A new day has arrived for dyslexic and LD students where apps have been created to support the challenges that they have on a daily basis in school. Here is the "Top Ten apps" (with links to iTunes) for them to get started.
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An opportunity to level the playing field for diverse learners has arrived. With the use of mobile devices and a set of apps, barriers to learning can be removed and will set the stage for access to learning for ALL learners.
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Kathleen McClaskey
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English with Mr. Borman - A place to reflect and share.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Mr. Borman surveyed 17 students in one of his classes and discovered that there were a few needs when it came to reading comprehension. He has put together "A Toolbox of Reading Comprehension Apps" that can support the needs of his students in his UDL classroom. For each app, he has outlined "What it does", "How students can use it" and the "UDL Principles".
Check out the Toolbox: > iBooks > Popplet > SyncSpace > Odyssey (by Homer) > Toontastic > Explain Everything > Ulysses > Subtext > Prezi
Thank you Mr. Borman! 
Jane Strunck's curator insight,
April 29, 11:11 AM
Mr. Borman used Edmodo to survey his student's learning preferences and based on the results, identified apps that would support reading comprehension and promote UDL in his classroom. Would love to know how students responded to the options. Nice process, Mr. Borman! 
Patrice Bucci's curator insight,
May 6, 9:46 PM
Useful suggestions for utilizing apps in the UDL classroom... Delete the scoop?
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What is iSolveIt? iSolveIt is a mobile digital learning environment that supports the development of logical thinking and reasoning skills, which are essential competencies of algebra and mathematics in general. The environment includes a collection of tablet-based puzzles that have been designed using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Introducing two new math apps that are designed based on the principles of UDL: MarhScaled and MathSquared.
Why Puzzles? They note that: "Puzzles provide a natural format for developing reasoning skills. By teaching algebraic reasoning skills in a context that does not appear to be math-specific, puzzles address affective barriers to learning (e.g., math anxiety). Providing different types of puzzles offers practice across multiple representations, which is critical for developing the ability to generalize."
Jane Strunck's curator insight,
April 7, 5:11 PM
Designed with the UDL Curriculum Tool Kit from CAST. Delete the scoop?
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Speech Therapy Apps - articulation, language and auditory processing disorder apps.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
From the Virtual Speech Center, here is a select group of apps for Speech Therapy that come with a review and description for each app. Many of these apps were created by certified speech pathologists. They include:
>> Auditory Workout >> Articulation Games >> Auditory Processing Studio >> The Multiple Meanings Library >> The Sentence Workout >> Wh-Questions Island >> Verb News >> Verbal Reasoning >> Word Retrieval >> Expedition with Plurals >> Magical Concepts >> Farm Academy >> Outdoor Fun >> Quick Artic 
Lou Salza's curator insight,
March 3, 8:30 AM
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
From the Virtual Speech Center, here is a select group of apps for Speech Therapy that come with a review and description for each app. Many of these apps were created by certified speech pathologists. They include:
>> Auditory Workout >> Articulation Games >> Auditory Processing Studio >> The Multiple Meanings Library >> The Sentence Workout >> Wh-Questions Island >> Verb News >> Verbal Reasoning >> Word Retrieval >> Expedition with Plurals >> Magical Concepts >> Farm Academy >> Outdoor Fun >> Quick Artic 
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 10, 12:13 AM
The following applications provides opportunities for special needs students to effectively engage and participate in actives to develop speech. This is an important area to develop it allows students gain important communication skills needed for succeeding in the 21st century (p21.org). Delete the scoop?
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"Clicker Docs app for iPad, developed by Crick Software, is a new iOS app that provides differentiated writing support for struggling writers. As one of Crick's two new apps, Clicker Docs provides text only word banks and word prediction options offering support for primary aged writers in this Docs app. Clicker Sentences app provides a simpler picture based writing environment for emergent writers."
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Here are some of main features of Clicker Docs app: - Talking spell checker
Extensive screen shots in this blog demonstrates the strengths and ease of use of this app. Delete the scoop?
