Dyslexia: Tablet Computer Apps to Aid Learning

The following apps have been carefully selected to meet most of the criteria outlined above. 

Each is identified by the app name, developer, iTunes URL, intended audience, content, and a brief description. 

All are affordable for the teaching professional or parent.

1. SoundLiteracy Developer: 3D Literacy, LLC
Teacher utility; Phonemic awareness, Phonics (spelling), Morphology
User(s): Teacher with student

Sound Literacy is a large, well-organized collection of electronic “tiles.” It includes blank tiles for phonemic awareness activities; graphemes—individual letters and consonant and vowel clusters such as sh, ng, igh, aw for phonics activities; and morphemes—prefixes, suffixes, Latin roots, and Greek combining forms—for advanced word study activities. It also includes sound charts for consonant and vowel phonemes. Teachers with Apps named it one of the 12 Best Apps for Special Needs of 2012. Disclosure: A portion of all proceeds benefits The International Dyslexia Association.

2. Beginning Sounds Interactive Game
Developer: Lakeshore Learning Materials
Phonological Awareness
User: Student independent

Students match pictures that share the same beginning sound. If the child makes an incorrect choice, the picture re-circulates for another try.

3. Letter Find
Developer: Matthew Thomas
Alphabet (letter naming)
User: Student independent

Letter Find challenges young children to identify a pre-selected lowercase letter when it is among many other letters. Children tap on the letter, which turns green and provides a pleasant sound if correct, and red with a buzzer sound if incorrect. The negative feedback, though, is quite amusing to some children, who persist in responding incorrectly to hear the buzzer.

4. LetterSchool
Developer: Boreaal
Alphabet, Handwriting, phoneme-grapheme correspondences
User: Student independent

This app provides three progressively more challenging ways to practice writing numerals and manuscript letters—both lowercase and capital forms—in three different typefaces (Handwriting Without Tears, D’Nealian, or Zaner-Bloser). Each of the three practice activities includes immediate, explicit, and engaging feedback.

The app is very intuitive; children as young as three learn to use the activities with minimal instruction. However, very small children may not have sufficient finger strength to do the most difficult activities without parental assistance.

The introduction to the letter includes a keyword picture and sound, which present the most common short vowel and consonant sounds with only two exceptions: The keyword for the letter u is “unicorn” and for x, “xylophone.” The benefits of the letter formation practice make this a very worthwhile app!

5. Starfall Learn to Read
Developer: Starfall Education
Phonics (decoding and spelling); interactive book (decodable)
User: Student independent

This app mirrors the decoding and spelling activities in Starfall.com. It includes making words from common rimes (e.g., at in cat, ake in cake), sorting one-syllable words by syllable type, games for matching words and pictures, decodable stories, and engaging cartoon videos explain phoneme-grapheme correspondences. The speech is a child’s voice, with excellent and accurate pronunciation.

6. Bob Books #1 - Reading Magic HD
Developer: Learning Touch
Phonics (decoding and spelling); interactive book (decodable)
User: Student independent

This app is an interactive version of the decodable “Bob Books.” Students practice spelling common CVC words within the context of simple stories; the task menu provides four levels of progressively challenging tasks for beginning readers.

7. Word Wizard - Talking Movable Alphabet & Spelling Tests for Kids
Developer: L'Escapadou
Phonics (spelling)
User: Teacher with student; student independent

This app is appropriate for both spelling practice in teacher-directed small groups or for independent practice using pre-set lists of words: CVC words, high frequency words, and common content words (numbers, colors). Settings are easily changed to suit the purpose of the activity; for example, when touching each letter, a human voice speaks either the sound (good for single letter-sounds) or name of the letter (appropriate for digraphs). A unique feature is that “naughty” words are transformed instantly into “oops.”

8. SpellingCityDeveloper: SpellingCity
Phonics (reading and spelling); vocabulary; alphabetizing and handwriting. User: Teacher with student; student independent This app features seven activities to reinforce spelling, vocabulary, and alphabetizing skills.

The sample lists include homophones and content-based words (e.g., colours, beach, space). However, one can easily create custom lists to practice any spelling pattern using a personal account on the free, accompanying website.

Words to spell are dictated using a natural, human voice, and words are all put into the context of a sentence. Personal lists also feature a choice of appropriate sentences to include in the activities! An added bonus is that any word list can be easily printed in manuscript or cursive on “lined” paper, combining spelling and handwriting practice.

9. abc PocketPhonics: letter sounds & writing + first words
Developer: Apps in My Pocket Ltd
Alphabet (letter naming, handwriting), Phonics (spelling)
User: Student independent

This app provides individualized spelling instruction in a carefully sequenced progression of consonant and vowel sounds, starting with single letters and progressing to consonant and vowel digraphs. Players sign in by name, enabling the app to track individual progress.

