iAutism

I conclude this series of three articles on the new applications of Pyramid Educational Consultants. Two days ago I reviewed Working4, and yesterday I did the same with R+Remind. Today it’s the turn of iPraiseU.

Like the other two applications, iPraiseU is available for iPad/iPhone and for Android devices, and it is conceived as an aid to educators, therapists and parents.

In this case, the functionality of the app is very simple and has a very definite purpose: to give praises after a well-done job. If you’re tired of saying “Good job!”, “‘All right!” and similar phrases, iPraiseU can be useful, as it will offer you a lot of alternatives.

iPraiseU has a single screen. Every time you touch the screen or shake the device, the girl that appears in the center dances a little and a new message of praise appears. The praise is also spoken aloud. There are 100 different messages (in English) and five different natural voices that rotate.

As options, you can activate or not the voice and select to generate new praises by shaking the device or only by touching the screen. iPraiseU works both vertically and horizontally.

Assessment
iPraiseU is a very simple application that can be another tool in our “toolbox” as support for a working session with a person with special needs. You cannot select a subset of messages that should appear, or write new ones or see other visual effects. Globally, it has given me the impression of a being curiosity more than a complete tool.

I sincerely believe that the design of these three applications of Pyramid deserve a review, especially for the iPad. Also, all three could be improved a lot and mature in many aspects. But, at the same time, I appreciate that there are three small utilities but that may be useful for educators and therapists in sessions, especially in the case of ABA-based interventions.

-Francesc Sistach

This post is also available in: Spanish