Bitsboard is without question my most used and most favorite app for iPad right now. I mean I LOVE it and use the app on a daily basis. Parents, teachers, and therapists MUST have this one.
Many of my clients are working on goals that involve increasing their expressive and receptive language skills and this is the perfect app to do so.
Cost: Initially Bitsboard was completely free. Now I believe a limited version is available for free and the pro version is 5.99. The price really is insignificant compared to the value it offers.
So here is how it works:
Create your Boards
Bitsboard allows users to create and download “boards” or more simply put, collections of pictures (think flashcards). Bitsboard allows multiple users so if you have multiple clients then you can make each client a “user” to track their progress separately.
You can have as many boards as you like so for example, I have boards of farm animals, body parts, common household items, action words, money, musical instruments, music notes, to name a few.
There is an entire catalog of readily available boards created by Bitsboard and other users. You can share a board easily via the share feature and make it available in the catalog for others to use. If the board you are looking for does not exist, simply make your own!
Customize
This is where the app gets really cool. You can customize each item in a board with your own picture (OR many times a picture corresponding to your text will appear from their database), text, and voice recording.
Games
Bitsboard has developed 12 different modes or games for each board you can use for teaching.
FLASHCARDS: Learner views pictures and/or text one at a time.
PHOTO TOUCH: Word or phrase is played and a selection of pictures is presented. Learner must listen and choose the correct one.
SPELLING BEE: Learner is presented with a picture and must type in the word.
READER: Text word is presented and the learner must select the correct corresponding picture.
EXPLORE: All the items in the board are presented on one screen and the learner can touch each one to see up close and hear its audio recording.
TRUE/FALSE: Learner must answer true false when presented with a picture and text.
MEMORY: This is a classic memory game. You may have up to 4 players, choose how many items in the game, and whether you see pictures or text.
POP QUIZ: Learner is presented with a picture and multiple text choices.
GENIUS: Combines all the games at random. Turn on/off the games you want to incorporate.
BINGO: Engage up to 4 learners in a classic bingo game.
WORD BUILDER: Given letter tiles, learner must correctly order the tiles to make the correct word. If multiple words correspond to the picture, the learner must correctly order each word of the phrase/sentence.
MATCH UP: Multiple pictures and corresponding words are presented. Learner must drag the correct picture to correct word.
Settings
- Minimum and maximum number of choices.
- Session length.
- Auto or manual progression to advance to next item.
- Sequence of items (random or alphabetical).
- Use of pictures or text
- Audio hints off/on
A recent update has added much more flexibility to the custom settings as well!
Again, I can not express how much I love this app for iPad. I have also seen it transform many of my clients who are working on expressive and receptive language skills as well as developing their vocabularies. Stay tuned for a follow-up post about how I personally use this app in music therapy sessions.
Are you using Bitsboard? What are your favorite features? Let me know in the comments below. Also, please share this post with any parents, teachers, or therapists who you believe could benefit. I am not paid to endorse this app in any way, but really do see it as an amazing learning tool!
Til next time,
Mary
Guide to the Best Singable Books
Get our FREE Singable Books ebook - 25 stories that can easily be used with music.
