Montessori Letter Sounds - Learn Phonics with Tam & Tao

by Les Trois Elles Interactive

Price: 2.99$

iPhone

Overall Score: 86/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 17/04/2012

Best for: Teacher & parent tools, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: set of activities for teaching basic reading, spelling and writing skills.

What you do with it: the app contains 4 main activities:
The 'I spy' game: match an object whose name begins with the letter you hear.

The 'Letter Sounds' activity: listen to the letter sound then point to the correct letter.

The 'Mix and Match' activity: match the letter with the beginning sound of the object in the picture

The 'Sound it out' activity: drag the letters/letter sounds into the correct spaces to spell the word you hear.

The app also includes a 'toolbox': the Phonetic Alphabet, the Notebook and the Sandbox for tracing letters and the Image Box (for learning the names of the objects in the pictures).

What we liked: the concept, number and quality of the activities and their educational value, simple illustrations, spoken instructions, extra instructions for parents. The options for UK/US voices.

What we didn't like: Only for very patient children and parents. The navigation is not very intuitive and can be confusing for children (that's why we recommend parental assistance). The scoring system is difficult to understand (it's not clear what you get the marbles for and how many you need to unlock consecutive levels). At first we had problems with recognizing some of the objects in the pictures, we recommend playing with the Image Box activity first to familiarize your child with the objects and their names.

Bottom line: an excellent (if not the best) set of tools for patient parents for teaching basic reading, spelling and writing skills.

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iPhone

iPad

Alphabet Adventure

by Mighty Media, Inc.

Price: free

iPad

Overall Score: 85/100

version reviewed: 1.0

reviewed: 21/02/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Personal & social, Understanding of the world

What it is: an app for exploring and learning the alphabet with over 400 illustrations.

What you do with it: choose a letter, touch it to hear it's name. Touch the objects starting with this letter, see the spelling hear the name of the object. Swipe to get to another picture or letter.

What we liked: the concept, number and the quality of the illustrations, overall quality of this app. Sound features (names of objects are read aloud, there are additional object and animal sounds as well. Selection of words and high educational value.

What we didn't like: our major problem with this app was navigating around in a consistent way (tapping and swiping may get you to an unexpected place). We believe the producers wanted make the navigation 'easy' and 'fun' but maybe they put too much effort in this area. The 'rotate to change the case of the letters' is cool but we didn't find it particularly handy in real life. This app could do with some more entertaining features (swiping through pictures can get a little boring after some time).

Appysmarts

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iPad

Toddler Alphabet for iPad

by Waterbear Soft inc.

Price: free

iPad

Overall Score: 84/100

version reviewed: 1.0.6

reviewed: 09/02/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Music & art, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: a pack of activities for teaching the alphabet.

What you do with it: please see the video review.

What we liked: the concept, graphics, good variety of activities, inclusion of lowercase and uppercase letters.

What we didn't like: not all navigation elements functioning properly. No spoken clues. We had problems with the writing activity (letters not properly recognized, no undo function). The pieces in the puzzle activity are a bit difficult to move.

Appysmarts

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iPad

Interactive Alphabet ABC's

by Piikea St. LLC

Price: 2.99$

May contain `more apps` links

iPhone

Overall Score: 82/100

version reviewed: 2.15

reviewed: 07/06/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Personal & social, Understanding of the world

What it is:animated alphabet flashcards with letter sounds and phonics.

What you do with it: touch a letter to listen to letter's name/sound. Touch objects (whose names start with the letter) for animations, interactions, and sounds e.g. : for 'f' touching the fan will blow the letters off the screen, for 'h' touching the hat will reveal a hamster etc.

What we liked: the concept, simple illustrations and animations, both letter sounds and phonics included, easy operation, kid-safe 'parents' menu, the ABC song as a bonus and additional 'baby mode' advancing cards automatically.

What we didn't like:may not be too entertaining for older kids (the animations and interactions are very simple). There is a large pop up ad on the welcome screen. A bit expensive for what it offers.

Appysmarts

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iPhone

iPad

Animal Alphabet by 7H

by Learning Heroes

Price: 2.99$

May contain `more apps` links

iPad

Overall Score: 80/100

version reviewed: 1.0

reviewed: 22/06/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world

What it is: an alphabet app with animals and short stories illustrating the usage of each letter.

What you do with it: choose a letter, touch it to hear its name and the name of the animal whose name starts with this letter. Swipe the page to listen to a short story featuring this animal. The story will usually contain many words starting with the particular letter ("Hello,Hippo, my friend!" says the hairy, hungry Hyena). The app also features a rendition of the Alphabet Song and a simple 'magnetic table' tool.

What we liked: the concept, colorful illustrations, very easy navigation and operation, a mini story for each letter.

What we didn't like: the stories are focused on repeating words starting with a particular letter, which unfortunately makes them difficult to follow (simpler texts would work much better). We would like to see more interactions and animations to make this app even more engaging. An option to record your own narration would also be a good idea.

Appysmarts

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iPad

ABC's are Fun

by Manipal Digital Systems Pvt Lt...

Price: free

May contain `more apps` links

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 79/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 20/06/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Music & art, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world

What it is: 4 sets of activities for learning the alphabet: animated flashcards with the letters of the alphabet, letter tracing, alphabet song and 2 minigames.

What you do with it: view the flashcards, touch the objects for short animations or interactions (e.g. P lets you play the piano). Trace lowercase and uppercase letters using a virtual chalkboard. Create your own version of the Alphabet Song by choosing a word representing every letter of the alphabet. Two minigames: listen to the name of the letter and point to the correct letter on the screen, or point to the picture with an object whose name begins with a particular letter sound.

What we liked: the concept, good range of activities, the interactive elements adding extra variety to the 'flashcards' activity. The app is easy to use, provides the user with extra audio and visual instructions and tips.

What we didn't like: doesn't distinguish clearly enough between letter names and letter sounds. We didn't find the graphics particularly lively and appealing. The idea behind creating your own alphabet song is very good but the resulting song sounds like a string of words connected together, not like a real song. The tracing activity is a bit limited when compared with standalone tracing apps (does not recognize letters, the letters may be are too small for some kids to trace properly).

Bottom line: a very solid all-around package for learning the letters of the alphabet.

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iPad

ABC Aliens HD

by Cambridge English Online Ltd

Price: 0.99$ (was 1.99$)

May contain `more apps` links

iPad

Overall Score: 76/100

version reviewed: 1.2

reviewed: 22/01/2013

Best for: Teacher & parent tools, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: an app for letters/letter sounds/alphabet practice.

What you do with it: tap the letter to hear its name or sound (child or 'alien' voice, there is the option to record your own voice). Two minigames: ABC and ZYX Countdown (click through the letters of the alphabet in the correct order).

What we liked: very simple operation. Letter names and sounds, uppercase and lowercase letters, clear pronunciation with British and American accents. The option to record your own voice.

What we didn't like: limited interactivity (just sounds, no animations, no examples of use etc). The 'countdown' challenges have a time limit (can be frustrating for younger or less competent kids). The interface (the main screen) could be more intuitive.

Bottom line: in our opinion best used a 'teacher/parent tool' (the app contains suggestions and ideas for using it for alphabet and word games).

Appysmarts

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iPad

Bogga Alphabet

by Boggatap

Price: 3.99$

iPhone

Overall Score: 75/100

version reviewed: 1.2

reviewed: 04/07/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Thinking & problem solving

What it is: an app for learning the letters of the alphabet.

What you do with it: choose a letter, paint it with your finger (in-line mode), use the letter as a 'fridge magnet' (you may combine it with other letters to create words), make a snapshot of your work and save it to the library on the device.

What we liked: the concept, easy operation, simple graphics, no distracting elements.

What we didn't like: Only capital letters. Navigation is not too intuitive (some sort of voice instructions would help). The coloring activity could have more educational value (e.g. an optional 'advanced' mode with tracing instead of coloring or at least some guides how to write letters correctly).

Appysmarts

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iPhone

iPad

AR Flashcards-Alphabet & More

by Mitchlehan Media LLC

Price: free (was 0.99$)

iPhone

Overall Score: 73/100

version reviewed: 1.1

reviewed: 05/03/2012

Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Creativity, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world

What it is: a set of 26 alphabet flashcards with 3D virtual animals.

What you do with it: point the camera of your iOS device at one of the cards (printed or displayed on another device) and the animal whose name begins with the letter on the card will appear. Touch the animal to hear the letter and the animal's name. Move the camera around the card (or rotate the card itself) to change the viewing angle. You can try also try several cards at a time to display more animals simultaneously.

What we liked: great, innovative concept, simple operation, good quality realtime 3D renderings of animals. Very entertaining, with high engagement factor, children will love playing around with the cards and animals while learning the letters of the alphabet.

What we didn't like: the animals don't move. The app requires some preparation (the cards must be printed first). Even though the AR implementation is very good, for best results good lighting and careful framing are necessary (that's why we decided to give it our Parental Assistance requirement).

Please note that (for obvious reasons) the app will work only on devices with the camera!

Appysmarts

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iPhone

iPad

AZnimal

by Horizontes em Diálogo, Lda

Price: free (was 9.99$)

iPhone + iPad

Overall Score: 61/100

version reviewed: 2.6

reviewed: 27/01/2016

Best for: Education, Early literacy, Language

What it is and what you do with it: alphabet flashcards with animals.

More than 70 animals + names and sounds. Each picture can be turned into a simple puzzle or a coloring page.

What we liked: quality pictures, ease of use.

What we didn't like: limited features.

Appysmarts

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iPad

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