Parent, Student, and Teacher Perspectives of iPads in the Classroom

 

As I have discussed before on this blog, iPads are a great addition to any classroom. They open so many different doors when it comes to learning and instruction in the classroom. There are many different opinions on the use of iPads in the classroom. Parents will definitely like the use of iPads in the classroom because they can help their children to communicate. Parents also love how engaged their children will be in learning when using an iPad. A drawback that parents will not like about iPads is that they will not like that their children will always have their faces in their iPads. From a child’s perspective, iPads in the classroom will definitely get their attention. Children will often feel like they aren’t even learning while playing some of the educational apps that are available on the iPad. The students will love using their iPads in the classroom. They will not want to put it down! The final perspective that I will discuss is that of the teachers. Teachers will have a love/hate relationship with iPads in the classroom. They will love how engaged and interested students are in learning while using the iPads, but they will not like how easy it will be for students to get off topic while using the iPads. There are millions of distractions on the iPad that are only one click away. 

iPads for Autistic and Nonverbal Children

In this video, Lauren Meatty discussed the use of iPads in the classroom with students who are autistic and non-verbal students. This video was not only very interesting, but it was also very informative. Meatty discussed various different applications, or Apps, that can be downloaded on to the iPad to help autistic and non-verbal students to learn and to communicate. She discusses how a child with cerebral palsy was able to open her hands to play on the iPad, playing a piano app to be more specific. She also discussed many more apps that all included stories, songs, visuals, text to speech software, and picture that would help students to learn and to communicate. She did say that the apps should not replace social interactions, but they should help students with them.

In my school students do not have their own iPads, but they are all given laptops. I think that iPads may be better devices for these students because of all of the different advantages that iPads have against laptops. One of the main advantages is the plethora of educational apps that are available for all students, especially those with special needs. I would be very comfortable integrating the use of iPads in my classroom because iPads are such an easy to use product. I have had an iPad for about 4 years now, so I am very familiar with the product. I think that I would be able to help the students with any issues that may arise. iPads have a wealth of information and any student who was given the opportunity to use them would benefit.

Electronic touch tablet

Electronic touch tablets are becoming more and more popular in the classroom. There are many schools that issue every student in the school with their own tablet every year. Having tablets in the classroom is so helpful for most students’ education. Tablets help all different types of learners. They can help students with vision problems by enlarging fonts. Tablets can also help visual learners and auditory learners by showing images and using sound. Tablets in the classroom may also help autistic students because it provides them with a more sensory education. The students will be able use their different senses to learn, such as visual, auditory, and tactile senses. The most popular tablet on the market is the Apple iPad. iPads, though expensive, are very easy to learn and use. iPads are sold at most stores that have an electronics section. 

Type to Learn Software

Type to Learn is a great program that is used to help teach students how to type on a keyboard.  This software is very popular, and is used in schools all around the world to help teach students how to type. This software can help every student that you will have, but it is particularly helpful for students with dyslexia. This program can help student to memorize where every key is, instead of being confused by all of the different letters on the keyboard. Type to Learn can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com/Type-Learn-Agents-Information-Version/dp/B004LC3VCW. It is not very expensive and is definitely worth its price!

Voice output communication device

Voice output communication devices are really cool devices that allow students who may not be able to communicate with others communicate with their peers. Using these devices, students type what they want to say, and the device reads the text out loud. These devices are designed for use by students who have speech problems. It is so important for students with speech difficulties to be able to communicate with their peers. One very popular voice output communication device is called NOVA chat. It is a product made by the company Saltillo. This prodict has different words, pictures, and letters on it that allow students to communicate by pressing the buttons. This device can be found at https://saltillo.com/products

 

Assisted literacy software

Assisted literacy software is software that will help students develop their literacy skills. This is software that helps students learn how to read, and learn the different skills that go along with reading. This software is very beneficial for students who have reading problems, such as dyslexia. Programs that are defined as assisted literacy software help students with decoding, comprehension skills, fluency, and phonemic awareness. A popular assisted literacy software is read&write by the company Texthelp. This product can be found at http://www.texthelp.com/en-us/products/read-and-write-family/read-write-for-education. The program helps students who need assistance in reading, comprehension, and also writing. 

 

Portable word processor

Portable word processors are a great device that can help students in so many different ways. This device is easy to use and easy to transport for any student. Students use this device as an alternative to hand writing their schoolwork. Students who have trouble handwriting assignments will use this device. This would include students who have poor fine motor skills. Instead of struggling to write all of their work, these students will be able to use their word processor and print out a copy of their work. The company QuickPad makes one of the most popular portable word processor. They have a couple different models of their devices, and can be found in most electronic stores.

