On behalf of Eric Sailers and RinnApps, thank you to all ArtikPix users. We appreciate receiving feedback to make ArtikPix a leading speech articulation app. We’re looking forward to working more with users in 2012. Happy Holidays!

Initial/Medial/Final P
Initial/Medial/Final B
Initial/Medial/Final F
Initial/Medial/Final K
Initial/Medial/Final G
Initial/Medial/Final S
Initial/Medial/Final Z

The downloadable documents are available as of 11.17.11. Check Amanda’s website in the future for updates. She is planning to add more homework sheets.

Terms of use stated by Amanda: Thanks to Symbolstix for allowing us to make these available for personal use [not for re-sale] under the terms of our subscription.

The highly requested group scoring feature is included to collect scores in the flashcard activity for up to 4 children at a time. A group of students can collect data as they practice sounds in words and sentences. Version 2.0 also contains an improved matching activity that enables more opportunities for practice, especially for an individual student. Finally, the updates have bug fixes for choosing sound groups and for reversing cards to a previous sentence displayed in flashcards. Below are more details regarding the new features in the flashcard and matching activities:

What’s new in the flashcard activity?
The exciting new group scoring feature in version 2.0 allows you to collect data for individual students while working in a small group setting. Detailed scoring can be collected for up to 4 students at a time. It all begins with taking a photo or choosing a photo of each student in the activity, then tapping a student’s photo to collect data. If using a photo is not an option, student initials will be generated automatically following input of the student names. The group scoring feature maximizes practice for multiple students to collect scores for multiple productions on each card. This is especially helpful as students are typically grouped by the same sound or sounds in school therapy sessions. Notes can also be recorded during the flashcard activity via a long press on a student photo. Following the activity, detailed scores are organized by individual students to save in the app or to share.

What’s new in the matching activity?
The update to the matching activity in version 2.0 is designed to enable more opportunities for individual student practice. Two unmatched cards in the matching activity do not flip over to face side down until another card is tapped. This allows more time for student production of words in between choosing cards. Also, the matching card audio can be repeated by tapping a card face side up for the student to hear a given word as many times necessary before proceeding with the game. Detailed scores for a given sound group are now displayed during the matching activity to parallel the scores displayed at the conclusion of the game. This shows how an individual student is performing for each sound group during the activity.

The free version of ArtikPix 1.2.3 (iTunes link) was also updated today. As in ArtikPix – Full, ArtikPix involves swiping to go from one set of decks to the next.

RinnApps releases PhonoPix for iOS devices

PhonoPix is a phonological app with minimal pairs for children to develop their speech sounds in flashcard and matching activities. With PhonoPix, children have fun practicing speech sounds in words as they compare their speech productions to the target productions.

San Diego, CA – RinnApps is pleased to announce the release of PhonoPix (iTunes link) for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. PhonoPix is a phonological app and the companion to our successful articulation app called ArtikPix. In response to user requests, Jason Rinn, software engineer and co-creator, says, “Since ArtikPix was released, our users have been asking for a phonological app with minimal pairs. So, we sought to deliver a high-quality app that would meet their demands.” The app has flashcard and matching activities with minimal pairs to contrast childrenʼs incorrect responses with the target responses. Example minimal pairs include “tea” and “key,” “ton” and “sun,” “bee” and “beach,” and many more. PhonoPix features 10 decks with 40 minimal pairs in each (400 total pairs) for the following phonological processes: prevocalic voicing, word final devoicing, final consonant deletion, fronting (palatal and velar), marked blend reduction, unmarked blend reduction, gliding (“l” and “r” sounds), stopping, backing (palatal and velar), and initial consonant deletion. The app provides more content with higher interactivity than traditional minimal pair cards.

PhonoPix is for use with children who have significant speech difficulties with several sounds. The app allows the user to focus on correcting speech errors associated with sound production in targeted word positions (e.g. final consonant deletion) or manners of articulation (e.g. fricatives). For example, children who present errors in final consonant deletion will omit the end sounds in words. As a result, these children will be unable to produce several different sounds in the final word position. They will need a therapy solution that is more robust than a simple articulation product. While ArtikPix is suited for children who struggle to produce the “ch” sound at the end of a word, PhonoPix is appropriate for children who struggle to produce any sounds at the end of words.

