View a detailed iPad App Evaluation ranked according to Learning Goals

Features
Price FREE
Age Range Upper Primary
App Type Learning App
Version Reviewed 2.1.2
Android Available?
Lite Version Available?
Help Provided?
Sharing

Bloom's Thinking Process
Creating
Evaluating
Analysing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering

Adaptability
Add own pictures
Includes text
Add own text
Includes images

Review Comments
Let's be Social is designed to teach social skills. These are a series of written stories or social narratives (not social stories) about a social situation. The story is written next to an image of the social scene. The child reads the story and then answers a series of multiple questions about the story. One of the best features of this app is it's ability to be customised. You can edit the questions about the stories which come with the app. You can also add in your own stories and questions. Stories included Personal Interactions: Making eye contact, greeting friends, keeping personal space, taking turns in conversation Navigating the Community:Going to the doctor's, playing on the playground, eating at a restaurant, going to the movies School Behaviour: Sitting in class, making inappropriate noises, waiting in line, eating in the cafeteria, respecting teachers Handling Changes: transitioning at school, dealing with disappointment, going to an new school Social relationships: apologising, making friends, hurting a person's feelings, playing at a friend's house, being teased, helping a friend, understanding jokes Comments The scenes and activities in this app are geared towards young children. However, this is a text based app and the level of language comprehension requires children to predict, analyse and hypothesise. I think many children would need support to understand the questions in this app. I don't personally agree with the contact in some of the lessons. Making eye contact. The expectation is that children will look into another person's eyes when talking. While this is a social expectation, there are many children with autism for whom eye contact is very difficult. The app suggests that when the child talks while looking at the floor, it makes others sad. I don't personally agree with this statement. Greeting Friends. A new boy is in the classroom. The expectation is that the children will wave at the boy and he will wave back. Is this correct? I don't think that children would typically wave in this situation. Joining a group. The expectation in this situation is that a child who sees friends near by waves to them. This might apply in some situations, but not all. Eating at the restaurant. The question is posed "Tina wants to play video games at a restaurant, Is this appropriate behaviour?". The app says the answer is "no". I am sure many parents often use video games on phones and iPads to help their children stay calm at a restaurant. Making friends: The question "How can you make friends?" has the answer "Ask to play with them". My literal students would think that this is a simple solution to making friends, when sadly it is not.

Review Comments

Let's be Social is designed to teach social skills. These are a series of written stories or social narratives (not social stories) about a social situation. The story is written next to an image of the social scene. The child reads the story and then answers a series of multiple questions about the story.

One of the best features of this app is it's ability to be customised. You can edit the questions about the stories which come with the app. You can also add in your own stories and questions.

Stories included

Personal Interactions: Making eye contact, greeting friends, keeping personal space, taking turns in conversation
Navigating the Community:Going to the doctor's, playing on the playground, eating at a restaurant, going to the movies
School Behaviour: Sitting in class, making inappropriate noises, waiting in line, eating in the cafeteria, respecting teachers
Handling Changes: transitioning at school, dealing with disappointment, going to an new school
Social relationships: apologising, making friends, hurting a person's feelings, playing at a friend's house, being teased, helping a friend, understanding jokes

Comments

The scenes and activities in this app are geared towards young children. However, this is a text based app and the level of language comprehension requires children to predict, analyse and hypothesise. I think many children would need support to understand the questions in this app.

I don't personally agree with the contact in some of the lessons.

Making eye contact. The expectation is that children will look into another person's eyes when talking. While this is a social expectation, there are many children with autism for whom eye contact is very difficult. The app suggests that when the child talks while looking at the floor, it makes others sad. I don't personally agree with this statement.
Greeting Friends. A new boy is in the classroom. The expectation is that the children will wave at the boy and he will wave back. Is this correct? I don't think that children would typically wave in this situation.
Joining a group. The expectation in this situation is that a child who sees friends near by waves to them. This might apply in some situations, but not all.
Eating at the restaurant. The question is posed "Tina wants to play video games at a restaurant, Is this appropriate behaviour?". The app says the answer is "no". I am sure many parents often use video games on phones and iPads to help their children stay calm at a restaurant.
Making friends: The question "How can you make friends?" has the answer "Ask to play with them". My literal students would think that this is a simple solution to making friends, when sadly it is not.

