Buzzy Bee Spelling

What is Buzzy Bee Spelling app?

If your child is one of the many who get lists of words to learn each week, you and they will appreciate the purpose and tools of Buzzy Bee Spelling.

The app contains multiple tools to make learning to spell words better organised and more straightforward.

For organisation:

Create and import spelling lists easily. You can type them in, but you can also use the app's built-in text recognition to scan lists utilising the device's camera or downloaded PNG or JPEG.

For learning:

Learn meanings, not just spellings, with this app. Being able to spell a word is only part of the challenge; kids should know how to use it. Buzzy Bee's dictionary contains definitions for thousands of words.

Learn pronunciation, not just spellings, with this app. Kids also need to know how to pronounce a word. The built-in dictionary includes synthesised speech to help with this.

Learning a word one week doesn't mean remembering it the following month, so Buzzy Bee has a selection of games for practising words on their current list and others. With these games, kids can maintain familiarity with the spellings of their past lists without feeling like they are always studying.

What we love about Buzzy Bee Spelling app.

The visual presentation of Buzzy Bee is striking. This isn't just because it is clear and well-designed, which it is, but because it has not gone for the typical primary or elementary-school style.

Contrary to what some app designers think, not all kids want cartoon characters and garish colours. Even those who do can find them distracting or see them as an obvious 'kid-friendly' appeal layered over a non-entertainment app.

Buzzy Bee certainly isn't off-putting in its visuals, but by adopting its colourful but neutral aesthetic, it extends the age range of kids who will use it. It also makes it a time-efficient app for kids to use, as they can go straight to the practice content without having to spend time negotiating lots of game-like features such as level unlocks.

Buzzy Bee's built-in dictionary allows it to add a lot to the spelling lists teachers give to kids. Instead of only memorising the spellings, kids can link and learn the definitions and pronunciations of the words. 

Some of the games prompt kids to match words to definitions, and the app reads out the words in others, helping users grow their vocabulary as a whole rather than their spelling ability alone.

What age is it appropriate for?

Due to its subject matter, Buzzy Bee's most likely users will be kids in elementary or primary school. However, as you can input whatever words you choose, it could work with kids outside this age range, especially since it has an age-neutral design.

Is Buzzy Bee Spelling app easy to use?

Buzzy Bee is easy to navigate, and its features are easily accessible. Building lists from the saved photos or through the camera is easy, and the app does well to recognise words accurately, especially typed ones.

The only issue in this respect is that the capture area is set at a square that does not take in the whole image. This fixed-format means that you might have to add the words from a longer list in two actions rather than in one go.

All of the games are easy to play and understand without needing explanations. 

How will students benefit?

The traditional spelling list provided by teachers is quite a limited learning activity. There is little point in kids being able to spell words they do not know the meaning of or recognise when spoken. Buzzy Bee adds an extra dimension of definitions and pronunciations to any list provided by teachers.

As the app expands with students' word lists, its potential to work for revision and reference will grow. Kids can easily try a past list to see if they still remember the words.

The app also brings more fun to the process of word learning than memorising words from a sheet of paper. As we've said earlier in this review, Buzzy Bee doesn't go overboard on its gamification, but activities like word jumbles and searches add variety and more interest.

The games also add a stepping stone between not knowing a word and having learned it. Recalling a word entirely from memory is much more difficult than rearranging the letters, but this latter activity provides a helpful inroad to learning a word.

How will parents benefit?

For every child with a well-organised (and probably glittery) folder of their assignments, ten more lose their worksheets and spelling lists regularly. When spelling lists go AWOL, and kids realise they are heading for a poor score on their weekly test, parents get the job of turning their home upside down to find the errant slip of paper.

The scan and storage tools within Buzzy Bee get those lists stored safely and accessibly.

Parents who homeschool their kids will find the app the ideal way to minimise paper use and keep everything organised. Every task you can simplify is more time you can devote to hands-on teaching, which is why you choose to homeschool. Input your chosen words or use the built-in lists in Buzzy Bee to make setting spellings easier for you and practising easier for your kids.

Even if you aren't homeschooling your kids, you can still follow the same method to add some extra support to help your kids become better spellers.

A statistics page lets parents see how much kids have used the app and their level of progress.

How will teachers benefit?

Kids will use Buzzy Bee mostly away from school, but this doesn't mean that teachers won't benefit from kids using it.

Kids using this app are much less likely to lose their spelling lists, so it won't make their teachers have to find a duplicate. With the list on their devices, they'll also have more opportunities to practice, which their test outcomes should reflect. 

What can Buzzy Bee Spelling app improve on?

Including some built-in themed lists would let kids extend their spelling knowledge further. This inclusion would be beneficial for some of the games as it would allow kids to put the app's excellent vocabulary-building functionality to greater use.

A more distinct line between the parental options and those used by kids would be helpful. At the moment, it isn't clear whether this app belongs to a child's device or one used by parents.

Parents download and create a Buzzy Bee account using an email address or social media log-in. The app's profile page has the account management page and option, which, typically, you would expect to find on a protected parental dashboard.

With a more distinct parent section and device synchronisation, parents could capture lists for them to appear on their child's device. This would increase the app's convenience for parents whose kids struggle with capturing the word list or often forget to do it.

How much does Buzzy Bee Spelling app cost?

A 30-day trial of Buzzy Bee kicks in as soon as you create your account with the app. After this time, continued use requires a subscription which can be monthly or yearly. The latter offers a discount over a 12-month subscription term.

Safety and privacy considerations for this app

Our reviewers report any features or options they encounter through typical use which could have safety or privacy implications. These are listed below but should not be considered an exhaustive list. Parents should exercise their judgement and provide appropriate supervision depending on their child's age and maturity in relation to what an app's features permit.

The app lets its users scan images to generate spelling lists. The app's privacy policy states that these images might be uploaded to the app's servers for processing to provide the service offered.

You can create an account and log into it through a social media account such as Google or Facebook. Users of iOS devices can also use their AppleID. This process may provide additional data to the app.

The app does not display advertisements at any time, including during the trial period.

The app includes a 'Share App' button which offers to use any installed messaging app to let contacts know about it.

None of Buzzy Bee's tools or features are protected by a parental lock. Account deletion, subscription access, and sharing are on the easily-accessed profile page.

Overall rating of the app.

Buzzy Bee Spelling feels like an upgrade for the humble teacher-issued spelling list. Teachers can still print and hand out a list or add them to their school's LMS if they're more technically minded. From there, kids can incorporate it into Buzzy Bee Spelling for more options and learning activities.

It is really easy to try out Buzzy Bee Spelling by downloading it and creating a simple account for thirty days of free access. We highly recommend you do this to see how it helps your child's spelling list organisation and vocabulary learning.