Social Express, The
© 2012 The Language Express, Inc
The Social Express is set of eight video-based lessons delivered on either computer or iPad, for children with a condition such as autism, Asperger’s or ADHD. It claims to teach "children how to think about and manage social situations through video modeling, thus enabling them to build social-emotional skills and develop the meaningful relationships they need to navigate life." Can such things be taught impersonally, by way of video? That's a key pedagogical question that we'll leave outside this review. There are eight lessons, each with two skill levels. Each lesson consists of an animated video vignette, with multiple-choice breaks. Additional content is delivered via worksheets. Content was made by a Speech and Language Pathologist. Weaknesses include some lag time between interactive opportunities that could be potentially challenging to a child with ADHD. For example, the program might ask "what is Emma looking at" and you are supposed to explore the screen to figure out what is capturing a child's gaze. But the hot spots aren't responsive -- you don't know if you've found the bell or not. What you need to know: The videos consist of animated graphics, that are clear and easy to watch, but do not use real actors or situations. Also, this iPad version is large, using 1.6 GB of space. Finally, reading is required to understand the instructions. We liked how you can pause the presentation at any time -- making this experience more valuable as a context for talking about teaching situations. Records are kept for individual students, potentially useful for IEP information.
$89.99, iPad, Mac OSX, Windows
Teaches: social development, interpersonal interaction
CTR Rating: 78%