Intro to Letters - Montessorium

This review of Intro to Letters was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 18 July 2017.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Intro to Letters contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

No actual levels in the game but played all of the options.

App description

Intro to Letters teaches the player to trace, read and write lower and upper case letters and digraphs (a combination of 2 letters that make one sound, e.g., ‘ph’). When the app is opened three individual letters or digraphs are presented. A recording of the sound can be made by the player and then played back. Once the player has learnt the three letters, a further three are presented.

There is also the opportunity to choose any letter from the alphabet and practise it. Additionally the app reads through the alphabet a letter at a time giving the phonic and the capital sound of each letter. This further reinforces the learning opportunities of the app. The app can also be used in many different languages including Chinese, French, German and Spanish.

Reviewers comments

Intro to Letters is an educational app that teaches and provides practice when learning to write the letters of the alphabet. There are many learning opportunities including tracing around letters with one finger until it is complete and then the sound of the letter is enunciated. Although it is quite a simple learning tool children will need some fine motor skills to use this app.

There is a parental lock consisting of swiping the device with two or three fingers in different ways, which restricts the ability to access the Internet to young children who can’t yet read. Access is to the app store (where the collection of apps by the same developer is available) as well as to the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.  Access is also available to the developer’s website which includes parenting tools such as articles, resources, activities and daily tips. Therefore, parental guidance is recommended up to the age of 13.

In App purchasing

Note: there is a link to the App store through the parental lock to purchase other apps by the developer.

Online information

None.

Gambling

At the time of review, the reviewer found no simulated gambling content. If you discover simulated gambling content in this app, please contact us with the details so we can update our review.

Advertising and product placement

None.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

None.

Coarse language

None.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

None.

Other

None. 

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