This program motivates a child  to speak by having the games react to his or her voice.  Using a microphone, the child's voice controls the actions of characters on the screen. Say "Giggle" and the character will laugh! Play the space game, and raise and lower the pitch of your voice to avoid getting hit by enemy critters.  This program can be customized to a user's voice.  

Five activities are:

Jigsaw -- Put a puzzle together with your voice! Every time you make a sound, a piece of the puzzle will appear. Select the number of puzzle pieces. You can even bring your own picture into a puzzles. Try this activity with a digital photograph of the student you are working with.

Jumping Creature - Each word you speak, is a command that controls the character on the screen. Say "Giggle" and the character will laugh. The other words the character responds to and acts out when they are pronounced are are "Scream", "Jump", "Cry", "Hop", and "Sing". The adult can select the word commands that the child will speak.

Blow up a balloon - Students make an extended sound to blow up a balloon. Say "AAAAAHHHHHHHH" and the balloon gets bigger and rises until the student stops vocalizing.

Pitch - Change the pitch of your voice higher or lower, to move a game piece. It's like "Space Invaders"! Creatures come after you and you raise or lower your voice in order to move your hero up or down and avoid getting hit!

Space Game - Children become the super-hero at the bottom of the screen. Say "Fire" (or "Hit", or "Blast") to eliminate the enemy creatures. Say "left" or "right" and the character moves by your command to avoid getting hit. Adults can select the number and speed of things coming at the player.

Record keeping automatically tracks all student activities and scores. The teacher setup includes printable student records, configuration controls for speed and frequency, and the facility to import pictures and photos within the Jigsaw activity.

We challenge users of all ages to explore the activities within Sound Beginnings without smiling!

Children's microphone headset

These lightweight, adjustable stereo headphones come complete with flexible boom microphone for accurate positioning. Fully adjusted to fit small children. Ear pads can be removed for easy cleaning.

System Requirements