Ready to Print – A Pre-Writing App

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, OTR/L, SCLV, ATP, CATIS

Ready to Print app – A pre-writing app for the iPad (9.99).

Diane Reid, Occupational Therapist, created this pre-writing app as a supplement to develop the foundational skills of beginning writers. There are few such apps out there that truly provide visual motor activities in a developmental sequence and provides options to change settings within the activities as this Ready to Print. Also provided  is the ability to create multiple users and track data on each user for assessment data – very handy when progress notes and annual IEP review time comes around!

Ready to Print app progresses through pre-writing skills in a specific order, so that children can master the visual-motor, visual-perceptual, and fine motor skills necessary for correct printing patterns.   It is designed to teach children the correct patterns for printing, and to avoid bad habits that are difficult to change as the child gets older.
App features:

  • Provides activities for pre-writing skills.
  • Designed with a progression of skills that work towards correct printing patterns.
  • Allows change of size settings to match each child’s skill level.
  • Features a progression from larger hand movements to smaller, more refined movements.
  • Allows setting up multiple user profiles, each with different settings.

Here are some screen shots of the app activities and settings:

Here are the default play settings that allow the customization for path width, size of pictures, pinch spacing as well as ability to show or hide features of the app.

The app also provides speed and accuracy scores for touch,  paths,  ordered touch, shapes, connect the dots, pinching and letter formation activities. Only capital letter formation are offered in the app, however as a pre-writing app, that is developmentally appropriate.

A lot of work has gone into the development of this app. Collection of accuracy and speed is quite amazing as a method of collecting data on progression of skills. Although many students race through an activity negating the need for speed scores, the accuracy score will tell all for acquisition of fine motor coordination.

Ready to Print provides the ability to customize the activity features and collect data for a case load of students – all at your finger tips on your iPad. I appreciate how the developer presents the app as a supplement to developing pre-writing skills knowing how important haptic and fine motor active activities are in the development of  foundational skills of young children.

More information is available on the Ready to Print website including an app video overview.

Congratulations to Diane Reid, OTR for creating a great, new app for your pediatric OT iTool Kit!

In need of a stylus to use with Ready to Print? Consider HHI Chunky Pencil-Like Capacitive Stylus Pen – Aluminum Gold (For Kindle Fire, iPad, iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry Playbook, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Tab, iPhone 4, iPod Touch and All Touch Screen Tablets) for 2.99! I like the weight, feel and price!
Carol

About Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, OTR/L, SCLV, ATP, CATIS

OTR/L with more than 35 years experience in pediatrics, school based therapy and adult rehabilitation. Masters of Science in Adaptive Education/Assistive Technology with 20 years experience in AT in education of elementary, middle school, secondary, post secondary students and work environments for adult clients. A RESNA Assistive Technology Practitioner with ACVREP CATIS credentials, AOTA Specialty Certification in Low Vision, USC Davis Executive Certificate in Home Modifications, servicing adults and students with disabilities in employment, education, and home environments. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama Birmingham Low Vision Certification Program.
This entry was posted in App Reviews, Apps for OT's, AT for Handwriting, iPad, Occupational Therapy, Pre-writing, Uncategorized, Visual Motor and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to Ready to Print – A Pre-Writing App

  1. Lauren Swedenborg says:
    April 14, 2012 at 7:31 am

    This looks like a very well thought out app. Love the variety of activities and the ability to collect data on multiple users. Thinks I’m going to have to purchase this one 🙂

    Reply
  2. Dianne Reid says:
    April 14, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    Carol,
    Thank you for the positive review. When developing the Ready to Print, my hope was to include all the things that OT’s would want in a pre-writing app. We are planning updates, so it will only continue to get better! Dianne Reid, OTR/L

    Reply
    • Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, AdEd, OTR/L, ATP says:
      April 17, 2012 at 6:52 am

      Diane, the other OT’s I work with really like your app! They are creating some comments that I will share soon on the blog. Thanks again for sharing!!

      What a great addition to an OT iTool Kit if you are working with young students!

      Carol

      Reply
      • Lauren Swedenborg says:
        April 17, 2012 at 2:46 pm

        I purchased the app too 🙂 Will be using it tomorrow for the first time with some students on my caseload. Can’t wait to see how they like it.

  3. Steve says:
    July 19, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    I have been using Ready To Print in my Occupational Therapy Practice since last year and I am thrilled by the enticement that it has for my wide range of 3 yr. old special need pre-schoolers up through my middle and high school special needs students. The variety to use tracing, copying, pre-writing, and fine-motor coordination skills including visual tracking has many developmental levels. Excellent app.

    Reply

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