Testimonials

"A Well-Thought Out And Remarkable Piece Of Software"

“As Literacy Links teacher for Scoil An Spioraid Naoimh I was approached with regard to piloting an App for Literacy with a junior class that had already been tried and tested in Dave’s (David O Donohoe Literacy Magic Co-founder) own classroom. This coincided with our school’s fundraising efforts with a view to updating our IT equipment. This seemed like a golden opportunity with a number of our teachers already enrolled in ipad and tablet courses as part of the summer programme of in-service and with a few punts in the bank to spend. The senior end of our school was always well serviced in regard to computers and content- free software. We were now in the fortunate position of being able to target the junior end with cutting edge technology and more importantly an appropriate piece of software to use.

A meeting was set up with Dave, our school Principal and me. In the course of the meeting Dave outlined the content of the App and the various levels the children would progress through and we had our first taste of the tablet and the App. It is a completely individualised learning tool which directly compliments the stages the infant teacher would take his or her class through. It is extremely well thought out and well planned. It is a remarkable piece of software worth including in any infant classroom.

With a very enthusiastic infant teacher on board we launched the App into the senior Infant room the second week of September. The ease with which the Infants navigated their way through the software from the first day was remarkable. With the help of some senior pupils for the first few days the children became proficient in distributing the headsets and tablet themselves. The senior pupils were far from impressed that the infants had tablets in their room. To observe the pupils returning to class after lunch break and sitting in their seats and engaged within seconds with the software is truly remarkable. To observe their enthusiasm when they unlock another section of the software is a source of great satisfaction to a teacher. Teachers have instant access to the levels the children have achieved. It also provides the revision necessary for some pupils to progress on the road to being a competent read

I have used the software with two senior pupils. The pupils are “testing” the software and are just as enthusiastic as the infants in progressing and unlocking their way through the program.

This is a well-thought out and remarkable piece of software. It is first and foremost a piece of software designed by an infant teacher for an infant class and I would highly recommend it. It truly is a piece of Literacy Magic.”

Eileen Stapleton
Deputy Principal, Scoil An Spioraid Naoimh, Roxborough Primary School Limerick

"It Is Truly An Investment Worth Making"

“I have been using the Meg and Sam program in my classroom for the past two months. I teach in a senior infant class with children of wide ranging needs and abilities. For me the program has been a highly effective resource to support my literacy teaching. The children are exposed to the program for 12 minutes a day. From an organizational perspective I use it as a station during station teaching time. I grouped my children in ability groupings as this gave me the freedom to use it as part of my literacy stations or as part of my morning rota.

I initially sat with the children to get them started on day 1 and 2 but since then I rarely need to go near them. This in itself is a testament to how engaged and on task they are. The program itself covers all the key sounds, word families, sight vocabulary and progresses to mini books and comprehension skills. Each level is progressive in nature providing children with test rounds and key words before they progress to quiz and timed activities. The range of skills being practiced daily in a highly engaging and interactive fashion is phenomenal. Huge emphasis is placed on word families and vowel discrimination which is so significant at this age. Giving the children ownership over their learning is so powerful and they cannot unlock a new level until they have successfully completed the previous one. This has really encouraged them to scan a full word and not just guess it from its initial sound. This skill has fed seamlessly through to all their reading activities as have all the skills that are being developed. Another huge plus is the engaging nature of the resource. The children in my class who have huge attention difficulties rarely come off task when working with the program. I would highly recommend it to any school. It is truly an investment worth making. Roll on phase 2 is all I can say!”

Emer Campbell – Senior Infants Teacher in Saint Ultan’s Primary School,

Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland.

"I Can See How Confident The Children Have Become About Their Learning"

“I began using the Meg and Sam literacy scheme in September 2013 and I really feel it has made a difference both to how I teach and to how the children learn. I’ve been teaching for over ten years in DEIS (developing equality in schools) band one schools and this year I am teaching senior infants (children aged 5-6).

The program is very child friendly and the children quickly picked up the skills they needed to access and use the program. I set up the tablet as part of our morning rota. The children get ten minutes on the tablet and after the buzzer sounds they move seamlessly onto their next activity. When I started I didn’t know if ten minutes was long enough but what I observed when I watched the children was that they were totally engaged with the game. Their focus was totally on what they were doing and it enabled them to work independently. I really love the fact that the children are working at their own pace so that the strong children can work ahead and don’t feel they are being held back where as the weaker ones are scaffolded and helped to complete levels by being allowed to repeat practise levels.

