Tiga Talk iPhone App: Something to Talk About

Giving Kids something to talk about with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch games!

The TIGA TALK! mobile iPhone application is a super fun way for children to develop speech sounds through playful games featuring encouragement from Tiga and friends. The application, developed in close consultation with speech pathologists working with Aboriginal children and communities, creates phonological awareness by enabling children to interact with the sounds through recognition and mimicry.

With 60% of the top 25 educational apps targeted towards preschoolers – mobile apps are a proven success in the TV series target market.  The app enables children to interact with the show’s characters and themes while improving their speech and language skills at a crucial stage in their development.  It encourages critical thinking while simultaneously extending the child’s interaction with the Tiga Talk brand on a new platform.

Inspiring Imagination and Speech Development

Characters from the TV series introduce sounds to children and encourage them to say the sounds along with the character. In this training level a picture of an object appears and the character says the sound for it, in turn asking the user to try to say the sound (Eg. SSS for Snake).  Once the user has said the sound the character will provide positive reinforcement based on whether or not the user has attempted the sound.  If nothing is said, the character will re-ask the user to attempt the sound.  An audiometer is also present for immediate feedback for the user to see how loud they are saying the sound.  The user will have to repeat each sound three times before moving on to the practice portion of the app.

Practice Makes Perfect on the iPhone

In the second activity, the user gets to practice the sound they have just learned in beautifully fun interactive games.  The user must repeat the newly learned sound ten to fifteen times to make the app respond after the user has repeated the sound enough times the game is won!  For example, in one game the children have to fly a rocket ship from the Earth to the moon. To propel Tiga’s spaceship up to the moon the user but repeat the learned sound – each time propelling the spaceship a little closer to its destination.  After repeated the sound enough times the spaceship lands on the moon and the child is showered with positive reinforcement.

Project Goals

Targeting children aged 2-5, parents, and teachers, the educational goal is to help children:

  • learn of English and Aboriginal languages
  • differentiate between sounds they hear and create a broader base vocabulary
  • say and pronounce sounds more accurately
  • develop appreciation of traditional Aboriginal skills and culture
  • gain appreciation and awareness of the many different cultures across Canada

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