In AlphaTots “A” Stands for More than Apple — iPad App Review
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AlphaTots for iPad by Spinlight Studios is an interactive app that helps preschoolers learn the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. Children can work through the alphabet in order, or pick letters in any order they choose, or join in a sing-a-long version of the alphabet song.
As Goldilocks might say, AlphaTots’ pacing is “just right.” The game is neither overstimulating nor boring. The child’s journey through the alphabet will expose him to a wide range of creative interactions from zapping space ships or vacuuming up peanuts with an elephant’s trunk, to using an X-ray to look inside wrapped presents or nibbling away at a concerned-looking gingerbread cookie.
The game progresses each time the child presses a letter, for example, when he presses “P,” the narrator says, “Let’s learn about the letter P. P sounds like ‘puh.’ Can you play all the instruments?” The child can then try out the saxophone, trumpet, upright bass, and drum set. Eventually all four instruments join together to play “one groovy tune.” Each child is likely to have a few favorites, but all of the letters were fun to try. AlphaTots is available for download in the App Store for $2.99
What I liked: When a child plays with AlphaTots he does more than just learn the alphabet. There are opportunities to use touch screen gestures such as tapping and swiping that build computing skills as well.
What I didn’t like: The narrator pronounces some of the consonants with an exaggerated “uh” at the end, rather just the clipped sound of the consonant itself. “K” is voiced as “kuh” instead of “k.” Children will not be using AlphaTots in a linguistic vacuum, however, so it is unlikely that this oddity should affect how they learn to voice sounds.
To buy or not to buy: Children will love using AlphaTots. The activities built into each letter are varied in nature, and clever in design. Parents will find the app’s clean graphics, and wide variety activities allow it to stand up well to repeated uses. AlphaTots is a game children will play again and again, which makes it well worth spending $2.99 on the download.
Note: In a recent update AlphaTots’ developer revised the pronunciation of many of the consonants, so users will no longer hear an emphasized “uh” at the end of letters such as B, D, K etc.
- App Name: AlphaTots
- Version Reviewed: 1.0
- Category: Education
- Developer: Spinlight Studio
- Price: $2.99
- Score:
