Day 1 - Meet, greet, and neat?

Fair isn't always equal. In order to support all learners and give them an equal playing field, assistive technology must be used! It is the great equalizer which provides students access to tasks and improves the performance of individuals with disabilities.

If there are already theme parks developed for individuals with disabilities, then teachers and school systems need to catch up!




After FINALLY getting the classroom iPad that had been promised to me by my school administration since August, I was somewhat overwhelmed at what the next step involved.  I've owned an iPod for playing music for years now, but a touch screen opens up a whole new world.



I feel as though my "Adventures in Learning" have only just begun! After attending my first class on Assistive Technology last Saturday, I've been downloading apps and using my students as guinea pigs to rate apps and their effectiveness, usefulness, and ability to hold student interest. I also "Googled" popular learning apps and how they rated among students and children. The following have been used repeatedly by my students in the last week:

1. Math Bingo and Word Bingo: These are great apps which allow students to use their skills (at varying levels) to practice math facts and sight words in a Bingo format. The ability to change speed and difficulty are great. I find the Word Up and Fling It games on Word Bingo are awesome for improving recall in addition to being a favourite of the kids!

2. TellMeAboutIt: This app is awesome for learning receptive language (feature, function, class) and aligned perfectly with one of my IPP outcomes for a student with Autism. I was amazed at how much receptive vocabulary he knew that we hadn't been able to test as easily prior to this. It covers 15 categories of language targets. It is a perfect addition to my discrete trials with this child and allows me to track information and create a reinforcement schedule. What a great tool that saves time and really helps the student!

3. Let's Name Things and Understanding Inferences (by FunDeck): These apps have the exact same pictures and information as the Fun Deck cards that Learning Centre teachers may already have in their classrooms. The advantage is that you won't lose cards and the children seem more focused and interested when it's on the iPad rather than in card format. The ability for groups of people to play and score is great and allows for a bit of a competition without causing arguments.

4. Scan to PDF: This has been a great tool that I was actually able to introduce to our school APSEA itinerant teacher. She LOVED it and will be using it with our visually impaired students soon. This app allows the student more independance and makes him only as different as needed. Instead of the teacher photocopying larger print text sheets, she can have him scan the document into his iPad using the camera feature, and increase the font himself while reading. I will be searching for a similar app with higher resolution for better results, but it's still a step in the right direction.

5. MyVisualTimers: This application has been very helpful. Instead of searching for a dollar store timer every time I need one and then realizing that an EPA or student has "borrowed" them all, I can, within moments, set up a timer on the iPad! There are various different images and styles to appeal to different students and it costs as much as a dollar store timer without having to repurchase them again and again. What a great tool! It has even helped with avoiding meltdowns!


I cannot wait to learn more and to share this information with other teachers, parents, and my students. It is amazing to see how "hooked" kids are to this technology! They will work harder for a chance to use the device and then will fully engage in learning activities while using it! They are ASKING to do work! What more could a teacher want!?


Stay tuned for more Adventures in Learning!