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Meet The Developer!

What was the initial inspiration for your app?

We received such awesome feedback about our first app(s) Clue Catcher: Strategies for Using Context Clues and Clue Catcher: All Grades Edition (no in-app purchases)! It seemed so natural to create an app that guides the user through the understanding of idioms and other non-literal expressions, which are tricky and often rely upon the identification of context clues. I often seen idioms taught with literal interpretations or in an Idiom of the Week format. In order to build comprehension skills, it is essential to learn how to identify and use strategies effectively. I am a Speech Language Pathologist currently working in a high school. Comprehension is vital and a very functional IEP goal. Many students need to be taught these strategies directly. My husband, Mike, who is an informational technology expert, understands my need to individualize therapy sessions for each student every year, including the necessity to track and monitor progress on a student by student basis. Together, we were able to translate what I do on paper, into a digital platform with the help of an awesome programmer and talented graphic artist.

What is your favorite aspect of your app?

I really like that the strategies are available to use one at a time or together. For example, I will work with a student or group and we will discuss which words we think are important in the sentence that is provided. We can select “highlight” to see if we got most of them. Another alternative is we can read the sentence provided and talk about what information is given to us and what we know about that information. The “think” clues help guide the students toward using the information provided and marrying it with the information they already know. The “think” clues provide additional strategies like prompting the student to use visualization strategies (i.e., Make a picture in your head. What is going on in the sentence?). These clues are wonderful for encouraging the critical thinking skills that are necessary for all kinds of inferential thinking. I think it’s ideal that the ‘highlight’ clues and the ‘think’ clues are on toggles and can be turned ‘on’ or ‘off’ at will, encouraging memory skills and they can be used alone or together to help support students as they attempt to give meaning to words with which they are unfamiliar.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I have published my first book and it incorporates the strategies used in the Clue Catcher apps! The Big White Hen is a fun and entertaining story for children 3-10. It is the story of two hens who need to find a new home. The vocabulary is rich and may seem beyond what you may expect for a children’s story. It is my belief that children should be exposed to all levels of vocabulary, regardless of age. This book serves as an excellent read aloud book. It also offers strategies to help the curious child understand what some of the more sophisticated vocabulary means … empowering them and teaching them how to problem solve … increasing comprehension! The book is available on amazon: https://amzn.to/2xs0adJ .

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