Why I Love the iPad

I have a lot of tools in my teaching bag. My classroom has picture symbols on the walls. I have a tactile schedule on the board. I have visual cues for every transition. I have books, CDs, puzzles and games.

We are in the process of setting up a communication binder for a student. We are pulling together the pictures we need. There is computer programs, printing, laminating, cutting, Velcro (lots of Velcro!) and a ton of time involved. It has taken 2 weeks to get this binder up and running.

It took me less then an hour to do the same thing on my iPad. The pictures were all there as part of the app, or I was able to take a picture of it with my camera and grab it onto the iPad quickly.

I can then have the images in my photo album to swipe through one at a time or in a program like Proloquo2Go or First Then Visual Schedule.

I have all of my music on the iPad. Classroom songs we like to sing, 6 versions of O Canada, transition songs, days of the week songs, dancing songs and relaxing songs.

I have anecdotal notes that I have been able to record without having to leave the student's side. I can type in observation notes as the children play and learn.

When the students do something on the iPad that I would like to keep for their portfolio or my assessments I can take a screen shot of it and put it in their album.

I have apps that work on literacy skills, numeracy, fine motor, vision, auditory processing, receptive language, communication, and social skills.  All on one little device. A world of information stored in a 0.68kg box.

I will always have symbols, books, puzzles and games. That isn't going to change, but no amount of lamination and Velcro can compete with my iPad!

Special Tech Revolution

The iPad, designed for the business world, is revolutionizing the special education world.

Every time I look in the App Store there is another app designed for this population. The most exciting recent discovery is the wave of apps that support scanning and single switch use.

We are trying an app called Alexicom AAC.

 

It offers communication boards with pictures, symbols, and words. In the Settings it allows you to customize how the student will interact with the app. You can turn on scanning, step scanning, auditory scanning, define how distinclty you want the selected cell boarders to be highlighted, and the scanning speed, to name a few.

You can use a single finger anywhere on the screen with little movement or pressure to start the scanning. It can go cell by cell, or row by row.

Pairing this with the bluetooth iPad Cordless Super-Switch from R. J. Cooper makes this accessible to all users.

Guess what we are going to looking into fundraising for next!

Communicating

Everyone has something to say. Some of us talk with words, some of us point to pictures, some of us use our hands, some of us use our eyes.

With the iPad or iPod Touch in the classroom there is an app for all of these communication methods. Probably the most well known app is Proloquo2Go.

It is an Augmentative and Alternative Communication System designed for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. It is a very sophisticated tool that allows users to touch pictures or type words.

We are working with emergent communicators. This app allows us to use the symbols that come with the program, Symbolstix, or our own pictures. This is an important feature for our students who are using photographs. Our school has it's own dictionary of objects, photographs, and symbols that we use. It helps create a consistent language that students use no matter what class they are in or where they are in the school.

We can adjust the settings so that there is only one image on the screen at a time. We can have 2 images to use for choice making or 'first-then'. We can have an array of images for choice making.

It is easy enough to change the settings that they can be done on the fly so that the images presented to each student are appropriate for them.



iPad 2

I watched Steve Jobs' talk about the launch of iPad2. I don't care much about the thinner case, or the faster processor. The case is cool, but won't work for my class, we need something a little hardier. We all guessed correctly that there would be camera and video in the new iPad, and yes, I want one.

But what got me really excited was the mirroring option. Every since we started using these devices in the classrooms we have struggled with how to display the information for all to see. I have tried document cameras, webcams, and stills. What usually happens is everyone huddles together around the tiny device trying to see and no one can see anything.

There will now be an accessory that allows you to plug your iPad into an HDMI screen or projector. According to speculation it should also work with iPad1!! This will be another game changer for us. Being able to plug it into our Promethean Board, data projector, television will allow us to teach to larger groups of students and present information in a way that they can see on a much larger scale. It will also mean that giving presentations about the work we are doing will be so much more meaningful when we can show, in real time, what the students are using on the device.

So excited!!

Getting Started and Sound Shaker Review

I use technology as part of my teaching program for students with special needs. I use high tech, low tech, no tech. I use picture communication symbols, tactile schedules, auditory scanning, choice boards, PECS, iPads and iPods, gestures, sign language ... you get the idea!!! At my school we use what works and are always looking and learning.

We are very excited about the work we are doing with touch technology. We have a lot of apps that we use with special education students. We are looking every day for new ones, but of course we have our favourites! Please let us know what your favourites are, what we should check out, what you like.

One of our top picks is Sound Shaker by zinc Roe.

Students touch the screen and make music. Each touch brings a sound and image reward. The longer you sustain your touch the higher the notes move through the scale until a little bird hatches out. Moving the device around causes the little sound balls to bounce around the screen making music.

It engages students hands, ears, and eyes. You can ask them to tip it the left or right, up or down, teaching spacial awareness and direction. There are multiple sound options including an animal choice. You can ask the students to hold the ball until they hear a specific animal sound. The colours cycle through the notes as you sustain touch and you can ask students to create balls of a certain colour.

There are so many teaching opportunities with this app, so many ways to engage students. We are able to plug the iPad directly into a student's personal FM system so that the sounds are being delivered directly into their hearing aid. I might not be able to hear what he hears, but I can see him working hard to move the iPad around the shake the balls and holding his hand on the screen to create different sounds.

You can't do that with a single switch ... unless you have a bluetooth single switch!