I chose the Spanish
School Bus for Kids iPhone app by Chungaboo for my third play portfolio
report. Although the title includes the word “kids,” this app can be helpful to
anyone who is beginning to learn Spanish. In this case, I believe a library
could use this app as a tool within a larger program.
There are 22 categories in total and the user must complete
three levels per category. The categories are common themes that one would
encounter in everyday life. For example: numbers, colors, food, school, verbs,
and so on.
There are four modes of learning that appear throughout each
level. Learning and memorization,
which is set up as flash cards that the user can go through as many times as
they wish.
Quick choice, which has
the user choose the correct flash card from three possible choices.
Matching, which gives all the answers at
once and asks the user to choose the correct card when the word is said.
Finally, Piñata mode, which tosses
the flash card around and the user must act quickly to select the correct one.
These levels became a bit repetitive after a while; but
nonetheless, I was still retaining the information. I don’t know how well a
young user with a limited attention span would do with this type of learning. However,
there are also music videos within the app containing songs that are meant to
help the user remember some of the vocabulary. The videos can be streamed to an
Apple television so more than one person can view them at a time. This would be
a good tool to use for those who struggle with reading or have trouble sitting
still.
After completing the three levels, the user earns an Achievement.
The Achievements are historical Spanish landmarks or icons. There is a small
description of each Achievement to educate the user on Latin American culture.
For example, the Achievement for Numbers (11-20) is Machu Picchu. I thought this
part was very interesting, and makes this app seem less childish than some of
the others I found. It stresses the importance of language as a culture rather
than simply a form of communication.
At the end of the curriculum the user will earn a
Certificate of Completion. It would be very easy to create a program around
this app because there is an end goal that the user must reach, and the
categories are broken up in a way that would allow a librarian to expand on
each topic.
One thing I noticed is that there is not a section that asks
users to spell or write out these words. Therefore, it would be very important
to supply additional tasks and activities within the program so that users have
a better understanding of the material. This app is also only available on an iPad or iPhone. A library must have access to these, and limit the amount of
time spent on them if there is a large number of people involved in the
program. Otherwise, this is a great app to have for beginners, and I will
continue to use it until I get my Certificate of Completion.
