One of the people I met ‘In Real Life’ for the first time at ASHA was Eric Sailers. Eric creates apps through his company, Expressive Solutions. Eric showed me a demo of his app, ArtikPix Levels Plus , which I agreed to review for all my SRN friends!
Let me walk you through the app. ArtikPix Levels is an articulation app. It features nearly 1,500 cards in the following 24 decks: b, ch, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, l-blends, m, n, p, r, r-blends, s, s-blends, sh, t, th, v, w, y, z.
Start by adding the students to the app. For our demo today, I’m working on my sounds with JT and B. Select a student and then the sounds they are targeting. Choose all positions or just initial, medial, or final. Grammatical levels are preset to word, but can be moved to phrase, sentence or paragraph length. One bonus feature is the ability to limit the words by syllable length.
Select which students will play the game. Choose between the following activities: Flash Cards, Matching, and Pick or Spin.
In the flash card portion of the app choose the difficulty across the bottom of the app. Across the top left, select which student is taking their turn. In the top right, select to record the production. In this section you can record just audio or touch the camera button and the app will open the iPad camera. This transforms the app into a mirror, allowing your student to watch as they produce the sound. Ongoing data collection is shown at the bottom of the screen.
word
phrase
sentence
paragraph
The matching pairs game is typical for those in articulation apps. Select the player across the top using the icons. This activity includes word level only.
The most unique game of the app is the Pick or Spin activity. Press the spin button and watch the computer spin to a new phrase.
If you have students working on really specific vocabulary you can add your own decks in Artik Pix Levels Plus (as long as you’ve purchased all the available decks). Our preschoolers are always working on vocabulary that relates to our curriculum so this might be a nice way to build some decks. Here is a sample for the word ‘Jenna’. Add the syllable length, sound targeted, word/phrase/sentence/paragraph level.
Head over to Expressive Solutions to check out a video that demonstrates the app. The app is listed at $29.99 in the app store. You can try out the free version here.
Overall, Artik Pix Levels Plus demonstrates all the key elements I’m looking for in an app. These include extensive data collection, a wide variety of speech targets in each sound, and ease of use for group therapy.
The Pros: In addition to the basic elements I’m looking for Artik Pix Levels provides paragraph level presentation throughout. This is a nice bonus for students working on carryover of speech sounds. The other stand-out is the camera recording feature.
Cons: The only thing that came up during using the app was a little hiccup on the student pictures. The pictures get blurry when they switch over to a circle from a square.
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Hi Jenna! Love your blog and insight. I was wondering how you used artikpics in group lessons? I just recieved an iPad for the holidays and have been debating how to use one iPad in groups of 3-4 with elementary age students working on artic. Thanks for your insight!
When I use the iPad with groups we pass it from person to person. Usually each kiddo would say 4-5 words and then pass it along. Other times I use the iPad as stimulus cards while we do another activity. IE: I have a very wiggly group of kids. I let them shoot paper ‘balls’ into the trash can some days. So they stand up in a line and as they come to their turn I have the iPad and we go through 10 word and then they take their turn to ‘shoot’.
Looks like an app I would definitely use! I need to check it out!
Jenna –
Thanks for the review of ArtikPix Levels Plus. You did a very nice job of conveying the features in the app. And I like your ideas regarding the use of ArtikPix Levels in group sessions. It’s always great to incorporate extra fun activities in with repetitive practice.
One thing I’d like to add is that the latest version 1.0.2 of ArtikPix Levels – approved last week by Apple – has new features including export of scores to pdf and print, as well as an all new Information screen with sound production tips, a sound development chart, and help guides.
It was very nice to meet you at the ASHA convention.
– Eric Sailers
I purchased the “R” part of this app ( you get another “sound” free) a couple of months ago, just to check it out and wish I had bought the entire app. It has been very motivating from PreK on up to 4th graders – especially the cool, easy to use recording feature. I’m about to purchase the entire app – it’s a real bargain!
Hello,
Thanks for the review! Have you also tried Artic Pix? Which would you recommend of the two? What is the main difference? Thanks!
Hi, Jackie. This is Eric Sailers, the SLP who created ArtikPix and ArtikPix Levels. There are several differences between the two apps. Here’s a list of the main features you can use for a comparison of ArtikPix and ArtikPix Levels:
ArtikPix
– Word and sentence levels for approximately 1,000 items
– Flashcard and Matching activities. Simple group scoring in Flashcard activity only.
– Symbolstix illustrations used for content
– Simple customizations for level and sound position across students
– Create module (in the full version) includes option to use personal photos or Symbolstix illustrations
– Export scores to email, email as CSV, and Google spreadsheet
– Universal iOS app for iPhone and iPad
ArtikPix Levels
– Word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph levels for approximately 1,500 items
– Flashcard, Matching, and Pick or Spin activities. Sophisticated group scoring with content customized to each student in each activity
– Real photos used for content
– Content customized sophisticatedly for level, sound position, individual words, and syllable length for each student
– Create module (in the plus version) includes option to use personal photos or a built-in Internet image search
– Export scores to email, email as CSV, email as PDF, and print
– iPad app
I hope this feature comparison helps you to decide whether to use ArtikPix or ArtikPix Levels. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact me at eric@expressive-solutions.com.
Thank you for this comparison! This definitely helps me with my decision