Choiceworks FAQs — Bee Visual

Is Choiceworks a subscription?

No. Choiceworks is a one-time purchase. You buy it once and it is yours to keep, with no monthly fees and nothing to renew.

What devices does Choiceworks run on?

iPhone and iPad from the App Store, Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later), and Android phones, tablets, and Chromebooks from Google Play. Schools: volume purchasing lives on our For Schools page.

Do you collect my family's data?

No. Bee Visual does not collect data from this app. Your photos, boards, calendars, and recordings stay on your own device, and if you use iCloud sync, in your own private iCloud. On Android, your device's own Google backup may keep a copy in your Google account. Nothing ever reaches Bee Visual.

Can I use my own photos and voice?

Yes. Every card can be made from your own photo, your own words, and your own recorded voice, so the app speaks in a voice your child knows. You can add short videos too.

What languages do the apps speak?

In the latest update, Choiceworks speaks seven languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, French, and Portuguese. The picture cards, board sentences, board names, and the voice that reads them all follow the language you pick, and the cards' language can be set separately from the app's own menus, which run in all seven languages too. Choiceworks Calendar's cards speak English or Spanish. The Alphabreaths breathing practices are taught by Dr. Christopher Willard on video in English. The Android apps run in English and Spanish.

Can I set it up for more than one child?

Yes. Profiles keep each child's boards in their own space, so one device can serve a whole family or a whole classroom.

How do I keep my Choiceworks content safe?

Save your own copy, and it is never lost.

On iPhone or iPad: your boards can sync through iCloud between your own devices signed into the same Apple ID. For a file of your own: open a board, tap the Share icon, choose Send a Copy (file), and save it to Files or iCloud Drive. To bring it back, tap the gear (Settings), choose Import from Files, and pick your saved file.

On Android: in Choiceworks, open the gear (Settings) menu, tap Back Up Everything, and save the .choiceworks file to Google Drive, email, Files, or Quick Share. To bring it back, tap the saved file and confirm the restore. In Choiceworks Calendar, Settings > Backup & Sharing > Back Up / Share Calendar makes one .cwcalendar backup file for every calendar on that Android device; restoring that full backup replaces the calendars on the receiving Android device after you confirm. To send only one calendar, open that calendar, tap Share, and choose Share This Calendar.

Your board or calendar returns with its pictures, voice, and structure intact. One thing to know: backups stay on their own platform. An iPhone or iPad file restores to iPhone or iPad, and an Android file restores to Android.

Setting Up for Success

A few things we have learned that make the app, and your day, run their best.

Make it together

This app works best when you build it with your child, not for them. Let your five-year-old show you how they water the flowers and catch it with your camera. Nervous about starting kindergarten? Take their picture in their classroom today, so tomorrow they already know where to go.

If you don't see yourself in our samples yet, add yourself

The samples show one family: ours. Matt is the boy in the pictures, spiky hair and all, the voice on the sample boards belongs to his brother Luke, and the Feelings Scale was made for him. Your family belongs in yours.

Every picture card takes your own photos and your own voice. If your daughter does not see herself in Matt, put her in his place. Nobody should stand in for your child but your child.

It's all staged, on purpose

Everything here comes in bite-size chunks. Choiceworks starts small: one board, one schedule, first this then that. When your child is ready, Choiceworks Calendar widens the view, so they can glance at what's ahead and see how today's schedule fits into a week and a month. Along the way they are learning what days, weeks, and months actually mean. It looks like a picture schedule. It's teaching time.

Update at a calm moment you choose

If Choiceworks is working for your child, consider turning off automatic app updates and updating by hand at a calm moment that suits your family. Nothing about your child's day should change without you deciding it. On school-managed devices, your IT team controls update timing through device management. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, then App Store, and turn off App Updates. On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile, then Settings, then Network preferences, then Auto-update apps, and choose Do not auto-update apps.

Know where your device stands

Devices age, and that is not anyone's fault, it is just how technology goes. Choiceworks keeps working on the version you have. Not sure where your device stands? On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap General, then Software Update; if it has not offered a new update in a year or more, you can start planning for a newer device at your own pace. A saved backup of your boards (see above) makes the move quick, and everything comes back just as your child knows it.

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