Magical Concepts
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | $9.99 | Virtual Speech Center Inc. | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
Children are required to master the foundations of basic concepts to learn the fundamentals of academic subject areas. For example, the child must understand the concept of quantity (e.g., more, less, equal, all) to do mathematical computations and must know basic reading concepts (e.g., reading left to right, top to bottom, beginning, end) to learn how to read and write (Busch, 1980). Many concepts are used in daily classroom instructions by teachers—e.g., temporal direction: “Before you start writing, read the first paragraph on page 13.” Children who do not master these basic concepts will have difficulty following classroom instructions (Vernon, 1962).
Children learn concepts by listening to adults, reading, and following commands.
There are five major types of concepts. These are spatial (location), temporal (time), quantity (number), quality (description), and social-emotional (feelings).
Magical Concepts is an app for the iPhone and iPad. It was created by a certified speech-language pathologist who wanted to make "drilling" with flashcards fun and motivating. This engaging, colorful app includes over 2000 photos accompanied by audio instructions. Children are welcomed by Mago the Magician, who encourages them to work hard. Children earn stars for each correct response, and when they accumulate enough stars, they are rewarded with a magic show.
MAGICAL CONCEPTS includes over 60 concepts that are alphabetically organized. Examples of the concepts include:
Above/Below
Angry/Sad/Happy/Surprised
Around
Apart/Together
Behind/In front
Big/Small
Bottom/Top
Clean/Dirty
Closed/Open
Cold/Hot
Crooked/Straight
Curly/Straight
Day/Night
Deep/Shallow
Different/Same
Down/Up
Dry/Wet
Empty/Full
Far/Near
Half/Whole
In/Out
Inside/Outside
Light/Heavy
Long/Short
Loud/Quiet
Missing
Narrow/Wide
Next to
Old/New
On/Under
Over
Pair
Short/Tall
Thick/Thin
Upside down
Magical Concepts is easy to use and allows you to:
-Enter multiple students
-Select multiple concepts
-Present cards in order or randomly
-Change settings
-Select auto-scoring
-Select alternate counts for multiple students
-Enable or disable rewards: the stars and the magic show
-Track correct and incorrect responses
-Email results at the end of the game
References
Busch, R. A. (1980). Predicting first-grade reading achievement. Council for Learning
Disabilities, 3, 33–48.
Klix, F. (1983). An evolutionary approach to cognitive processes and creativity in human
being. Methods of Heuristic, 9, 19–36.
Vernon, P. E. (1962). The determinants of reading comprehension. Educational and
Psychological Measurement, 22, 269–278.
Reviews
Great potential
Pattibslp
I love this app for the content. If the concepts were rearranged by type, it would help. Also, the concepts you work on are not saved from session to session. With changes, this would be a 5 star app hands down. The pictures are great. They have a nice time wait so students cannot guess. I also would like a test mode and practice mode. I do not regret buying this app.
Decent app
NanSLP
Pros: -Has many concepts with clear picture representations -Keeps data -I like how it lets the child work toward "stars," and then a magic show -One of the best apps for concepts Cons: -Some of the pictures are slightly distorted -The reinforcer of a magic show isn't very interesting for children once they've seen all the "shows." There are only about 5(?h) shows. There should be more variety in the shows. The graphics aren't that great either, although that's not a big deal to the kids. -I wish there were an option to choose the amount of stars to earn. Some of my first graders could earn 20 stars rather than 6, for instance. -I wish there were more representations of the concepts, especially with photographs. I'd say SLPs should get it if they're given a $ budget for apps. Otherwise, save your money. Most kids can do just fine learning concepts with pictures from stories, pictures, and movement.
Great following directions with prepositions
ABQ SLP
My kids are going to love this! I love that a choice can. To be made until the verbal presentation has been completed.
Prepositions
Speechercize
This app which targets prepositions in a receptive task with a fun and engaging wast keeps students working towards earning a magic show. I find this app more targeted towards lower elementary school students. I wigs this app also had expressive tasks.
SLP DODEA
DBOD1956
My little pk and k students love this app, and so do I. I love the level of concepts you can select to individual specific skills for each student. They love the fun magic shows, they are always trying to guess what will come out of the magic hat! A must have app for pediatric therapists.
SLP
LF School Speech
Great fun for my youngest student (K-1). They love the reinforcements! Helpful to be able to pick/choose the targeted concepts to customize for each student.
My students love it!
GameBlues
This app gets my students excited because they enjoy guessing what magic trick the magician is going to do and how he did it. It's a great way to introduce a variety of concepts and keep students motivated.
Meh.
Mary Lu hu
Not enough examples of each basic concept and magic show reinforcement is terrible. I like most of the virtual speech apps, but can't recommend this one.
