Conversation Builder Dec 16, 2011

If you have had anything to do with iPads in Special Education then you have heard of Mobile Education Stores apps. If you haven’t, you need to! In a market that has some simply amazing apps for children with special needs, these are the best of their kind. Kyle, the developer behind these apps, generously provided us with Conversation Builder and Language Builder to use with our kids and review here for you all!

So let’s get to it! This review is for Conversation Builder. As the name suggests, this app helps kids who are struggling with appropriate conversation with peers. This app is designed for kids Elementary/Primary school age, ideally they need to be able to read the options (the options can be read to them by you or their teacher though if needed).

When you first start the app you set up a user profile (or multiple profiles if you are using it with multiple kids, which is a great feature!) so that saved conversations, settings and progress can be adjusted for each student individually. As the first screenshot below shows, you have the option of a 1 on 1 conversation with 4 exchanges or 8 exchanges or a Group conversation with 4 or 8 exchanges (I’ll explain how that all works later on). Once you’ve decided which kind of conversation, you set the initiator, either the student will start, the peer will start or it will alternate between the 2. Below that is the list of conversation modules, the standard pack that comes with the app has a variety of scenarios and you have the option to purchase other packs from within the app (eg. Animal themed conversations) or all available packs for $29.99.

Along the bottom of every screen is ‘Info’ which explains in detail how to use the app, ‘Settings’ which is what I explained above, ‘Play’ which is the actual learning environment and ‘Archive’ which I’ll explain below.

The second screenshot below shows the archive tab, when you save recorded conversations they go here so you can listen to them or share them. They don’t automatically save here, you have to manually save them and name them. I would like to see the option to save all conversations in session folders labeled by date, that way you can go back and listen to how the student/s has/have progressed or go over the days work with the student, a teacher, therapist or parent later on. You have to manually label a conversation when you save it as well, I’d love there to be a default name (that can be edited if needed when saving) to make saving a conversation quicker. It would also be great if a saved conversation included whether the student chose the correct answer on the first try and if not, what they chose, this would also help a teacher, therapist or parent track the progress of the student.

 

The learning environment

Once you go to the play tab you are shown a photo. If the settings are in student initiating, then you are presented with options to start the conversation, if the settings are on peer initiating, you will hear a pre-recorded statement from a child in the picture. We have ours set to alternate who starts. In the example below the peer started so we heard a pre-recorded statement from the girl in the picture saying that she could jump really high while holding onto these balloons. The audio guide then asks “What would you say next?” and the student is given 3 options (see the first screenshot below) to continue the conversation, one of which is the correct answer. If the student chooses the incorrect answer, the audio guide tells them why that is not the correct answer and hints at what the correct one might be.

For example, in the screenshot below we have the option of 2 statements or a question to continue the conversation. If the student chose “I like balloons”, obviously that would not be a socially appropriate response and the audio guide would say something like “That is an unusual response, try asking a question.”

If the student chooses the correct answer (see second screen shot below) they record the answer, and press next, the app then repeats the process so there are a total of 4 exchanges (2 pre-recorded, and 2 recorded by the student) or 8 depending on the settings. I think it would be nice to have multiple right answers so the student gets a more varied understanding of why an answer is appropriate and why it isn’t, perhaps 2 right answers and 2 wrong to choose from, I am no expert though so am open to hearing why that wouldn’t be a good idea, please feel free to comment your thoughts.

 

If the settings are on group conversation, the app doesn’t offer pre-recorded exchanges or multi-choice answers. Instead it shows a photo and the record button and the audio guide asks “How would you start this conversation?”, one student records something about the photo, and passes it to another student who can then record a response. You can play with up to 8 people each recording one response to make up a conversation. This is a much more open ended way to practice social conversation so it could be considered a more advanced level. This is a great option for group social therapy guided by a teacher, therapist or parent.

It seems like a simple concept, but using the app you can tell how much thought went into it and it really is a valuable tool. I can’t say for sure whether Conversation Builder was responsible, but my 6 year old initiated and carried on her very first socially appropriate conversation EVER in the Dr’s office recently. I believe Conversation Builder had a part to play in that huge step for her and I would strongly recommend it to anyone at all who has an older child who needs help in this area. I can’t speak highly enough of it.

Also check out the ConversationBuilder review video by A4CWSN.

On iTunes: HD version for iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch version

In Short

ConversationBuilder is an absolutely invaluable app for children who struggle with having conversations with peers. An absolute must have in any special needs parent, teacher and therapists digital toolbox, I can't say enough good about this app.

Muslim Friendly Rating

Rated a Gold Apple, which means this is one of our favorites and we consider it a must have.

Details

• Price (at the time of review) iPad version is $9.99 iPhone version is $7.99
• Platform: Separate versions for iPad and iPhone.
• Developer: http://mobile-educationstore.com/