Speech Journal Review and Giveaway!

Congratulations to Mary and Debra who each won a copy of this app!

YG March Madness contestBasketball is a HUGE deal in North Carolina so I was excited when Yapp Guru decided to host a March Madness themed contest.  Be prepared for a lot of fun!  I’m taking this seriously, so be sure to check out my profile on YappGuru because I’ll be posting a new app review each day in March.  Here on the blog, you can get in on the action too!

March will be full of app reviews with lots of giveaways planned!  And don’t worry if you aren’t into the whole app thing.  There will be plenty of low tech options to go along with them!

A few weeks ago, I posted “Sequencing  Journal” which is a way I work on sequencing with my little ones.  It’s simply a written record of what we do during each session.  You can read more about it here.

MES JS home page

Mobile Education Store has an app, “Speech Journals,” which can be used as a high tech version or to create personal narratives easily in the therapy room.  I’ll be taking photos of each therapy activity we do and having us create a quick sumamry at the end of the session. I’m also planning to use this to sequence activities.  For instance, I might have a student demonstrate washing their hands at the sink and take 3-4 pictures of them completeing the tasks.  Then, we can create a “washing hands” journal entry in which I have them verbalize each step.

I’ve been using version 1.7 which is $3.99 in the iTunes app store.  (It’s also part of the MES Speech Therapy App Bundle).  Here’s how it works.

MES SJ add user

To start, open the app and add a user.  Now, click on “Add image.”  You will have access to the photos on your iPad or you can take one with the camera.

MES SJ add first image

Once you have the photo you want selected you can focus on a specific section of the photo easily with the move/scale options.  Hit “use.”

MES JS one image

Now it’s time to add a recording.  Simply hit “record” and say what you want.

MES JS add image

Didn’t like it?  Just erase and  re-record.  Oops.  You wanted to add more?  Hit “Continue Recording.”

MES JS adding additional pic

Once you have the recording for a specific photo you can hit “choose image” again and add another pic.  “Continue Recording” will now allow you to add the narrative to the new pic.  It’s very easy to use.

MES JS title recording

Once your story is complete, hit “Save recording” and you’ll be prompted to give the file a name.

MES JS save recording

Recordings are saved under the user and can be emailed as well.

I love the ease with which you can put together a short scene and watch the story.  The only drawback to the app is that when you email the recording the photos are separate from the audio.  You can see/hear both parts, but you don’t get the slideshow with audio that you do when you’re on the app.

MES gave me a copy of Speech Journals to review but all opinions expressed here are my own.  I also have TWO copies to give away!  To enter, leave a comment below letting us know whether you have ever kept a journal or diary of your own.  If you have a mortifying story of it being found and read, we want to hear that too!  You have from now until midnight (EST) March 7, 2015 to enter and the winners will be announced on Sunday March 8, 2015.  Good luck!

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This Post Has 16 Comments

  1. M. Parker

    I have kept a personal journal before. I like the way this can be combined with pictures.

  2. Lisa E.

    I remember keeping a journal in middles school, when all my so-called “problems” were of epic proportion, and I stupidly wrote about everything I did! ! 🙂 My mom DID read my diary, and I got in huge mess o’trouble when she found out about something I had done. I believe that was the swift end of my journaling days!

    Thanks for the chance to win! And please destroy this comment after it’s read…I no longer leave a “paper” trail! (just kidding! :))

  3. Latrice S.

    In middle school, we used to pass notes in journals….oh and would have been in tons of trouble if anyone read those!

  4. Shira Reiss

    I also kept a journal when I was young.

  5. Nikki

    I ALWAYS KEPT A JOURNAL UP UNTIL MY THIRD CHILD WAS BORN AND THEN MY JOUNAL WRITING TIME WAS SACRIFICED FOR SLEEPING TIME.

  6. Mary

    I have never kept a journal or diary. I do have a personal blog, though…does that count?

    1. admin

      I think so!

  7. Sue

    I remember having a diary with the cute little key to lock it up! Little did I know that it wouldn’t have taken much to break into it!

  8. Gloria

    I would sporadically keep a journal. In high school a friend of mine and I kept a note journal. That was fun, to write back and forth with a friend and keep all together in one place. 🙂

  9. Anne Page

    I have boxes of filled journals. I use them to capture ideas and to process. There’s something about moving my hand across a page that brings more creativity than tapping a keyboard.

    Great post! I am going to try this with some of my students.

  10. Michelle

    I had a diary as a child (Lisa Frank unicorns!! <3) and wish I had continued on over the years. I have a memory jar that my fiance and I use to so that we can relive all of the best moments that we've had together, sort of as a combined journal for both of us.

  11. Debbie

    So, my middle school and high school kids all keep journals im speech room. I bought them each a hard covered journal and they loved that someone actually did that. I had one child tell me they couldnt do that at home because they dont have paper and pens their mom’s allow them to use because its too expensive. I work in a very low income school. They beg to take them home every summer, but its expensive to keep replacing them when they do not return them. Then I feel bad, because thats what they are told at home:(. Anyway, this APP would be perfect for my kiddos. They love using the IPAD. It would surely solve the problem of having to buy new journals all the time!

  12. Ronnie Kaufman

    I bought the speech journal app and am excited to use it.
    I have needed something like this for a long time.

  13. Tracy G

    I have started so many journals over the years, but only seem to last a few weeks, partially because I hide it so nobody will read it, and…..well, out of sight, out of mind!!. What a great way to show kids the value of it, by starting them in a supportive, structured environment!

  14. Annie Doyle

    I have kept a journal since I was ten. That’s 43 years! I don’t think my security protocol has ever been compromised, but there was a period of time where I blacked out the juicier entries with a sharpie!

  15. Valerie

    I’ve just started keeping a journal. I’m trying to tap into my creative side so I’ve been playing with washi tape and cutting lots of cute words, phrases , and pictures out of magazines too.

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.