Welcome to this comprehensive collection of “All-things-Apple-and-App-Related” compiled by Spectronics’ clever team of speech pathologists, teachers and occupational therapists! We hope you find these resources helpful as you implement use of iPads, iPhones or iPod touches in special education classrooms or therapy settings. Also helpful in regular ed settings for support of students struggling with reading, writing or organisational skills. 
Technology will only advance learning if it is used to support literacy and inquiry, William Oehlkers and Cindy DiDonato write. 
Maybe more significant than evaluating the app itself is evaluating how the app supports instruction that infuses technology to create a powerful learning environment. The Arizona Technology Integration Matrix is a rubric for teachers to assess their level of technology integration across five elements of meaningful learning environments. Via Nik Peachey 
OT's With Apps feature five Help Kidz Learn apps for students that need work on cause and effect or students with physical impairments.
"HelpKidzLearn has wonderful games, stories, creativity and early learning activities that are switch, touch screen or mouse accessible for students with special needs." Via Kathleen McClaskey 
Weally Wonderful Apps V3.0 is a new update. It has about 80 new entries so it has grown since Version 2.0. 
Special Education apps for the iPad have become a big hit. To try and make sense of it all we put together a nine part series on the iPad and useful apps. Via Alex Wilson 
Talk about a revolution. Since Amazon unveiled the first Kindle in 2007, digital devices have dramatically changed the way kids read and even think about books. But it’s less clear how ereaders and tablets will affect libraries and schools. As any librarian who’s dealt with ebook adoption can quickly tell you, “It’s complicated.”
Via Paul Leacy 
Gregory Swanson of Australia has listed a set of apps that could level the playing field for students with hearing impairments.
He has included a variety of apps including apps that offer subtitles, text-to-speech and speech-to-text to sound amplification apps and books that read. He makes a note about sign language apps in that there are many good versions that can be searched in the app store. Via Kathleen McClaskey 
Discover each day what the Top 25 Apps for 2011 for children with special needs will be. "Apps for Children with Special Needs (a4cwsn) is committed to helping the families and carers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective." 
Luis Pérez, a 2009 Apple Distinguished Educator and current doctoral student, has created eBooks (ePub and PDF on Scribd) that covers the accessibility features built into Apple mobile devices:
"This free ebook covers the accessibility features built into Apple mobile devices, including the iPad, the iPod touch and the iPhone. Each section includes practice activities for you to practice the techniques and tips discussed in the ebook."
How to eBooks on "ePub Accessibility Best Practices" and "Closed Captioning 101: "These two ebooks cover topics related to the accessibility of the content available for Apple mobile devices. My hope is that by following the suggestions in these ebooks you will create more accessible ebooks and caption as many of your videos as possible. These practices will go a long way toward ensuring equal access to information for people with disabilities who use mobile devices."
Thank you Luis for these invaluable resources! Via Kathleen McClaskey 
Weally Wonderful Apps V2.0 is an update of the Version 1.0 document. I have added categories that are more descriptive and so the resource should be more user-friendly.... |
Over the last four weeks, as I have been spending time in schools and giving workshops, one of the most common questions I have had is “How... Via SpectronicsDV 
We have updated our Apps for Special Education list with an additional 40 apps. Also check out that the list columns correlate to many of the app rubrics that are used to determine the effectiveness of an app in a particular setting or with a particular user. We hope you find this useful when making considered decisions about app selection when using these rubrics.
You asked.....and we listened! We are so excited to bring you our apps for Special Education list. Starting with just 60 of our favourites (It was SO hard to... 
This site provides recommended Apps by IEP goals and skills. These are in general IEP categories and appear for the younger student. This site was developed by parents and they note that they have reviewed each app. 
Over the last four weeks, as I have been spending time in schools and giving workshops, one of the most common questions I have had is “How... 
You just invested in a shiny new iPad for you child with special needs. Next, you lay out some more money to purchase a few communication apps, install them and your child is off and running with a $500 piece of equipment. Via Communica8GH 
Since the introduction of the iPad almost two years ago, the education world has changed. Everyone seems to want an iPad. Administrators have them; teachers have or want them; students have or wa... By Dawn Villarreal, One Place for Special Needs (Introduction by Lee Learson, Editor, The ConnSENSE Bulletin) What’s the right App for you? How do you choose? How do you know if it’s good, bad; worth your money or a waste of time. Dawn Villarreal from One Place for Special Needs has reviewed over 300,000 apps. (Her list of apps is amazing, well categorized and available at http://www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com/main/library_special_needs_apps.html ). Dawn says that “with over 300,000 apps it’s easy to become overwhelmed. 
Use your iPad to control switch toys: Switchamajig! 
If you're working with younger children you won't want to miss this great free app. Create animated scenes with your favourite toys from Play School. Choose a background, add... 
December 14, 2011: Technology is offering new hope to parents of children with Autism. Desperate to communicate with his son, a father from the New South Wales town of Lismore has created an iPad app to help them interact. 
In part four of the iPad App series we bring you eleven great Social Skills & Life Skills apps that will help individuals with special needs interact with the world around them. 
Just add a laptop or an iPad 2! No data projector needed. No shadows. Fully height-adjustable. Even project wirelessly from your iPad 2 (using an Apple TV unit and... Via SpectronicsDV |
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