Appy Friday ~ School of Multi-Step Directions app from VSC

Press the on button, swipe the screen, then select the Virtual Speech Center's "School of Multi-Step Directions"  app!  This great addition to iTherapy from VSC aims to improve auditory comprehension of multi-step directions in the academic context.  The app is built around the theme of school and allows children to follow increasingly longer and more complex multi–step unrelated directions in three different “classroom” settings such as English, Math and Chemistry Lab


Nearly all of my language students have difficulty following multiple-step directions with varying subject matters and levels of difficulty.  Overall, this app has been a great addition to targeting that goal!  Here's a bit more about it and some tips:

When you open the app you are greeted by this screen.  You have the option to see "reports" from previous sessions, learn more on the "info" tab, change app "settings", or "start" a game.

The reports screen allows you to look at one user at a time and view them by skill/activity or by session date.  This is always a must-have for any app I use in therapy these days!

 When you click on a specific skill or date, this screen appears showing the percentage correct for each date. Great for progress monitoring and easy to print or e-mail to yourself, parents, and teachers!

 The settings on the app can be found here:

Enable Audio - questions read aloud
Use Alternate Count - Unsure what this is but will find out!

Automatic Paging - I typically have this on during use/assessment of a skill.  It would be good to turn off for repetitions/instruction!

Random Paging - I would definitely recommend having this on.  It helps to randomize the screens shown but as discussed later, doesn't always work when multiple players are used.

Correct/Incorrect Sound: Change the sound heard with correct/incorrect responses.  Having this option is great.  I have some students who think the "wrong" sound is like that of a bodily function and therefore will hit it to be funny.  This helps reduce that temptation :)
Enable Reward - The reward is a pong game (like air hockey) that automatically plays after the student answers 1-10 correctly based on the...
Award Counter - Shows how many correct responses they have gotten and goes from 1-10 before providing the reward.
Background Noise - Enable the noise and adjust the type and volume of it with these settings.

 After clicking "start" you can add or choose players.

Then you use this screen to choose their activities and math/English/chemistry setting.  Activities include 2-4 step directions including conditional directions.  My tip here would be to not choose the same activity for all students in a group.  I found that when I did this, students would get the same task after the other student had completed it.  It also doesn't "shuffle" stimuli/skills from all areas selected and it gives all of one type before the next type starts.

Once the app begins, you are given a screen like these.  The app gives the student the instruction and they follow it by following the direction and pressing "go" when finished.  You can repeat the direction that they heard if needed but it erases the progress they've made on the task of that direction.

 When the students complete the required correct responses they can do the pong game shown above.  It has a timer and goes for that amount of time regardless.

Overall, this has been a favorite app that I use regularly with students and is regularly requested by them!  Here is my quick pros/improvements list:

Pros:

• Nice, colorful illustrations.
• Clear voice for instruction.
• Data tracking included in the app with the ability to print/e-mail the progress.
• Keeps data stored on the app for each student!
• Great for many students.
• I love the built-in reward for students. You do not HAVE to use it but it is available!
• Overall a solid... great for SLPs with elementary and middle school clients!

Improvements:

• The orientation of this app does not rotate if the iPad is turned.  It does not function in portrait mode, only landscape.
• Having to hold the underline/highlight/erase/cross out marks on the objects can be frustrating for some students as it is about 2 seconds of holding.
• The pong game freezes or becomes difficult to move at times and the app has to be restarted to use this feature.
• I'd love to be able to select a different settings for each player.

Overall a new favorite app!  It is currently available for $18.99 in the app store:

Disclosure: VSC provided a copy of this app for review.  No other compensation was provided and all opinions are that of the author.