Bottom Line:A highly-customizable app that encourages word play and story writing for upper-elementary aged students. Multiple saving options make this app useful for teachers with multiple students in a classroom.
If you'd like to download Word Creativity Kit ($2.99, iPad ONLY) please use the link below to support Smart Apps for Kids:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
External links to the internet are present on the main screen under a parent-protected section.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
When I was in college, I had a bunch of magnet words on my fridge and I could always count on at least one friend to move the words into some crazy message or another for me to find later. When I cracked open Word Creativity Kit from developer Gebo Kano I was instantly reminded of the fun we had with those magnets. What's better about them being tucked inside an app is that they don't get lost or fall behind the fridge into oblivion.
Here's how the premise of the app works: individual books are created by your upper-elementary student and each book contains 12 empty pages. When pressed, each page is created around a central theme, also chosen by your kiddo. The theme they select then generates a variety of words that appear on the screen. These words appear in white rectangles which can be moved and resized around the screen at will. This allows for your writer to create her own story, poem, riddle . . . if her brain can imagine it, it can be put on the page. Pages and books can be saved for later editing, sharing with other students in the class, or showing to grandma over lunch.
A pull-out menu appears to the left on each page that allows for even more customization. From this menu, your mini-author can change the color of the page background, change the font, add fun frames to decorate, add/delete words, or even add stickers for more illustration. An easy selection of reminders is available under the "?" section of the screen where your kid can watch a quick reminder video on how to do things inside the app, like save his work or clear a page.
Each word presented on the page can be pressed, and when your kid does that, he sees a pop-up blue box that gives the word's part of speech as well as multiple ways it can be used. For example, the word "budge," when pressed, states that it is a verb, but also lists several other forms of the word such as "budged" or "budging" in a nice, clean chart. When a form of the word is pressed, the white rectangle word changes to the pressed form. Hello, grammar lesson.
I really love how accessible this can make words and writing for kidlets who struggle with language arts skills and those who simply love to play with and manipulate words. As a speech pathologist working in elementary schools, I frequently see students who struggle with both reading and writing skills and often spend most of their time in class frustrated with these skills. Word Creativity Kit is a great alternative to writing that makes it easy and fun to manipulate words and language to express ideas. Having the ability to create and save multiple books makes this app ideal for teachers working with multiple students in a classroom setting, and as one of those teachers, I would much rather spend money on an app that many of my students can access as opposed to just a few.
Update! Word Creativity Kit now includes a convert to .PDF option that allows your budding author to print his work, or convert it and open it in iBooks. Really, the possibilities this update provides are endless for both teachers and parents. Speaking of .PDF files, a special one has been created just for teachers and parents that is chock full of ideas and useful tips using the app, and connecting ideas.
Another great feature that's been added allows students to really customize how their books begin. They can chose a set number of predetermined words to jump-start their thinking, or use an entirely blank slate to spill their ideas onto. Specific and custom words can even be used to start stories, which is even more helpful if the class has a certain writing prompt they're working with or using specific vocabulary.
There are a few things that I'd like to see changed in this app to make it even more accessible and functional. While the graphics are fun and engaging, some of the generated words are pretty difficult for some students to read, and therefore use. I would love to see the groups of words available categorized by difficulty or reading level. I also could see having an option for capitalization and punctuation to encourage grammar development. Also, if there is one thing I love in any app that contains words, it's a "read-to-me " function. Having the words read aloud when pressed would only make this app that much better.
All in all, I really enjoyed this app and I recommend it for both students who need extra reading/writing support as well as those who just plumb enjoy words. That's a rare recommendation. Creativity and customization make this a fundamentally well-thought-out app at a fair price for the amount of content included. There are adjustments that could be made to take this app from good to great, but for the most part, it's download-and-learn ready.
Rachel J. completely enjoys brushing her teeth. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
Comments