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"Nowadays teachers and students have a variety of ways to show what they know and to express themselves. These web and iPad apps can turn students into teachers and teachers into super-teachers! Furthermore, most of the apps listed in the infographic are free of charge." Via John Evans
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Tony Vincent has compiled a list of apps and web tools that can have learners express what they know and understand. This aligns well with the UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principle - Multiple Means of Expression and Action.
Thank you Tony! Delete the scoop?
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While I believe that most of language development should be encouraged through active unstructured play, technology is making a mark with this young set of clients. The good news is, ipads can offer an easy way for parents to encourage speech and language skills in toddlers with communication delays.--- By Jenna Rayburn, MA, CCC-SLP
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Jenna points out that simple cause and effect apps are appropriate for toddlers to encourage expression and language. She includes: > Peek-a-Boo Barn > Furry Friend > Zoo Train
I had a late talking toddler in the 1980's and would had appreciated this technology to support him. Glad to share this with parents that want to support their toddlers! Delete the scoop?
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12 Best Special Needs Apps of 2012 - Special Education
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Featured in this blog of 12 Best Special Needs Apps of 2012 actually includes 13 apps. Here they are:
1. See.Touch.Learn Pro 2. Pictello 3. Dragon Dictation 4. The Social Express 5. My First AAC 6. ConversationBuilderTeen 7. Phonics Genius 8. SoundLiteracy 9. LetterSchool 10. Social Quest 11. P.O.V. - Spatial Reasoning Skills Development 12. Speech with Milo
Plus 13. I Get it!
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 6, 7:28 PM
Through the use of digital technologies students develop ICT capabilities through being exposed and adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve (ACARA, 2013). Students learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively, and in their lives beyond school.
The following list consist of applications addresses the learning needs of special needs students. These applications delevop social skills, speech to text, augmentative/alternative communication and develop spatial reasoning skills. I have used some of these applications such as "My first ACC and Pictello" in previous practicums and they have engaged the student.
Steven Blomdale's comment,
March 9, 10:06 PM
Great applications for developing crucial 21st century skills for special needs students
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At the following list you will find 19 Free Text to Speech tools that your students' will appreciate. Some of them you have to install and some you will install on your browser. The most awesome about these tools is that are FREE!
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
This list includes online tools for your Mac, Chromebook or PC laptop and apps for the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Android. Consider having your students use these tools to listen to content or to proofread their writing. These are universal tools that support every student in your class!
Carol Leynse Harpold's curator insight,
January 4, 1:14 AM
Scooped from Kathleen McClaskey's "Leveling the Playing Field". Text to Speech is like a staple in the AT world. Here are 19 free TTS tools to consider.
Carol 
Cheryl Frose's curator insight,
January 8, 10:45 AM
Here is a great list of TTS tools to remove barriers to learning! 
Paula Correia's curator insight,
April 29, 3:00 PM
Parece -lhe bem poder converter qualquer texto escrito com o Microsoft Word em palavras faladas? E incluir a narração do texto nos seus slides de apresentação do PowerPoint ? Veja estas 19 ferramentas que o ajudam a fazer isso. Delete the scoop?
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Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Paul Hamilton has shared a free iPad app that has improved with age. You can use your iPad camera to photograph text and import it as editable text. How great is that?
He makes a particular note of the other features that can level the playing field:
>> Text can be entered with keyboard, via voice-to-text, or with stylus. >> As well, audio recordings can be attached to notes. >> Notes can be written on yellow or white lined pages, on blank white pages, or on “graph paper”.PDF files, can be imported from almost anywhere–PaperPort Anywhere (dedicated free cloud storage), Box, Dropbox, Docs Folder, Files/Snapshots from the Web, the iPad’s Clipboard, camera images. >> Text boxes and sticky notes can be added to notes and imported files. >> Multi-color highlighting is available.
Thank you Paul for featuring this great app! Delete the scoop?