A human voice pronounces the phonemes (e.g., /kw/) and then prompts the player to trace the grapheme (e.g., qu,) that represents the sound. After reading and writing isolated phoneme-grapheme associations, the player uses known graphemes to spell words, sound-by-sound (e.g., quit).

The correct response rewards the player with a comical illustration of the word’s meaning. The app includes digraph ng, unvoiced th (with) and voiced th (then), a rare and welcome feature in phonics apps! However, the app could be improved with a more animated and less monotone voice.

10. PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Developer: Loud Crow Interactive Inc.
Vocabulary, Comprehension; interactive book (literature)
User: Teacher or parent with student; student independent

This award-winning interactive book is one of several produced by Loud Crow Interactive, a company that converts children’s literature and comic books to an electronic form that truly enhances the text and vocabulary, a rare feature among interactive books.

In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, a pleasant British voice reads the narrative, while the app highlights each spoken word. At the end of the page, one can tap on any word to hear it pronounced again.

Like the other Pop Out books produced by Loud Crow Interactive (The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Night Before Christmas), the interaction mirrors the original pop-out effects as it reinforces rich vocabulary (e.g., the animation and text illustrates how Peter squeezed under the gate.).

Loud Crow also produces Goodnight Moon, several Boynton books (e.g., Barnyard Dance! Moo, Baa, La La La!), Charlie Brown stories (e.g., It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown), and the first-ever, fully interactive comic book app, Marvel’s the Avengers: Iron Man – Mark VII).

11. Nursery Rhymes with StoryTime
Developer: ustwo™
Phonological Awareness, Comprehension; interactive book (literature)
User: Teacher or parent with student; student independent

This interactive book reads familiar nursery rhymes aloud. The exquisite illustrations invite young children to trigger the interactions, which reinforce the content of the nursery rhyme.

12. Word Wit
Ballpoint Inc.
Vocabulary
User: Student independent

Designed for English-Language Learners, or native-speaking middle school students and older, Word Wit makes it fun and easy to learn the difference between frequently confused words (e.g., affect/effect).

It presents sequential activities that include explanations, quotes, and quizzes designed to deepen one’s understanding. Wrong answers cycle back for added practice. One can look up words individually, or let the app randomly select word pairs for you.

13. Vocab Rootology HD – Greek and Latin Roots and Etymology
Developer: PrepInteractive
Morphology, Vocabulary
User: Student independent

This is a flash-card tutorial of Latin roots and Greek combining forms for the serious, older student, teacher, or parent. It features flash cards for pre-testing and study, drills, and a report card to track progress. It is one of the few apps to provide feedback on a grading scale (A to F), appropriate for more mature audiences.

14. Inspiration Maps
Developer: Inspiration Software, Inc.
Written Composition
User: Teacher with student; student independent

Inspiration Maps is a portable version of the popular Inspiration composition software; it helps organize topics for writing or studying with graphic organizers.

It includes dozens of pre-made templates in a variety of forms, both expository (e.g., compare and contrast) and narrative.

15. Draw Everything! GLOW Note Free!
Developer: Jae Kwang Lee
Teacher Utility
User: Teacher with student; student independent

This app is a portable drawing/writing surface with day-glow colors. Kids can use it to practice writing letters and numbers; teachers can explain concepts electronically and display it on an overhead projector.

16. Smart White Board HD
Developer: Pad read
Teacher Utility
User: Teacher with student; student independent

This app is a portable, electronic white board for use by students and teachers. Kids can use it to practice writing letters and numbers; teachers can explain concepts electronically with the option of displaying it on an overhead projector. It includes four “pen” colors for detailed explanations.

17. Explain Everything
Developer: MorrisCooke
Teacher Utility
User: Teacher for the student (prepared in advance); student independent

This is an extremely versatile app for teachers in primary grades through university courses. Instructors can import pictures, PDF documents, and Powerpoint files into the app, where one can augment them with annotations, animated arrows and shapes, pictures, even a laser pointer!

There also is the option to record a video of the presentation, including handwriting on the screen, voice, and animated laser pointing. The finished products can be saved as a PDF document or video, which can be shared electronically with students. It is easy to learn and fairly intuitive.

18. Dropbox
Developer: Dropbox
Teacher Utility
User: Teacher, parent and/or student

Dropbox is a free cloud storage system that synchronizes files. Files placed in this folder are accessible through applications and a website, so you are able to access the file anywhere there is an Internet (or telephone) connection worldwide.

One also can create folders accessible by several people. This is the perfect application for teachers and students on the go! You never have to search for the latest version.

First Aid: Epilepsy Scotland

Simple Partial Seizures

A simple partial seizure could affect the person's movement, smell, taste, hearing, sight, breathing, heart beat, digestion or any mixture of these. They may experience, for example, twitching of an arm and nausea. The person does not lose consciousness and is fully aware of, but cannot control, what is happening.

