Intellipad App for the iPad
I have had the pleasure of playing around with a new app – Intellipad for the iPad. It was created by an occupational therapist, Cheryl Bregman. This app is quite impressive for a simple way to create individualized keyboards. It allows you to make any keyboard you want which is great for simple layouts. It offers word prediction and text to speech as well. Although I am not a speech therapist, I love this app because of its ability to be customized. This would work for an individual who needed very few symbols to select to an individual who could create his/her own boards for communication. Another huge plus if for keyboarding practice. You can eliminate keys to decrease the choices.
Here is one board I created for leisure activities:
Here is one created with a picture alongside of the text:
The updated version of the app allows you to add pictures to the keyboard:
Here is a basic video of the app reading the text aloud.
I can see many opportunities to use the app beyond communication. It would be an excellent tool for teacher’s to create interactive lesson plans. Another huge benefit to this app is that it is suitable for all ages. It is available in Spanish, French and German. Fun app to use with ESL students especially with the picture cues. There is also a way to share notepads and keyboards. You can download keyboards already created or share the ones that you create. Overall, super versatile with a lot of bang for the buck.
You can view more videos of the app and further description of its capabilities at Intellipad’s website. This app is only $19.95 available from Apple.