I don’t know about you but I am really excited about the release of the new Iphone 6. I am trying to decide if I want to order it, or wait to go buy it in the store. I love technology and the iPad is an incredible tool to use in speech and language therapy. I have been using the app called “Word SLaPps Vocabulary by Zorten Software, LLC” for a couple of years. It is amazing because you can customize it with your own photos and it has a voice recording feature. I have used it in a multitude of ways. Word SLaPps also comes with two preprogrammed categories, one for animals and one for colors. You have the option to choose the number of turns per game (5, 10 or 15). It is great for small group work.

 Basically, it is great for teaching receptive vocabulary. We have a little farm at our school (I know, lucky us). Part of my caseload includes three classrooms of students with special needs such as autism, Down Syndrome and cognitive impairments. Learning vocabulary across a multitude of settings and exposures is so important. So, I took pictures of our farm animals and used them for Word Slapps. You choose if you want 1 to 6 pictures to show on the screen. In this example, I chose 3. The three pictures show up and your voice says an animal name. The child touches one of the pictures. If correct, the photo spins and makes a fun noise that the kids like. If they choose the wrong photo, a black X covers it. Once the amount of turns you chose is completed, some animated kids jump up and down and say yay! I have also used this to help the kids learn their classmate’s names.

I have also used it for older kids to help them learn difficult vocabulary. Once you input the words (Go to settings, Edit/Add Content, Your Folders, Add category, then type in your word). You can then search for an image online. I let the students help me choose the image that most reflects the word for them. Then you can add audio. Again, I let the students record their voice. This is so great because it uses multimodalities and the kids are in on the creation of the game.

For your convenience here is a link to more information https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-slapps-vocabulary/id413888079?mt=8 I have no affiliation to Word Slapps, I am just a fan.

The best part is the price, just $4.99. If you try it, let me know what you think!