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As Apple and Google battle to have their hardware adopted in the classroom, small app teams like ours have to choose where to put our limited resources. Developing on multiple platforms requires the app to be re-written from the ground up in a completely different programming language. Unfortunately, it’s no small task.

We’ve heard from from many of you asking to get SnapType on Android up the same level of functionality and quality as SnapType on iOS (Apple). We’re so excited to help support students and so we’re re-investing all of our proceeds back into the Android app. 

In the recent few weeks, we’ve updated the Android app several times to improve functionality. Even if you have tried SnapType in the past, give it a try again and let us know what you think of the latest release. We’ve also been able to unlock Landscape Mode which came highly requested!

Updates in SnapType and SnapType Pro (v1.1.3)

• Updated the framework of SnapType to support the latest versions of Android (including 10.0)
• Added a collapsable top bar to give you more visibility of the worksheet.
• Improved the color picker to remember your last used color
• Added support for landscape mode
• Fixed many bugs

Stay tuned, we’re working on the next round of improvements to enable drawing on Android!

Click here to purchase SnapType Pro

Click here to download SnapType

We are so overwhelmingly excited to announce that SnapType is now available on Android!

Amberlynn came up with the idea for SnapType while she was doing her occupational therapy graduate fieldwork. Her goal was to help a struggling student. Together with her husband, Ben, they set out to create an app that would make it easy to complete any school worksheet on an iPad.

Everyday we receive several heartwarming emails from parents, therapists, and educators, who share the story of how their students are now thriving thanks to the help of SnapType. It genuinely warms our hearts to hear this!

For every success story, there is another story about a student who desperately needs help but does not have access to an iPad. From early on, we also wanted to create SnapType on Android to reach more students. However, developing on Android required us to re-write the app from the ground up, in a completely different programming language.

Thanks to the help from a scholarship award by the World Domination Summit Foundation, and along with our own funds, we set out to build an Android version of SnapType. We spent the previous several months putting in late-night hours after our day jobs to make this dream become reality.

Today is the “soft launch” of SnapType on Android. Even though we have tested and tested and tested… There will certainly be some bugs to work out. That’s why feedback from our users is so important. We hope you will download SnapType and find lots of success through this assistive technology. As you use it, please let us know what is working well and what could be improved. We are great listeners and we will take action to improve SnapType on Android!

For those familiar with SnapType and SnapType Pro on the iPad, you many notice that the Android version does not yet have all the same functionality. We did this intentionally. We felt it was better to get the app out into the hands of people who need it most, rather than keep working on it in the dark for months and months. Over time, we will fine tune and update the app to make it as powerful as it can be to better serve students.

For now, the difference between SnapType and SnapType Pro on Android is the ability to store an unlimited amount of worksheets and the functionality to easily share worksheets by email, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

So with that in mind, please click this link to download SnapType on Android and let us know what you think! Contact us with your thoughts.

Warmly and sincerely, we thank you!

-Amberlynn & Ben Slavin

SnapType is moving to a new home on the App Store! Read below for everything you need to know.

What do I need to do?

Download the “new” SnapType by using this link.

Why is this happening?

It’s odd and a little annoying, right? Sorry about that. We needed transfer SnapType over from our developer’s Apple account to our Apple account. Unfortunately, since SnapType gives the option of using iCloud to backup worksheets, Apple doesn’t allow the simple transfer of the app. Therefore, we had to create a “new” SnapType that is nearly identical to the “old” SnapType. Is that as clear as mud?

What happens if I don’t download the “new” SnapType?

You’ll be able to use the “old” SnapType but won’t have access to any of the updates and awesome new features we’re working on.

Will all of my saved worksheets transfer over too?

This is the real bummer… Short answer, no. If you have worksheets that you want to transfer over, you’ll need to export them and re-import them. This can be done with services like email, iMessage, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

I already paid for SnapType Pro, will I have to pay again?

This is our biggest worry for you in this entire endeavor. Unfortunately, Apple won’t make it easy for you here. However, to make it as seamless as possible, we’ve made SnapType Pro free for a limited time during the transition period. Go and download it now. Here’s the link.

[Update: The free transition period was open for 6 months but is now closed.] 

But I still have questions…

No problem. Contact us through the app (side bar menu) or shoot us an email through the website [Here’s the link]  and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible!

Predictive text is great because the device can help fix spelling mistakes. However, this isn’t always desired, especially for students doing spelling tests on SnapType. Even though the student may wish to have it on 🙂

To turn off predictive text, go into the device’s SETTINGS app, select GENERAL, then KEYBOARD. Now you can toggle predictive text on/off. This short video will show you how.

Emily Daly is profoundly dyslexic and dysgraphic, and was told in childhood that she would never learn to read, much less go to college. Despite those ominous predictions, she’s now thriving as a freshman at University of Notre Dame where she studies neuroscience . “You must always refuse to let people label you,” Emily affirms, “because it destroys the greatness that lives inside each of us.”

“I think the biggest help was getting the accommodations.”

“It was a huge confidence boost to know that I could do something on my own.”

“It is so important for organizations like Learning Ally to be supported because the confidence that it gives children who are dyslexic.”

“Sometimes it’s that extra boost that … lets the child have faith in themselves to go forward.”

“With the right technology and the right way of going around these things that you can be a wonderfully functioning human being and that it will not hinder your life’s success.”

So many people have heard about my story creating SnapType and they want to share my story with their community. So I’ve been doing lots of podcasts and radio shows lately. It’s been really fun! Here’s a chat I had with speaker, trainer, and coach, Missy Ohe of The Missy Ohe Show and The Ohepen Mind. If you’d like to listen along, click this link.

Here’s what we chat about:

• Where I got the idea for the app
• How Occupational Therapists help people
• People can regain their independence
• Our SnapType team
• Advice for someone who wants to make a difference in the world – Don’t be afraid to fail! 
• What dysgraphia is
• Who can benefit from SnapType
• Comparison of SnapType vs. SnapType Pro
• What I’m working on next
• Mentoring other OT students
• Advice to bring your idea to life – Create an MVP!
• “Do one thing everyday that scares you”- Eleanor Roosevelt
• Feedback from users is the real reward
• Living our lives intentionally
• In the works – Drawing and Android
• Reviews on the App Store – How SnapType is changing lives!
• Take baby steps to accomplish your goals.

Missy:

Scott Harmon of Start A Therapy Practice interviewed us about our journey in creating the app SnapType For Occupational Therapy. I love his podcast! It is such a great resource for starting and growing a private practice – something that I hope to do in the future! Click the link below to listen or find it for yourself in iTunes. Thanks for having us, Scott!

http://startatherapypractice.com/49

Amberlynn Slavin, the creator of SnapType shares how she saw student struggling with handwriting and developed a tool to help him succeed in school.

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