Spellosaur
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Free | Justin Billingsley | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
First you enter the words to learn. Unlike other apps that are limited to a set of fixed words, with Spellosaur you enter the words you want to learn - this can be your weekly spelling list, or just a set of words that you have been struggling to learn.
Spellosaur makes learning their words more fun with a set of games to help progressively learn each spelling - listen and choose the correct word, complete the word by adding the missing letters, plus re-arrange the letters to make the word.
Spellosaur has two voices to select from - English and US English - plus a new feature to record your own pronunciation if you wish - a new feature for parents and teachers who may want to emphasize a word differently.
You can also test yourself on your word list just like you would at school - listen to the word, then spell it, then the app will report which you got correct and incorrect at the end of the test.
Each time you enter a new word list your prior words are saved for future review - so you can track how many words you have learned and keep practicing them if you like.
This app is free so you can see how well it works.
You will have the option to upgrade to the premium version of the app - with the premium version you can:
- have multiple users, each with their own word list;
- have as many words as you like in the list you are learning; and
-save your words for future reference and testing.
After you upgrade you can have the full app on as many devices under the same iTunes user name as you like. Just choose 'upgrade' on the other devices, iTunes will confirm that you have already paid and you will not charged again.
*** Please note: if you delete and reload the app you will need to unlock it again. You will not be charged twice - just click upgrade, iTunes will confirm that you have already paid and the app will be unlocked. This is the issue some users describe below in comments. ***
Please share your feedback and experiences: [email protected]
Reviews
Has some flaws, would be great without them!
APUGodFirst
We have a few different spelling apps, and have been using this one for two kids for a few weeks now. My kids really like this app, though several things cause them frustration. First, my daughters often have homonyms on their tests, and this app has no way to address them, so during a test they just have to guess which word was meant, and they get marked wrong even if they spell the homonym correctly. A phrase option or definition would make this much more useful. Second, sometimes the computer voice is difficult to understand because it pronounces the words strangely or similarly to other words. It would be nice to have the option to record the words myself or have a library of actual pre-recorded words instead of computerized pronunciation. Third, the app does not work with an external keyboard, which is what my kids prefer to use for lots of typing. And finally, it frustrates my oldest during the unscramble section, if she gets one letter in the wrong spot and tries to change it, she has to do the whole word over again instead of just going back one or two letters. She would like to be able to remove one letter at a time! If some of these issues were addressed, I would happily give this app 5 stars!!
Glitch?
fayetteville mom
I was using the free version to see if it was worth $3.99 and when I came to the word scramble, it didn't work at all. Would try to place the tiles and it wouldn't take them, totally useless part of the game, but you can't move on or skip that section. If you fix this issue I would spend $3.99 for the app.
Really nice app!
1235nb
Looks like this is going to be one our favorite apps. What a great way to study spelling words. The app seems to "anticipate" what I need it to do. Wonderful tool in the classroom. Note: The computer voice is fairly clear. Not perfect, but a whole lot better than most. While I do like the computer voice (I don't have the time to record every word, every time), it might be nice to have the option of recording my own lists, when needed. Update: 1) The British computer voice is fairly clear. The American computer voice isn't. 2) VERY difficult to find the different users and/or lists. 3) The keyboard does not have a spacebar, numbers, or a working caps key. Help! 4). The unscramble test doesn't have any sound effects. Without the click, it's hard to know when the letters are in place.
Speech isn't great
altonPM
My first grader loves this app for studying his spelling words, and it's made a big difference in his willingness to study. However, the speech options (both US and UK) aren't great ... he can't spell the word if he doesn't understand it! My second grader refuses to use it because of the speech. I don't understand the speech at times, either. It was also frustrating to edit the lists. I typically give the kids the full list, then delete correct words to make the list smaller after their first run through. This process was incredibly painful with a 50-word list - scroll bars too difficult to control, and it jumped up to the first word again after every deletion.
Speech synthesis is a great idea here
Andres_S
I like that we can enter our own spelling words and not have to record the words; the speech synthesis takes care of it. However, there are some words that are puzzlingly incorrect. Try "quit" with the US synthesizer, or "there" with the UK synthesizer. Those two words work correctly if you switch the synthesizer to the other choice.... why? On the other hand, it has no problem with words like "cynical" or "miscellaneous", so I'm will to stick with it. I also like the several test approaches to exercise the words various ways. I agree with another reviewer about the cumbersome list editing. There should have been a concept of multiple editable lists. Instead, it just lumps all past words into one large list and there isn't a way to choose a previous week's subset.
Great app, hard to understand words.
yahooforyou
This app is great for helping my boys with thier spelling words. My first grader got his first 100% spelling test this week! But like the other reviews say, both the UK and US voices are hard to understand, and almost impossible on some words. But we just know what the words are, and I repeat her after she says it and he knows what to do. So even though you're listening to a robot, I'm still very pleased with it. the free version only lets you have 1 player and 5 words. I paid the 2.99 and am glad i did. I tried to upgrade on iTunes, so i could put it on everyone's iPods but I couldn't. I could only upgrade right on the iPod. So when they play this game, they all have to take turns on the same iPod. Maybe it's possible and i didn't know how (very likely).
Better voice output needed
J144
My 4 kids love this app for studying their spelling. However there were a few times that they would get items wrong because they couldn't understand the voice. Even though it would take a bit longer to set up.... I would love an option to be able to record the words myself. There a couple of apps that allow this option and are much more successful for my children... Would be AWESOME if the words were understandable 100% of the time.
Wonderful app.
JJsHockeyMom
We got this app for my 1st grader. He has gotten a 100% on every spelling test since. Sometimes the words are hard to understand but if I go over it with him first he has no problem. This is the best $3.99 I ever spent.