Use	Rank (*)
Social Understanding		Ranked 18th of 38
Social Narratives		Ranked 14th of 17

(*) This app has been ranked according to its' effectiveness to achieve the learning goals and strategies listed. Some apps may rank highly for achieving a specific use and lower for other uses. Some students will learn and engage with one app more than others, because of the individual nature of us all.

Learning App
Learning apps are designed for a specific purpose. The authors claim to teach a goal, skill or concept.

Bloom's Thinking Process
Bloom's Taxonomy is classification system used to explain the behaviours important in learning. Apps range from simple memory tasks such as flashcards apps through to creative apps which ask students to create an original story or video.

Bloom's Creating
The student creates new ideas, products or ways of viewing things. Activities include making, animating, designing, constructing, planning, producing and inventing.

Bloom's Evaluating
The student justifies a decision or course of action. Activities include counting to check, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting and judging.

Bloom's Analysing
The student breaks the information into parts to explore understandings and relationships. Activities include explaining, ordering, inferring, comparing and organising.

Bloom's Applying
The student uses the information in a new situation. Activities include implementing, carrying out, using, illustrating, classifying and categorising.

Bloom's Understanding
The student comprehends the new information. Activities include describing, predicting showing understanding use a multiple choice.

Bloom's Remembering
The student recalls information they know. Activities include matching, 'fill in the blank', making a choice, answering using a multiple choice, naming a group.

Learning Connection
How well does the app teach the targeted skill or concept? This is the area where we refer to current research and pedagogy to evaluate the efficacy of the app.

Authenticity
Authenticity looks at the manner in which skills are learnt. Authentic apps use real life or genuine activities. Students learn in context rather than in a contrived or rote fashion (such as flashcards).

Feedback
Feedback needs to be specific and result in improved performance. Feedback should be supportive and encouraging rather than negative. Data should be available to support decision making.

Differentiation
Differentiation is the ability to customise the app to suit the student. The ability to record you voice, customise text, add pictures and alter settings enables individualisation of the app.

User Friendliness
User friendliness is a measure of how well a student can use the app independently. Some apps are simply intuitive to use. Others include audio or visual prompts which support the student.

Motivation
All apps are engaging the first time they are played. However, students with diverse learning needs may need to return to the app many times. Motivating apps offer rewards,games or incentives.

Social Understanding
Social understanding apps provide opportunities for children to gain an understanding of the social world. These may explain the hidden curriculum of social rules and etiquette. They help increase the awareness of the thoughts, behaviour and feelings of others. They may provide suggestions of ways to interact with peers.

Social Narratives
Social Narratives are visuals that describe with words and pictures how to behave in a social interaction. They help students understand what to do or what to say. These are apps which provide a pre-written story based intervention for a social skill. They are not Social Stories. See Story and Book Makers apps to make your own social narratives.

Domain	Score	Details
Learning Connection	3	Let's be Social offers a useful framework for creating your own social narratives and asking children answer questions about these narratives. I encourage caution before using the pre-written narratives. Some are better than others. Children with autism, who are often literal thinkers, may take the suggestions in this app literally. For example "Tom runs up the stairs to Marks bedroom" is not considered by the app to be an appropriate behaviour. This could be confusing for children who are invited to play in their friend's room when visiting.
Authenticity	2	This is a multiple choice task. The child reads the narrative and chooses the correct answer to a question from a choice of three answers.
Feedback	2	When correct, the child sees a green tick, reads "That's right" and hears a positive chime. When incorrect, a large red cross is shown and the word "Incorrect". The child can then either review the question and try again or move on to the next question. When the child completes the lesson with all correct they see five starts and read "Good Work". Data is not available.
Differentiation	4	One of the app's best features is it's customisation. You can add in your own stories or edit the current stories. I wish you could record the child's voice.
User Friendliness	3	The child could use this app by themselves, but I suggest that they might need an adult's assistance to understand the scenes and questions.
Motivation	2	As this is quite a difficult task, I would add extra rewards or incentives when using this app.

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Disclaimer: The evaluations and rankings information provided here are based solely on the opinion of the author and are for informational purposes only. Families should seek professional advice before making decisions regarding interventions for their child.