 

Adapted Keyboard

Adapted keyboards are great tools for students to use in the classroom. Adapted keyboards come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. These items are used to provide students who have trouble with regular keyboards to access and use a computer. Students with poor fine motor skills who have trouble with using keyboards can benefit greatly from the use of adapted keyboards. Dyslexic students can also benefit from the use of adapted keyboards because it can help them to select the correct letters on the keyboard and make the right commands. There are also braille keyboards for students who have vision problems. A popular adapted keyboard is the large print keyboard. This is a keyboard that features bigger keys and bigger letters.

Multisensory learning software

Multisensory education is something that is vital to all classrooms whether they are special education rooms or not. Multisensory learning is learning that integrates all of the senses into learning. This includes involving visual, auditory, touch, and kinesthetic elements into your lesson. This will benefit all learners, and also help them to learn what style of learner they are. A specific learner that multisensory learning would benefit is dyslexic or autistic students. A very cool software program that uses multisensory learning is TacScreen. This is a program that includes touch screens, visuals, and audio learning content. TacScreen can be found at www.tacscreen.com.

Books on CD

Books on CD are a very popular form of assistive technology. Books on CD are basically just every word from a book recorded and read to you. They are extremely helpful for all types of students. The students that benefit the most from this assistive technology are the students who have vision problems and the students who suffer from dyslexia. Students with vision problems will benefit from this because if they are not able to see books that are to read in class, they will just be able to listen to it. Books on CD are available everywhere and in bunches. You can get pretty much every book that has been printed on CD.

Scan and Read Software

Scan and read software is used by scanning paper documents into a computer, and making them accessible on the computer. After the document has been scanned on to the computer, students will be able to edit, view, or have the document read to them. This can be very helpful for students with vision problems. They will be able to enlarge the document, and have the document read to them if they are unable to read it. There are many different programs out there that are classified as scan and read software, and a very popular one is OpenBook. This product can be found at http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/LowVision/OpenBook . The product offers a free trial just in case you do not like the product.

Naturally Speaking Voice Recogition Software

Naturally speaking voice recognition software is in which students are able to speak to type. As students speak, the program records their words, and types them on to the screen. This is a very cool product that can help all different types of learners. Students with poor fine motor skills who cannot physically type or write would benefit greatly from this product because it would be a way for them to complete their assignments. Dragon Systems created the most popular voice recognition software. Their software is called Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This is a product that is constantly updated and is available on all operating systems. Dragon Systems can be found at http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm

Talking Word Processor Software

Talking word processors are programs that give students speech feedback as they are writing. The software repeats each letter that is typed, and reads each word after the spacebar is pressed. This is a tool that is very helpful for students that have trouble writing. This software can be very helpful for students who suffer from dyslexia because having their writing read back to them will help them to edit their work. A popular talking word processor today is Write:Outloud. This is a software that was created by Don Johnson, and can be found at http://donjohnston.com/writeoutloud/#.ViVuRaKVV9Y . This is a program that has received rave reviews. It is not a free product, but it is well worth the money that will be spent on it. 

 

Word Prediction Software

Word prediction software is that used while students are typing, whether it is on a computer, tablet, or phone, which helps to predict which word the student will type next. The words are predicted based on spelling and frequency of use. This software is used to help students who have trouble writing. This could be students that suffer from dyslexia or any other specific learning disabilities. It will help students with spelling, grammar, and word choice. It can also be used to help students who have trouble typing because of poor fine motor skills. Popular word prediction software is GoQsoftware. This is a great word prediction program. It can be found at http://www.goqsoftware.com/. There are also many different free programs available. 

 

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) / Speech-to-Text

This module was very informative in the area of speech recognition software and speech to text software. The module provided so much helpful information for anybody who was interested in learning about speech recognition software. The module gave different information such as when it is appropriate to use the software, which types of learners will benefit from the software, and how to find the software. An example of students who could use the software include students with poor fine motor skills that have trouble writing on their own.