It is also important that children with significant speech difficulties understand the meaning of what they are saying when they incorrectly produce the target word. By using minimal pairs, children see an image reflective of the meaning of the word they are saying and can see the comparison to the target word they are unable to produce. This allows them to contrast the incorrect production with the correct production. In PhonoPix, children view the minimal pairs in double-sided flashcards by flicking through an album and tapping an around button. In the matching activity, children match the minimal pairs in three different levels: easy with 3 pairs, medium with 6 pairs, and hard with 10 pairs. During the flashcard and matching activities, children practice by listening to the recorded audio, recording their voice to self-monitor, and collecting scores (aka data). Scores are collected only for the cards representing the target response. The scores are then saved in the app or exported with information regarding the phonological process practiced.

PhonoPix makes practicing phonological processes a fun activity to improve children’s speech development. Children like the interactive nature of the app. They enjoy the various gestures including flicking through the cards and tapping to flip them over. Eric Sailers, speech-language pathologist and co-creator, has noticed this when his students say, “This is so much better than regular cards.” Meanwhile, children gain educational value from the built-in features of the app, such as recorded audio, voice recording, and data collection. Children are able to hear the recorded audio and compare it to their own recording of the word. This allows them to self-monitor their productions and make progress towards the target words. PhonoPix allows children to see their own progress during the activities and over time.

Device Requirements:
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later
11.3 MB

Pricing and Availability:
PhonoPix – Full 1.0 is available on the iTunes App Store for an introductory price of $24.99.

RinnApps is a company owned and operated by Jason Rinn. Jason is a software engineer who creates mobile applications for Apple’s iOS devices. PhonoPix was co-created by Eric Sailers and Jason Rinn of RinnApps. Eric Sailers is a speech-language pathologist and assistive technology specialist with several years of experience working for a school district. An area of expertise for Eric is addressing articulation and phonological difficulties of school-age children. Eric and Jason are good friends who enjoy creating applications for children with special needs.

Copyright © 2011 Jason Rinn and Eric Sailers. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

For more information, visit the website at http://rinnapps.com/phonopix/.

Contact:
Eric Sailers
Co-Creator, RinnApps
esailers@rinnapps.com

Jason Rinn
Co-Creator, RinnApps
jrinn@rinnapps.com

• Audio added to the sentence level in the flashcard activity
• Audio feedback added to scoring in the flashcard and matching activities
• 73 cards added to the r deck for a total of 113 cards
• Multi-tasking for iOS 4.2 on iPad

Image by HikingArtist.com

For the holidays, we are excited to celebrate with an ArtikPix – Full sale.* The price has been reduced from $49.99 to $29.99 – that’s a savings of 40%! Make sure you take advantage of this sale before it’s over!
*Note: This sale excludes the In App Purchases in the free version of ArtikPix.

11/8/10 Update

10/31/10 Update: Apple expedited their review of ArtikPix – Full 1.2.1, which fixes the audio problems particularly on the 2nd generation iPod touch. It also makes the audio louder across all other iOS devices. Once Apple approves ArtikPix 1.2.1 update, then the same fix will apply to the free version with In App purchases.

ArtikPix and ArtikPix – Full 1.2 (universal apps for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad) updates were approved yesterday by Apple. If you previously downloaded the free or full versions of ArtikPix, you can get 1.2 for free in the updates section of the App Store. Here’s a look at the new features:

• Sound group title added to the top of flashcards and matching cards to clarify scoring
• Sentence level added to flashcards, which is accessed by tapping the around arrow
• Ability to collect scores for the word and sentence levels
• Only the sound groups containing collected scores are shown on Nice Job and Save(d) Scores screens
• Fixed sound issues that occurred during simultaneous action of pre-recorded audio and voice recording
• For ArtikPix only: Restore purchase feature added for transferring In App Purchases to other iOS devices