Parents' Guide to ConversationBuilderTeen

App iPad Paid Education
ConversationBuilderTeen Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By ADK AccessAbility , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Engaging way to practice peer conversations, tricky topics.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • ConversationBuilderTeen App: Screenshot #1
  • ConversationBuilderTeen App: Screenshot #2
  • ConversationBuilderTeen App: Screenshot #3
  • ConversationBuilderTeen App: Screenshot #4

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Privacy Rating Pass

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • This evaluation did not assess whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What's It About?

Teens practice conversations with virtual peers in typical social situations. Given a photo of a social setting, they pick one of three sentences that would be most appropriate socially, record it, listen to a response, and continue through the conversation in the same way with up to eight exchanges. When teens select the right answer, a green record button pops up under the photo, and the correct sentence is left alone above the photo. Teens record the sentence, then have the option of listening to their voice or going to the next set of sentences. Conversation topics include bullying, summer, entertainment, sports, sarcasm, relationships, and school.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

The modules in CONVERSATIONBUILDERTEEN are appealing and easy to use. The scenarios are typical conversations that occur in teen life, and the inclusion of topics such as sarcasm give kids guidance in what can be very tricky social situations. Kids interact with the device and with each other when it's used in a group, so there's more social learning going on than conversation alone. In addition to the built-in modules, you can set up customized conversations for teens. You'll make a list of the kids who will be practicing and note who will start the conversation. Then choose to use the app's stock photos or to import your own. Teens record their conversations -- there is no text. They can replay the conversation at any time. Parents or therapists will want to replay the conversation and help teens analyze whether it was successful and why.

There are a few downsides to the app. With some of the trickier topics, such as sarcasm and bullying, it's not always clear why the correct response is the best response, and teens may need an adult to help further explain. There are a few grammatical errors, and there could be more diversity in the included photos. Still, the app can be a good way for teens to practice conversations with peers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about some of the trickier topics, such as bullying and relationships. You may find that working through the modules with your teen is helpful because you'll be able to help clarify responses and offer additional context.

  • Practice conversations one-on-one with teens and then construct a similar conversation without the device to help generalize the skill.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

ConversationBuilderTeen Poster Image

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