Common Sense Media Review
By Vicki Windman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Make storybooks sing with your own photos and text.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Pictello
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
PICTELLO is an interactive storytelling app that allows kids and their parents to make virtual storybooks with their own titles, photos, and captions. It should have appeal for all kids and parents, but it also should be especially useful for kids who have difficulty understanding social cues, reading facial expressions, and interpreting body language. A simple step-by-step tutorial guides users through the process of creating stories on their own. Different options for how text and pictures are read or uploaded support different types of learners. For example, the voice quality, rate, and pronunciation can be modified; audio can be created using text-to-speech, recording one's own voice, or selecting a computerized voice; and text can be highlighted as it's read. A library of sample stories, although small, can help fuel the creative process. Note that stories within the library show kids who have learning difficulties and special needs as well as ones who don't.
Is It Any Good?
What better way for kids to feel empowered than by relating their own stories? Sure, the interface is a bit spare and the number of examples is thin. But the tutorial is clear, there are solid audio and visual supports, and it can be a fabulously fun way for parents and kids together to address the ups and downs of communication, friendship, and the daily grind. Pictello may be pricey, but it's a high-quality product that most families will make great use of.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
If your child is non-verbal, use your voice to record stories.
Take pictures and videos with your kid to help create relevant social stories of such things as daily routines.
Make stories to help kids with transitions such as going to the doctor or starting a new school.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : reading , speaking , storytelling , writing
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : decision-making , making conclusions , problem solving , Creativity : brainstorming , innovation , Self-Direction : motivation , personal growth , self-assessment , self-reflection , Emotional Development : handling stress , identifying emotions , labeling feelings , self-awareness , Communication : multiple forms of expression , Responsibility & Ethics : making wise decisions
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : September 9, 2013
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : AssistiveWare
- Version : 3.5
- Minimum software requirements : Requires iOS 9.3 or later.
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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