After about two months of using the program I can see how confident the children have become about their learning. They are being set up for success and love showing that off. There is no way I could have differentiated in such detail for each child in my class. Also I must mention that dealing with David was always a pleasure. He was always at the end of the phone to answer any queries I had. The fact that he is a primary school teacher too gave me the confidence to use this program in my class.

I would highly recommend this program to any school or parent looking for an effective, engaging and fun activity for their children.”

Aoife Slacke – Vice Principal of Saint Ultan’s Primary School,

Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland.

"An Essential Tool In The Classroom"

“Literacy Magic is an essential tool in the classroom. It covers the Infant phonics programme from initial sounds to reading books. Each child moves at their own pace through a fun, animated world which is easily navigated. They experience success at every stage which is part of the reason why my class loves using this app. As a teacher, I appreciate how our phonics programme is consolidated in such an enjoyable, independent way. Every child has made gains through using this app. I would highly recommend Literacy Magic to all Infant teachers.”

Carole Lally – Senior Infant Teacher (boys and girls aged 5-6)

Roxbourough Primary School, Limerick, Ireland.

"The Kids Are Super Motivated To Use The Programme"

“The programme is fantastic!! What’s interesting is that some children that I expected to fly through it have been slower to progress than children I expected to struggle. It’s really useful as an assessment tool both for me and the children to self assess. Aside from the educational value, the kids are super motivated to use the tablets/programme! Most had mastered turning the tablet on/unlocking/starting Meg and Sam after the first day! They look forward to their ten mins each day and are eager to tell me and their peers which levels they’ve unlocked.

In a word it is WONDERFUL!

Congrats on such a useful, practical and educationally beneficial app!”

Catherine Farrell

Senior Infants teacher (boys and girls aged 5-6) in Saint Ultan’s Primary School,

Ballyfermot, Dublin, Ireland.

"I Am Overwhelmed With The Progress Being Made By The Children's Learning"

My name is Mary Foran and I am a junior infant’s teacher in St. Catherine’s Infant School in Cabra. I have been using the Literacy Magic app in my classroom for two months now and I am overwhelmed with the progress being made by the children’s learning as a direct result of using the app.

There are so many wonderful attributes of this application. From a teacher’s perspective it; differentiates, assesses and meets many objectives of the English curriculum. It focuses on reading and oral language development. As a teacher in a DEIS school many pupils, particularly EAL students, come to school without a rich or varied range of vocabulary. This programme seamlessly teaches nouns which children might not have encountered before. Children are enabled to work independently providing a teacher with a golden opportunity to work on other skills with other children in small groups. . From a child’s perspective it is: fun, engaging and enables them to experience success. Children learn through play this is the best way of teaching phonics through play.

Like every classroom my class is made up of children of varied ability. Literacy Magic caters to the pace and ability of the child, It means that each child acquires mastery of the levels at their own pace. It would be impossible for me to differentiate for each individual child in the same way that Literacy Magic can.

Each child gets an opportunity to use the tablet once a day for about ten minutes. They each have their own profile. I can very easily monitor each child’s progress and use the information to inform future teaching. This has also proven useful in parent teacher meetings where I could show parents the progress that is being made in Literacy.

The Literacy Magic Application has become the core component of station teaching in my classroom. The children work independently with the tablets. This provides a great opportunity to work with children at other stations. I can focus on other skills essential at infant level such as fine motor skills and oral language development.

The children absolutely love using Literacy Magic. It has revolutionised my teaching of phonics. They are really enjoying playing and learning. The design is extremely child friendly and appropriate for infant level. It has worked so well in my class that other teachers in the school have expressed interest in getting the app for their classrooms. It’s abundantly clear that David has a wealth of experience and knowledge in teaching of reading. The design and content of this application mean that it is an outstanding resource for any infant classroom. I would highly recommend it to any other teacher.

Mary Foran, Junior Infant Teacher, St Catherine’s Infant School, Cabra Dublin, Ireland