ELSB for Older Students vs Clicker Talk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ELSB for Older Students
This educational app helps older students with intellectual disabilities or autism develop foundational literacy skills. It features age-appropriate activities, a structured curriculum with seven levels, and interactive elements like avatar creation. The program uses systematic instruction and provides performance data for individual or group learning.
- Age-appropriate literacy activities
- Seven skill levels
- Avatar creation
- Systematic and direct instruction
- Performance data tracking
- Individual or group instruction
- End-of-level assessments
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Teach early literacy skills to your older students using age-appropriate materials Meet Sam! She's the adolescent character featured in our Early Literacy Skills Builder for Older Students curriculum. Your older students with significant intellectual disability or autism, who still need to develop the foundations of literacy, will have Sam to help them along the way. Using the same scope and sequence as ELSB, this version was specifically designed to give older students who have not been exposed to foundational reading skills, age-appropriate activities to learn them. Seven levels present skills in 14 objectives including the conventions of print, phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. Skills increase in difficulty as students progress from Level 1 to Level 7. The app incorporates the best practices of systematic and direct instruction. The app directs the student, provides feedback, and gathers data on the student's performance. Instruction can be conducted with individual students or with groups. Students love creating an avatar to represent them. Avatars also appear on screen to interact with Sam. Sam Stories, describing the adventures of Sam, her family, and her friends, are read to students in the software. They can follow along using the spiral bound book provided. A writing activity focuses on new vocabulary. End-of-level assessments determine when students move to the next level.
Clicker Talk
This app helps students of all abilities develop speaking and listening skills. It offers various activities to build vocabulary, confidence, and comprehension, making it ideal for English language learners and those who struggle with writing.
- Develop vocabulary and confidence
- Boost core language knowledge
- Offer alternative paths to success
- Create a classroom of storytellers
- Access hundreds of ready-made activities
- Create custom activities
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Boost speaking and listening skills across the curriculum with Clicker Talk, designed for students of all abilities. Continuously developed by Crick Software for over 25 years, the Clicker product range is used in schools around the world. DEVELOP VOCABULARY AND BUILD CONFIDENCE Clicker Talk gives children the opportunity to explore new vocabulary, demonstrate their knowledge and rehearse their ideas for writing. It’s particularly effective for those who struggle to express themselves in written form, and for English language learners. Clicker Talk is also a great way for teachers to collect evidence of students’ speaking and listening attainment. BOOST CORE LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE Listen and Say activities enable younger learners and emergent English speakers to familiarise themselves with core vocabulary. On each page, children click on the picture to listen to the word or phrase and then record, rerecording as many times as they like. All recordings are collated for review once all pages are completed. OFFER ALTERNATIVE PATHS TO SUCCESS Many children in our classrooms have great ideas and knowledge but struggle to express these in their writing. Talk About activities help to break down barriers to literacy and offer children an alternative way to demonstrate their understanding. The activities provide teachers with a valuable record of children’s comprehension of key topics and concepts. CREATE A CLASSROOM OF STORYTELLERS Tell the Story activities break storytelling down into manageable steps, helping children to practice and internalise story patterns and language and to understand narrative ‘building blocks’. These activities are perfect for exploring a sequence of events or the steps of a process, such as making a sandwich or the life cycle of a plant. ACCESS HUNDREDS OF READY-MADE ACTIVITIES Choose from a huge selection of activities on LearningGrids, our online library accessed from within the app. Activities cover a wide variety of curriculum topics across different levels. Or create your own in seconds using the included curriculum picture library or any photos. PART OF CRICK SOFTWARE’S CLICKER FAMILY Based in the UK and US, Crick Software has a worldwide reputation for quality educational software for students of all abilities. To find more Clicker Apps, search for Crick Software in the App Store or visit the Crick Software website.
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Clicker Talk at Free against ELSB for Older Students's $149.99. ELSB for Older Students's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Clicker Talk is free to download; ELSB for Older Students costs $149.99 up front. Clicker Talk sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ELSB for Older Students asks for nothing beyond the download.
ELSB for Older Students holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
ELSB for Older Students ships an update every 2 months, Clicker Talk every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on June 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ELSB for Older Students | Clicker Talk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $149.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 243 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Attainment Company, Inc. | Crick Software |
Customer experience
ELSB for Older Students
Clicker Talk
In-app purchases
ELSB for Older Students
No in-app purchases
Clicker Talk
- Clicker Talk Single User$350.00
Questions
Is ELSB for Older Students free?
Is Clicker Talk free?
Which has better reviews, ELSB for Older Students or Clicker Talk?
Do ELSB for Older Students or Clicker Talk have ads?
Which is updated more often, ELSB for Older Students or Clicker Talk?
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