Learning to Write 1-Prewriting

Learning to Write 1- Prewriting app is an application used to help young children develop the skills of letter and number construction.

Upon opening the app the user if presented with a wheel split into four game modes. There is an option to change the language in the top right, this is invaluable for other countries and could be used for students learning a second language. The app also benefits from some in-app instructions via a button.

Once the “1” option is chosen from the wheel the user enters the number mode. The numbers are displayed on the left hand column and are in order of difficulty according to the app developers. Choosing a number will give you a number to trace using your finger or stylus pen. There is some slight concern about the benefits of using a finger to draw the number or letters when a stylus would be much more suitable. Although the user will get to recognise the construction and movement of the characters the way in which they draw with a finger and scribe with a stylus pen is very different.

Once the number has been drawn successfully the user is greeted with a success noise. It may be beneficial for the user to be able to go outside of the lines to encourage learning from their mistakes. Following the pre-determined guide is relatively easy.

The user has other options on the right where they can choose a different object to draw with and a second column will let them experiment with colours and types. We really liked this part of the app and our users found this aspect great fun. There is endless choices and variety.

At this point we would like to also see a scoring system in place here to keep track of the letters attempted and those completed successfully.

Some of the numbers could offer alternatives that other schools may use as they are a number of way to teach how to draw a “4” for example. There are three further options on the screen: an eraser to rub out if needed, a button for full screen and a refresh button to start again.

The second option on the wheel for the user if the “A” icon. Here the letters are displayed on the left hand column and are in order of difficulty according to the app developers. In this app, there is no option to switch the letters between capitals and lowercase, although this is possible in the developer's follow up app: Learning to Write 2. Most schools in the UK will teach letter construction in lowercase first before capitals are attempted. Again once the letter has been drawn successfully the user is greeted with a success noise. It may be beneficial for the user to be able to go outside of the lines to encourage learning from their mistakes. Following the pre-determined guide is again relatively easy.

Once the user returns to the main menu scores our attempts are not retained from the previous game modes.

The third option is the top icon which offers the user to attempt line construction. We really liked this mode for the way in which it is set out and the confidence it gives the student. There are also numerous options on the left to change line shape, options of game modes and colours. The graphics on all game modes are variable from excellent to somewhat homemade. Here there are some engaging animations and sounds.

The fourth and final option of the app is the free mode where the student can use their own creativity and choose from a range of backgrounds, colours, objects and pen styles. Our users really loved this section and created to wonderful pictures. The app also enables users to print their creations which a great feature for displaying in the classroom.

Overall this app is a good app for teaching students the fine motor skills required for letter and number construction. We enjoyed the many options that it offered within the app and the variety of styles, colours and pen types. With a few minor tweaks this could be a great app.