Phase 3

We are entering phase 3 of our study with the University of Toronto. This phase will be examining how students access touch devices (gesture mapping) and social skills.

All of our classrooms are participating in this phase with data collection. We are excited about the preliminary results.

iBallz

I was recently given 2 sets of iBallz to test out on iPad2. We were also given a Lid and a Satchel.
iBallz are a unique device protection system. 4 firm balls are connected by a cord with a notch in each ball. You fit the iPad into the notches and pull the cord tight. The tension of the cord holds the balls in place. Once in place the iPad is protected from drops, spills on the table, and bumps.

One of the balls is specially marked and notched differently to accommodate the power button, but it does cover the camera. I got used to rocking the ball to turn my iPad off, but it was more difficult to coordinate the action when I wanted to take a screen shot. You have to completely remove the ball in order to use the camera. I was given this information from the company before receiving the product.

We tried the iBallz in a few classes with a variety of students and they seemed to work very well with most students. Some students found the balls to be very distracting and were unable to concentrate on what was happening on the screen. A couple of the students liked to play with the cord, and one student used it to hold onto in order to fling the iPad. To the credit of the iBallz, the iPad was just fine!!

I did find that wrapping the Lid around the cord and securing it to the back of the iPad not only held the balls on even more securely, but the students were less distracted by the cord. However, when using it this way it was very difficult to get to the camera.

Some students used the balls to rest their hands when looking at the screen. This was beneficial because it kept their hands off of the screen reduced the frequency of accidental touches.

The case was also used with students who have physical disabilities. The case was very stable on the wheelchair tray as the balls didn't allow the device to slide around. The iPad did not move when they moved their hands and arms and allowed the students to target the screen without having to worry about holding the device stable. As well, when the iPad was knocked off of the tray or table it merely bounced slightly before settling safely on the ground.

I will admit that this was not a product that I was interested in before trying it out. I did not feel that it would offer the level of protection that I needed. After using the product I have changed my mind. It protected both the iPad1 and 2 from falls, offered students a place to rest their hands off the screen, and held the device stable on a wheelchair tray without slipping around. It didn't work for everyone, some students were too distracted by the balls and cord, but it did work well for many. We will continue to use this product.

App for Students with Physical Disabilities

There are many apps that we use with students who have a physical disability, this is just a small selection. We would love to hear what apps work with your child/student. Please let us know!


 Developed by ambient pioneer Brian Eno and musician / software designer Peter Chilvers, Bloom explores uncharted territory in the realm of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom's innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen. A generative music player takes over when Bloom is left idle, creating an infinite selection of compositions and their accompanying visualizations.
$3.99


From concert pianists to curious cats, Magic Piano has captured the imagination of the world. Experience the #1 music app in over 80 countries and add your songs to the 5 million already played. Create your own music or enjoy the app’s 45 free classic and popular tunes. No practice or patience required!
$2.99








TouchyBooks is an innovative children’s interactive bookstore app for smartphones and tablets. It gathers a wonderful collection of stories to entertain children, stimulate imagination, clarify thinking, and to teach reading in multi languages, but above all to cultivate healthy influences. 
Free









Answers:YesNo was designed with one purpose in mind. Provide an easy to use, affordable way for a nonverbal young man with autism and motor planning issues to communicate with those around him.   The application is straightforward.   It has two, large, color-coordinated buttons...one for yes, and one for no.   Press either, and you will hear a voice read your selection. 
$0.99






This highly intuitive musical app is also incredibly amusing. It lets children create and play with chime, whistle, drum, barnyard animal and mystery sounds by simply tapping and tilting. Repeated taps generate new sounds, while longer taps grow sounds and trigger surprise animations. Tilting makes sounds spin and collide in whimsical combinations. 
$1.99






Alexicom AAC for iPhone/iPad lets you use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch as an augmentative communication device. We offer over 300 pre-made pages and over 2,000 images in our public libraries, which include nine pre-made page sets: Child1, Child2, Child Intermediate, Adult1, Adult2, ChildPre, Healthcare, and Spanish Child1. You can easily import these pages into your own online library, customize them, and/or create your own pages. AT&T Natural Voices offer text-to-speech output in 20 voices and five languages.
Free





★When touching existing stars, these are turned into shooting stars which fly away in a 3D-like animation and eventually exit the drawing!
★Draw with Stars ! is also full of sound effects : musical chimes when stars are created, background summer night sounds, "fly away" sounds... 
★Check the video demo on our Web site http://lescapadou.com to see shooting spinning effects, stars 3D animation, glowing stars animation and hear the sound effects! 
$0.99

Super Tech Classroom

I am having a Promethean Board installed in my classroom this week. I am very excited! I have been working away at researching and creating flipcharts and learning about how to integrate this new system into my classroom teaching.

One of the things I am really interested in trying is connecting my iPad to the board. I know that the students will not be able to control the iPad through the whiteboard (maybe someone at Apple is working on this?) but I am very curious to see how they react to a much, much larger screen image.

I think that the larger size and higher visual contrast will be beneficial to my students. I think that the hands-on kinesthetic interaction will be beneficial. I have seem them respond to the iPad positively for these reasons and am very interested in watching them learn to use the Promethean Board.

These are exciting times to be a learner, and a teacher!

Bla Bla Bla: App Review

I recently found an app that has been very motivating getting some of my non-verbal students to vocalize.

Bla Bla Bla is a sound reactive app. The students make even the slightest sound and the image on the screen changes. Most of the images are faces and when you make a sound the face changes, grows or expands. The louder or more intense the sound the greater the change.


Some of my students are working on vocalizing for a turn in response to a question. They can see right away when they have made a sound by looking at the reaction on the screen. The feedback is immediate and a powerful reinforcer.

The description in iTunes says "This App is a little selection of an exercise called “Parametric Mask”. The exercise is a part of a one-day workshop held in December 2010 at the design department of IUAV of Venice and in February 2011 at the ISIA of Urbino"

For what ever reason it was created I am glad they did because the students (and staff!) have been having a great time with this app. It is sensitive enough to register and react to even the softest of sounds ensuring that every student can be successful, and you should see their faces when they make it work!

Finger Count

Teaching early numeracy is can be challenging; one to one correspondence, base 10, addition.

 

An app was just released that allows students to count on their fingers. Finger Count - Mulit-Touch by Joe Scrivens asks students to count objects shown and then place that many fingers on the screen. It allows for any combination that equal the number shown.

This app makes unique use of the iDevice's ability to process multi-touch input. The iPad can handle 10 touch input points while the iPhone and iPod Touch can handle 5.

It has the option for students to count each object individually by tapping on them in any order while it counts out loud.

This offers teachers a new and unique way to transfer mathmatics learning from object manipulatives to the iDevice.

There is a great introduction video on youtube that explains how it all works.

Happy counting!

Free Apps for Autism Month

This is a direct quote from an email that I received. If I find more apps with reduced/free for April I will add them to this post.



"The Apple apps store has all the ABA flashcards from kindergarten.com   and they are free for the month of April in honor of autism awareness month. They regularly are .99 each but are now free!  These work for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Good news! At least two application vendors have decided to celebrate the World Autism Awareness Day by offering their apps for free. And some other vendors offer their apps with a discount reaching 50%. In some cases, discount will be effective for a month. Our thanks to all of them.

UPDATE: Special offers for Expressive, First Then Visual Schedule, I Get… Easter Egg Hunts, My Choice Board and Scene Speak are still valid. (I think that they will be for the rest of this month)."

I haven't checked to see if this is still valid information, but I will make any changes needed to this post as I find out.