I haven’t shared any app information for a while…so I thought I’d take advantage of this Linky Party that Yapp Guru is hosting and share with you my top 10 favorite apps for the year. When you get done reading here…go check out Yapp Guru for the other expert reviewers favorite apps…and, you know…while you’re there take a moment to register for a FREE membership. You won’t regret it… I promise. They have big things happening!

So…on to my top 10!

Note: There are in NO particular order other than how they randomly popped into my mind. 🙂   Also, I know people love free – and I’ve included a few of them here…but my personal opinion is that you usually get what you pay for. There are bells and whistles to the paid apps that I feel are well worth their price (and yes, I buy all my own apps out of pocket too).  Keep in mind too, I’ve been using apps in therapy since BEFORE the iPad was created (yes, I have…on my iPod Touch when I downloaded the first ever speech-language app created {by Smarty Ears Apps no less!}). I’ve also spoken at state conferences on apps and how to use them in therapy. I’ll try not to be boring

1. Tap Roulette – FREE. You know when you have a group of kids ready to play a game and they’re arguing over who goes first? Tap Roulette answers that question in about 10 seconds flat. The kids love it and they’re no arguing. Easily an app I use daily for my language groups. Here’s my review on Yapp Guru.

2. Articulate it! – $39.99.  Easily hands down the artic app that I turn to when I need to work on any sound (other than R that’s coming up) for traditional artic. The Yapp Guru review.

3. R Intensive – $19.99.  When I work on Rs this is the app I turn to. I love that it has ALL the Rs broken down into type, takes data, has word-phrase-sentence levels. I don’t dread /r/ therapy (truthfully, I kind of like it)…and this app helps a lot. YG review.

4. Sunny Articulation and Phonology Assessment – $49.99. This screener is fabulous. Words and Sentences…typical screening, quick screening, R screening. I use this app for all my progress monitoring and when I screen new students. YG review.

5. Evernote – Free. The RTI team (of which I’m a part of) meets every lunch hour to discuss student concerns and RTI tiering for various classes. I use this app to keep all of those meetings, my SPED department meetings, and my IEP meeting notes organized. I love that I can access the same notes on the web or on different iPads. YG review.

6. Calendars 5 – $2.99. I use this app to track all my meetings, as well as my work and home activities. It is linked to my gmail account (which I have to have due to work) and works great for going between web, phone, and iPad. I never have to worry about missing a meeting. (sorry no YG review just yet, but I’ll get one done)

7. Speech Tutor – $9.99. I use this app when I want to show a student how to form a sound like /r/ or /k/. I love that the app looks like a real person and moves like a real person as I think it helps the kids identify where to put their tongue, etc. YG review.

8. Phono Learning Center – $19.99. Cycles Therapy App… I love this app. Of course, I authored it, so of course it’s a favorite. BUT, the entire reason I authored it is because there were NO other apps that were based on Cycles therapy technique. The words are chosen with great consideration for co-articulation…the games are engaging…there’s auditory bombardment…and homework. What’s not to love? Sorry…no YG review yet.

9. Describe it to me – $9.99. I used this app prior to my buying the Expanding Expression Tool…and I’ve continued to use it as it lines up so nicely with that great kit. I love the graphics and the way it encourages kids to learn how to describe various items. It moves from receptive to expressive skills and is really just a great app. YG Review.

10. Language Therappy – $59.99. This app is a little bit expensive, but in reality you get 4 apps in one when you buy it. It consists of Comprehension TherAppy, Naming TherAppy, Reading TherAppy, and Writing TherAppy. I use it mainly for my older students (jr. high and high school).  YG review.

11. The Therapy Report Center – Free…Sorry! This one HAS to be mentioned. This app allows me to take all of the data from ALL of the Smarty Ears apps and bring it into one place. It also lets me have one place to enter my student data (I get a new student, I build a profile) and then I can add that student with the touch of a finger to ANY Smarty Ears App that is created…or downloaded…or re-downloaded. But I’m not restricted to just data (or Smarty Ears) for that matter…I can manually input data if I’m using a non-Smarty Ears app or doing a craft or playing go-fish…and I can upload pictures too. All that manual information is printed out in the PROGRESS NOTES! I can back it up to iTunes and NEVER. LOSE. MY. DATA. This thing is WORTH paying for … but it’s free! YG Review.

Although this concludes the end of my “top 10” (okay 11), I have to say that in reality, I have WAY more than 10 favorites…I could just give you my top 20 errr 10 Smarty Ears favorites (heck I’ve authored 5 of them)… I could give you my top 10 to play in 30 seconds in between turns (you know, games like Subway Surfer, and Fruit Ninja)…I could give you my top 10 LANGUAGE apps… But you get the idea. There’s a TON of good apps out there. Some of the better ones, you have to pay for (and by better I mean that make my life a LOT easier!).

So…do you like any of these apps? Do you use any of them already? Any new ones you didn’t know about? Be sure to check out the rest of the linky party! You know you want to…

Until then…Adventure on!

Mary