation “partner” responding to your student’s comments
and questions. Finally, a box pops up
that allows you to play back the entire conversation (using the student’s
voice), save or email the conversation.
My student’s thought it was very funny to listen to a “conversation”
between themselves and the iPad.
For those students who could benefit from visual supports,
you are able to tap the “History” button at the top of the conversation
page. By enabling this option, the
conversation is displayed in text… just like texting would be on a smart phone,
with different colors and page orientation for each communication partner.
The bottom line…
- Like I said before, anything to make teaching pragmatic language easier is a plus in my book!
- Customization!!!! There are lots of options to choose from so that you are able to select the correct starting point for your student, and move up from there.
- My kids always LOVE listening to their own voice! This was no exception. It puts their own voice right in the conversation with the computer. Extra giggles on that one…
- I liked the themed modules. The themes are such that you could totally use this to practice socializing the whole year ‘round, and have it be relevant to our students.
- I would like to see the multiple choice options have a “read” option, so that my non-readers wouldn’t need me to voice the selections.
- I think a module for changing the topic of conversation would be great. That came up a few times and I always answered incorrectly, because there was an appropriate “on topic” answer there as well. If they were able to make it a “module” I would know when to expect it and explicitly teach my kids to look for it.
It was awesome to review this app from the Mobile Education
Store. They tackle some difficult topics
in their apps, and I have yet to be disappointed. Keep up the good work! Although Kyle from Mobile Education Store provided me with a copy of this
app (and another to give away) in exchange for my review, the thoughts and opinions above are solely my
own.
Once again, thank you to my good friend Carrie from Carrie’s
Speech Corner. I am grateful for your generosity!
~Stephanie
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