The module can be found on the Assistive Technology Internet Module website at http://www.atinternetmodules.org  

Assistive Technology in the IEP Process

This module on the Assistive Technology Internet Module website, http://www.atinternetmodules.org, is used to describe assistive technology in the IEP process. This module also describes how to implement assistive technology in a student’s IEP. The module was very informative, and extremely helpful for anybody who is looking to get into the field of special education. The module taught me that IDEA’s definition of assistive technology includes both assistive technology devices and assistive technology services. I was also informed that schools are responsible for training staff on assistive technology. This is a very cool website, and I definitely recommend it to anybody who is interested in learning more about assistive technology.

Assessment Process in the School Environment

I found the module for the assistive technology assessment process on the Assistive Technology Internet Module website, http://www.atinternetmodules.org to be very informative. This website provided a very lengthy module with tons of helpful information. There are multiple videos that are provided on the site to help inform you, as well. The module taught me that an educator should look at all of a student’s strengths, abilities, needs, and preferences when deciding what assistive technology a student should receive. It is also important to know that more than just an assistive technology specialist can make decision about a student’s assistive technology. 

Mouse Emulators

There are many different mouse emulators that have been created to help students who may not be able to properly use a regular computer mouse. One type of mouse emulator are trackballs. Students who have poor fine motor skills and poor ranges of motion use these trackballs. Another mouse emulator is a joystick. This is an item that is used to move the cursor around the screen instead of the mouse. Students who may have poor fine motor skills and also students who may need to operate the joystick with something other than their hand use it. A more high tech mouse emulator is touchscreens. Touchscreens allow the students to touch their screen to select items instead of using a mouse. Students who may have autism, and younger students use Touchscreens. 

The Assistive Technology Continuum

The assistive technology continuum refers to the range from low to high technology that is available to help students. Assistive technology will begin at the low-tech range and consistently rise to mid tech and eventually high tech. This rise only occurs, however, if a students needs are unmet with the previous degrees of assistive technology. The process of moving students from low to mid and then to high technology is a slow process, and must be very carefully evaluated. Low-tech options such as keyboard labels can progress into touch screens, and touch screens can eventually progress into more high tech items such as eye gazing software. 

Different Features Available on Computers for Disabled Students

There are many different features that most operating systems on computers have added for students with disabilities. They have added features such as mouse keys, keys on the keyboard that act as the mouse, for students who do not possess the motor skills to control the mouse. They have also added sticky keys that help these students with shortcuts to different tasks on the computer such as printing and saving. Another feature that is available is the voice over function. This function will read all the words on a screen. This will help any student who has trouble seeing the screen. Most computers also have features that allow you to magnify the screen or change the screen to black and white to help any student who may have vision problems. 

Universal Design in Computers

Computer companies have long been ahead of the game in reference to technological advances. Universal design can also be put in to this category. Computer companies knew that if they made their computers more accessible for all that they could sell much more computers.  These companies have since provided different computers with different features to help all users of computers. They have added features such as voice control and speech to text functions for users with poor motor skills. They have also added captioning for those who have trouble hearing. Another feature that has been added is the opportunity to enlarge font on the screen for those with vision problems.

Hearing Assistive Technology

Hearing assistive technology is assistive technology that helps people who difficulty with hearing or hearing loss. There are many different types of hearing assistive technologies that are available for students who have hearing problems. Items that are considered hearing assistive technology include alerting devices, telephone adaptations such as flashing for ring and super ringers. Other major items include hearing aids that help students hear when they have hearing loss. These all help students who are hard of hearing in many way, not just helping them hear. They may assist students in helping to alert them if they may be in danger.

Augmentative Communication

The next section of my blog is going to focus on assistive technology in the area of reading. Augmentative communication is something that is becoming extremely popular in schools today. Easily stated, augmentative communication is basically the assistance to individuals who cannot speak to interact with others. These systems are put into place to serve as an alternative to speech for those who are not able to speak. Augmentative communication is vital in all schools to assist these students who cannot speak. This system is used to show a student who cannot speak communication through other means of communication such as facial expressions and body language. This is so important to these students because it is the only way that they can communicate by themselves in the classroom. 

My Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses in UDL

After completing my pre and post Universal Design for Learning lesson, I could definitely see what my strong points are and what areas I need to improve.  I think that my strongest areas would be the checkpoints that are involved in the multiple means of representation areas. I think that I always do a good job providing different ways to display information. I think that my lessons provide help for all types of learners, such as visual and auditory. I think that the areas that I need to improve are to minimize threats and distractions because I can admit that I can be easily distracted while in the classroom. I think that I could provide different sensory stimulation in the classroom that will keep the students from being distracted. I also think that I could be better having the students self-reflect and self-assess themselves in the classroom.