Write the alphabet app review: learn to print and write cursive

Introduction

Write the alphabet is an iPhone and iPad app that teaches children the lost art of cursive. While it does not fill in for a teacher watching and assisting when the student needs help, it is a useful aid for students trying to learn without assistance.

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Easy to Follow Instructions

Write the alphabet is easy to follow, but hard to succeed. The teacher box is first traced by the teacher finger, and then the player is to trace the next box. If you do not stick to the tracer line exactly, however, you get an ‘x’ and must start again. Once you succeed you get a ribbon, and that form of the letter checked off, after 4 ribbons for each form you get a ribbon on the main menu.

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Let me tell you, I have been writing cursive for 14 years, and every cursive instruction has slightly different loops. I was getting frustrated because on my iPad I was tracing, and tracing, and tracing and not getting that sought after ribbon. Finally, I went super slow and was able to succeed.

 

Cursive and Printing

Write the alphabet has both cursive and printing letter options. This is great because I don’t need a separate app on my device to do different things. That being said, this app is very difficult on the iPad, and nearly impossible on the iPhone. In fact, I started with it on my iPhone, and asked my 6 year old how she liked it. She told me it was okay, but why are there only ‘x’s. After a few tries myself, I understood her frustration!

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As I said above, the app is easier to find success in when you use it on the iPad. The letters, however, are then 2.5 inches tall, so students really have to learn to write smaller, when beginning writers already write quite large.

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free
• Easy instructions and navigation
• Both cursive and printing
• Capital letters and small letters

Cons

• Very difficult to get the tracing exact on iPhone
• Still difficult to get the tracing exact on iPad
• Tracing must be exact to get a ribbon

 

Final Thoughts

Write the alphabet for iPhone and iPad is a handy app for teaching students how to write cursive and printing. It is however, frustrating for them as the tracing must be exact to not get an ‘x’ put through their work. I would encourage the developers to work in a greater margin of error for the letters, while still keeping the letters nice and neat.