What to do

• Stay with the person and offer reassurance until the seizure has passed
• Sometimes a simple partial seizure can act as a warning or 'aura' that a second seizure (usually a tonic-clonic or a complex partial seizure) will soon start.
• If this is the case, the person may need help in getting to a quiet and safe place.

Complex Partial Seizures

The person may experience strange or unusual feelings, lose their sense of time and appear distant from who and what is happening around them. This type of seizure can make someone behave in an odd, random or inappropriate way, such as lip smacking, plucking at clothes, moving aimlessly or compulsively around a room. Unlike simple partial seizures, there will be some loss or alteration of consciousness.

What to do

• Gently lead them from any source of danger
• Do not restrain or interfere unnecessarily with the person
• The seizure should be allowed to run its natural course
• Speaking softly and calmly may help
• Offer reassurance afterwards

Absence Seizures (previously known as petit mal)

Absence seizures consist of a brief loss of consciousness and are easily mistaken for daydreaming. The person (usually a child) stops what they are doing, remains motionless, blinks, and stares into space. Soon, the person will recover and may not be aware that a seizure has occurred.

What to do

• Absence seizures are usually very brief and often pass unnoticed
• If you witness an absence seizure stay with the person for a while to make sure they do not suffer any injury
• Tell the person what has happened
• If a child is in the classroom, repeat any information they have missed

Tonic-clonic seizures (previously known as grand mal)

The tonic-clonic seizure is the most widely recognised seizure. The person will lose consciousness and fall to the ground.


The person will stiffen (the tonic phase) and then jerk (the clonic phase).
Breathing may become irregular and as a result the person could turn slightly blue. The person may also make grunting noises, bite their tongue or cheek, or be incontinent.
After a couple of minutes the jerking normally stops and the person will slowly regain consciousness. They may feel groggy, sleepy and confused for some time afterwards and have a headache or aching limbs. How long it takes to feel ok again varies from one person to the next.

What to do

• Keep calm and note the time the seizure starts and how long it lasts
• Clear a space around the person and prevent people from crowding round
• Cushion the person's head with whatever is available
• Loosen any tight clothing round the neck and gently remove glasses (if worn)
• Watch the seizure carefully and if possible let it run its natural course
• Turn the person into the recovery position as soon as the jerking stops
• Be reassuring during the recovery period and tell the person about the seizure
• Stay, if possible, until the person is no longer confused

What not to do

• Do not try to lift or move the person while the seizure is happening unless there is an immediate danger (e.g. they are on a busy road, at the top of stairs, at the edge of water, near a fire or hot radiator)
• Do not try to stop the jerking or restrain the person
• Do not put anything in the person's mouth or between their teeth
• Do not offer the person something to drink until they are fully conscious
• Do not fuss around the person while they are recovering from the seizure

There is no need to call an ambulance unless:

• It is the person’s first seizure
• One seizure follows another without any recovery in between
• The convulsive or jerking part of the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes or longer than is usual for the person
• The person has been badly injured

Pronouns Aid Brain Function

New research suggests that pronouns may play a far greater role than simply replacing a proper name in a sentence. A University of South Carolina study suggests that pronouns help keep the brain’s complex circuitry and limited memory system from being overloaded.

Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), psychology researcher Dr. Amit Almor and colleagues studied the brain activity of 21 adults, ages 19 - 34, who were asked to read sequences of sentences to compare the brain’s response to pronouns versus proper names.

Almor’s findings are featured in the cover article in the current issue of the NeuroReport, a scientific journal.

“The brain lit up with activity when proper names were used, including areas that are not associated with language,” Almor said. “We saw considerable activity in areas of the parietal lobe that involve spatial processing that was absent when pronouns were used.”

Almor is the first researcher to use brain imaging to explore the neurological underpinnings of humans’ preference for pronouns. He conducted his research at the university’s McCausland Center for Brain Imaging.

The brain responds to proper names by creating a representation of the person in the mind, drawing from various parts of the brain to construct complex visual, sound and other information associated with that person. Every time the name is repeated, the brain responds by activating a process that creates a new representation of the person.

The brain initially holds each created representation in memory. The integration of these multiple representations requires effort that can disrupt the brain’s ongoing processing of what it hears during spoken conversation.

Pronouns, while faulty for their potential ambiguity, don’t cause the same disruptions in the brain that proper names do when used in the right context. In fact, they allow the brain to move easily from one thought or sentence to another. This seamless transition allows a person to digest more fully the meaning or intent of the thought being conveyed without the neural circuitry interference that proper names cause, said Almor.

“We are at the mercy of our memory system, which is limited,” Almor said. “The more items or representations we hold, the more effort we need to spend so as not to lose information. Pronouns let us avoid that juggle in our brains. I expected to find activity in classic language areas of the brain. I was surprised to see activity in the spatial areas, but it makes perfect sense.”

To read the full article click here on the link