Sound Touch is a very popular app among our pupils at the moment. Its aim is to develop speech and language in young children and those with speech and language difficulties. It helps with noun identification and categorisation of objects.
The app is divided into six different categories, each containing twelve different cartoon images of objects. the categories are animals; wild animals; wild birds; vehicles; musical instruments; household. When you tap an image, a real life photo of the item pops open, accompanied by the sound it makes. Tap the image anywhere, and it disappears. When tapped, each item has five real pictures and sounds. Bringing up something new every time you tap is a great way to keep pupils’ attention. The photos are clear and sharp, as is the sound quality of the recordings.
The app can be used in different ways. The pupil could start off by exploring each category on their own, or with a parent, teacher or SNA. Later the pupil could be asked to tap a particular image eg. saying “Show me the goat”. This will demonstrate whether the pupil has learned the names of the objects. The parent/teacher could tap an image and ask the pupil to identify the object, thereby encouraging speech. The mobile device could also be turned away from the pupil, and by tapping an object asking a pupil to identify the object by sound only.
Developed by Sound Touch Interactive, the app is available for iPhone/iPod and iPad in the iTunes store. It is also available on the Google Play Store and on Amazon. There is a free Lite version of the app and full version costs €4.99.
There is also a Sound Touch 2 app available on iTunes and in the Google Play Store, costing €1.99, which has four more categories of objects: human sounds, nature and weather, professions and more animals. Two further categories are promised for this app.
