DynaVox Mayer-Johnson PCS™ BINGO and Memory {App Reviews}

The folks over at DynaVox Mayer-Johnson recently updated and re-released all of their PCS™ apps. One of their representatives provided me with a few copies to review. I had the opportunity to use them with my students last week, so I hope this review will give you valuable information on how two of these apps may fit into your therapy 'buckets'.  (I'll post one more review later this week - you won't want to miss it!)

PCS™ Bingo ($4.99)  - Per the iTunes description - This app "provides a fun, mobile way to practice vocabulary, articulation, language and rhyming and is great for general education students, students with autism, Down Syndrome and Speech and Language delays." 

When first opening the app you are taken to a home page with tabs across the top (as this app has the functionality to target both articulation and language skills). The tabs are labeled - vocabulary, articulation, language, and rhyming. As you select a tab, you are given a larger array of vocabulary categories, speech sounds (/b/, ch, /d, f, g, j, k, l/, /l/ blends, /m/, /r/ blends, /n, p, r, s/, /s/ blends, sh, /t/, th, /v/, vocalic /r/ and /z/), language concepts (e.g., adjectives, alphabet, opposites, synonyms), and word families (for rhyming - -ish, -at, -ed, -ig, -og, and -ub) to choose from. Your selection will then be included on your BINGO card (either 3 X 3 or 5 X 5). See screen shots below.

Your student moves the marker to the matching picture on the BINGO board. Once your student hits their BINGO - a statement of praise is given and then followed up by a little animated video (which you can turn on or off on the settings).  See screen shots below.

Love it - The graphics in this app are really nice. I love that it has the option of the animated "reward" at the end of each game. It targets quite a few concepts (a list of all of the concepts and categories can be found here on the iTunes description), and my students LOVED it. Again, this app can be used when targeting both articulation and language goals...and did I mention you get all of this for $4.99. AMAZING! Overall this was a great app for my students. Especially for my students working on early language skills and my students working on building vocabulary for their devices.

A little something to think about - I wish it had a data tracker, or a way to monitor a students accuracy while on the app (but for $4.99 I can't complain too much about that!)...Also, I think it would be nice to offer different colored BINGO markers - or maybe have the ability to have two BINGO boards at one time (if I had two or more students in a group working on this activity, I had to remember who put their marker in which spot because my younger students didn't always remember).

Click here to purchase this app online. **Please note: there is a FREE version of this app (with limited content), as well as a full version of this app ($4.99)**


PCS™ Memory ($4.99) - Per the iTunes description - This app "provides a fun, mobile way to practice vocabulary, articulation, language and rhyming and is great for general education students, students with autism, Down Syndrome and Speech and Language delays."



Again, as listed above - when first opening the app you are taken to a home page with tabs across the top. The tabs are labeled - vocabulary, articulation, language, and rhyming. As you select a tab, you are given a larger array of vocabulary categories, speech sounds (same as above), language concepts (e.g., adjectives, alphabet, opposites, synonyms), and word families (for rhyming - -ish, -at, -ed, -ig, -og, and -ub) to choose from. Your selection will then be included on your Memory Board (either 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, or 20 cards). See screen shots below.

Your student selects a card and tries to make a match by selecting another card on the picture board. Once your student has all of the cards turned over - another statement of praise is given and then followed up by a little animated video (which you can turn on or off on the settings). See screen shots below.

Love it - Again, the graphics in this app are really nice and I love that it has the option of the animated "reward" at the end of each game. Like the app above, it targets quite a few concepts (a list of all of the concepts and categories can be found here on the iTunes description). My students LOVED this app just as much as they did the BINGO app. (PS - Did I mention you get all of this for $4.99). Another AMAZING app from the folks over at DynaVox Mayer-Johnson! Overall this was a great app for my students and I will be using it again during our sessions.

A little something to think about - Again, as SLPs we LOVE our data. I wish it had a data tracker, or a way to monitor a students accuracy while on the app (but again, for $4.99 I can't complain!)

Click here to purchase this app online. **Please note: there is a FREE version of this app (with limited content), as well as a full version of this app ($4.99)**

Final Thoughts - Overall, both of these apps would make great additions to any SLPs therapy bucket. They are easy to use, require very little set-up time, and offer multiple therapy targets - all in one spot! 

**Congratulations to the following readers who won copies of these apps last week - Jill P., Jayne W., Angie L., Stephanie C., and Alison W.**