by: Donalda and Keisha
The group discussed how technology can be used for helping students with learning disabilities, especially in the areas of reading and written output.
Some of the Apps mentioned were: ibooks 3 (it's free) what's nice about this App is that you can customize it to meet all learner needs, Paperport notes (which I am excited to use), I love that this App is so versatile and it can be used from the early elementary years all the way up until university! This App would definitely ease tension with students who have difficulties with written output. It's great for differentiation (graphic, sound or text). Great presentation Donalda and Keisha! The Apps presented were explained really well! .
Top Free Apps in Special Education
by: Amy, Courtney and Mary
Loved the visual for the survey responses. I really liked how the usage and which devices were used were broken down into percentages.
I also appreciated how the FREE Apps were categorized! I thought it was very helpful to have the content organized for younger and older students.
Four Apps that were presented sounded very interesting:
Science 360 for iPad: very tactile, can click on any image which brings you to a video etc. it fosters differentiation, very engaging.
TikiNotes: makes typing efficient, alternate keyboard for individuals with fine motor difficulty.
Pocket Pond: virtual fish pond, it is calming and gives sensory feedback. I like that it's cause and effect, it's a very tactile App that really helps students to self-regulate when they're in the "red zone". Dragon Dictation: this is a voice recognition App. One limitation of this App is that you have to have strong vocabulary to use this App. It supports individuals with physical disabilities that are unable to use a keyboard.
The group did a very good job with presenting the overview of each App.
Learning About Apps to Support Students with Learning Disabilities:
by: Jeremy, Clarissa, Joseph and Michelle
I really liked the two quotes in the opening slide; it was a great way to start the presentation off.
From the survey results, I was surprised that there were no mobile devices in the one school at all.
However at Saint Andrew Junior School there seems to be a great initiative to help support teachers with technology. Accessibility for staff and students seems to be abundant!
At my school, everyone has access to laptops, Smartboards and Chrome books, but there are only a few of us who have iPads. When we received the iPads there was no professional development/training on how to use them. However, because the Chrome books was a school wide initiative, we have had many training sessions on how to use them effectively. I have collaborated with the other two staff members who have iPads to explore different Apps that foster Universal Design for Learning.
I love that Smart Responses are being utilized! In my experience, students have a lot of fun with these.
Qwiki-collect information online and present the slideshow of information; this would be a fun and engaging app for students to use to present a project for example.
Great presentation!
Executive Function
by: Victor, Janice and Sheri
Many of my students have difficulty with executive functioning. Visual schedules, chunking etc. are part of their everyday necessities within the classroom. The Apps that were presented are excellent tools to use.
The Apps that were presented were:
ibooks store-great for providing students books that are engaging and of high interest at their level of reading.
visual timer-can access it on the ipad, I have many of these in the classroom, but I think the students would be excited about using one on the iPad.
Wait strip-very cool! Reward for completion of task(s); what's great about this is that because the iPad is so mobile they can carry this wherever they go.
Shredder-shred your feelings. My students tried this during Social Skills this past week and they really liked the visual of "shredding their feelings".
The Apps that were presented in the presentation are very useful for the students that I teach. I look forward to using more of these Apps on a daily basis.
Well done!
Exciting New Apps for Learning Disabilities
by Dawn
The video of Piper Otterbein sharing her experiences was a great connection to the topic of the presentation. Piper shared her experiences growing up with dyslexia and I think that older students who are going through the same thing would really connect to what Piper had to say. Piper talked about being taught in a different classroom and was embarrassed about this fact. With the technology that is available there is no excuse as to why students like Piper need to be taught in a different classroom. I think that school districts really need to look at their philosophy of learning for all when budgeting for technology. Great Job!
