Talk About It: Objects {App Review + Giveaways!}

The makers of the Fun with Directions Apps have created a new app released 7/29/12. Talk About It: Objects Pro is an app designed by Hamaguchi Apps to target expressive and receptive language skills.

The app comes in two versions. The Pro version reviewed here allows for up to 30 students to be added for data collection. The regular version collects data on just one student and is developed for parents. That is the only difference between the pro and regular versions. The single user version is available for $5.99 while the pro version is currently $9.99.

The Talk About It: Objects app is developed for elementary aged students. Targeted skills include narrative language, describing and explaining, semantic organization, understanding salient features, defining, attributes and categories.

The game screen looks like the one pictured above. The student presses the green play button, which activates a spinner to scroll through the pictures. Once an object picture is selected the Guess Box represents the receptive language portion of the app. The boxes have sentences that describe the picture. For example to describe this hospital the sentences say: 'It is a place people go if they are very sick or hurt' and "It is a place people go." While both answers may be correct, the student needs to identify the sentence that gives the most correct information. After the student identifies the correct sentence, the sentence floats down to the red curtain. Students need to select 3 correct descriptive sentences to move onto the expressive portion of the app.

Once the student identifies the correct 3 statements that describe the object they move on to the Talk About It portion of the activity. The box  as seen above contains the 3 selected statements from the receptive portion. Students and SLP's can discuss the facts and practice defining the object by listing the 3 key facts. When students are ready, press the record button. This will pull the red curtain back over the facts and require the students to identify the descriptors from memory. After you record the description, the curtains open and you can identify if the student was able mention all the facts.

The app can be played with multiple students in your group. In the picture above you can see the drop down box. After a student completes both the receptive and expressive portion of the object you can select the next student.

The reward activity can be selected after every turn or after several turns. The knock 'em down game can be played with cans or glasses. Students collect points to earn stuffed bears.

The data collection page indicates the expressive and receptive percentages for each object. Results can be emailed or printed.

The settings page allows SLP's to make several choices. Shown above are the settings for the reward game. The Guess Boxes setting allows you to determine the number of choices  for the receptive language portion. SLP's choose the number of statements in the bank (3, 5, 7). The Recording setting allows you to turn recording on/off for the expressive language portion. It also allows for the choices of clues on or off.

The Object setting allows for either random selection of the 50 objects or it allows the clinician to select only the objects desired.

The video above should give you more of an idea of all the features! The defining and describing skills I have worked on with my students a lot using the EET. I can't wait to use the app to see if they can carryover those skills to a new task.

Patti Hamaguchi is giving me two copies of Talk About It: Object Pro to give away to some lucky Speech Room News followers! Enter via rafflecopter below!


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