Apple Macintosh News and Information
Apple Macintosh News and Information

zooSpelling iPhone App

Auman Software, a design and development consultancy focusing on early childhood learning and educational entertainment technology applications, has announced that zooSpelling, their educational application for Apple(R) iPhone(TM) and iPod touch(TM), is a finalist in the 2009 Best App Ever Awards for the “Best Overall Educational App” category.

Now in its second year, the 2009 Best App Ever Awards are the original iPhone OS Application achievement awards created to recognize the best applications and games in the iTunes App Store. Public voting for the Best App Ever Awards is open and will continue through January 31st and winners will be announced at the 2010 Macworld Expo. Voting is taking place at the Best App Ever website.

zooSpelling and Early Literacy Development

zooSpelling is an interactive game designed to promote early literacy achievement. The Auman Software app teaches preschool- and kindergarten-aged children how to read, spell, and pronounce more than 130 high-frequency sight words. As zooSpelling users interact with the animals and words in the application, they are building important, early literacy and word recognition skills including:

* Identifying and pronouncing letters in the alphabet using phonics
* Reading and spelling more than 130 frequently-encountered words
* Correctly pronouncing mono- and multi-syllabic words
* Improving reading and spelling fluency of basic sight words
* Improving listening skills as they listen to directions

These literacy and language skills are reflected in many state and national educational standards for early readers.

zooSpelling was created and designed by Karen Auman, a mother and information management professional. With three preschool- and kindergarten-aged children of her own, she quickly recognized the need for a unique and engaging method for teaching them how to recognize, spell, and pronounce new words.

“I created zooSpelling because I wanted a device for spelling that could be kid-driven and content appropriate to their age levels and abilities,” explained Auman. “This application is interactive and stimulates their curiosity; it is practical, hands-on, and educational; plus there’s no more mismatched sets of flash cards all over the floor.” The zooSpelling application reinforces and supports what the children are learning about reading and spelling in their preschool and kindergarten classes and gives kids the opportunity to use technology in a meaningful way.

Device Requirements:
iPhone and 2nd Generation iPod touch 3.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
zooSpelling 1.1 is $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category.

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