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This powerful post from D. Mourlam describes the apps that can not only enhance lessons so they are universally-designed but can also be used by learners to express what they know. He provides a description of each app and what the UDL Connections are with each app.
> Videolicious and Flexible Methods of Expression and Apprenticeship > iMovie and Flexible Methods of Presentation > Skitch and Flexible Methods of Expression and Apprenticeship > Evernote and Flexible Methods of Expression and Apprenticeship > Twitter and Flexible Options for Engagement > Facebook and Flexible Options for Engagement > Prezi Viewer and Flexible Methods for Presentation > VoiceThread and Flexible Methods of Expression and Apprenticeship > Skype and Flexible Options for Engagement > Screen Chomp and Flexible Methods of Expression and Apprenticeship
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Each app for Grades 1-5 are comprehensive with virtually infinite number of questions covering wide range of topics. All the content is aligned to common core standards.
These apps are used to differentiate math instruction and assigned practice. What you may like so much about this app is the variety of concepts that you are able to individualize. For example, if a student needs additional work on the concept of time, then you can setup the app to only give questions related to time. Questions first appear simple, but then become more challenging as questions are answered correctly. If you prefer, Splash Math will send you a weekly update indicating the progress of each student. Delete the scoop?
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On November 7th, Paul Hamilton will be presenting an ISTE Webinar on iPad apps that can be used by learners of all ages to overcome barriers to reading and writing.
"Some of the accessibility features built into iOS 5 will also be covered. Research has established that each individual learns uniquely, so these tools can be used to great effect with a wide range of learners, not just those identified with specific “learning disabilities”. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) will serve as the pedagogical framework for the presentation. Almost all of the apps to be shared are either free or inexpensive. In addition to apps that offer effective text-to-speech and multiple options for text-input, the presentation will explore multimedia apps that give learners alternative ways of showing what they know. Some of the apps to be presented were shared by the presenter in a Feb. 21, 2012 blog post, 10 Apps for Learners Who Struggle with Reading and/or Writing."
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 6, 7:15 PM
Student adjustment and accomodations are important when teaching students with disablilites and impairments. Students with disabilities and impairments are able to achieve educational standards commensurate with their peers, as long as the necessary adjustments are made to the way in which they are taught and to the means through which they demonstrate learning (ACARA, 2013). This achieved through teachers effectively and responsibly selecting and manipulating appropriate technologies, resources, materials and equipment to meet the learning needs of students with disabilities and impairments.
The following presentation by the international society for technology in education, informs teachers on various applications that can be used by learners of all ages and impairments to overcome barriers to reading and writing. Applications shown throughout the presentation accomodate and facilitates students with impairment such as intellectually impaired students. Delete the scoop?
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There are more than 750 000 apps in the iTunes AppStore, with many doing similar things, so it is very exciting to find an app that does something really different. WriteReader is one of those app...
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
WriteReader is designed to help children learn to write while they are also learning to read.
Following its development and testing, researchers concluded that WriteReader can: • Improve early learning of reading and writing skills • Motivates children to write • Promote cooperation between children and adults • Encourages kids to be creative and imaginative in sentence creation • Develops interest in the written language
The app is aimed at children aged from 3 to 10 years, although I believe it would be suitable for older children who have special needs.
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MyScript Calculator, a free app for any device, that can level the playing field in math!
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Paul Hamilton has shared another great app that can take your handwriting of numbers and equations into digital text. Here is just a few comments that Paul made when testing it out: "I’ve only tested it with my finger, not a stylus, but the app has no difficulty understanding my rather large and somewhat messy scrawl. The calculator works just as well for basic computation as it does for more complex mathematics."
A video is including that shows how it is used on an Android.
Thank you Paul for introducing this great app that can level the playing field! 
William Emeny's curator insight,
April 26, 3:00 PM
I saw this today and was completely blown away. I'll write a blog post about it sometime soon. Definitely check this out... Delete the scoop?
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iReadWrite makes reading easier and ensures accurate writing as you use your iPad for school, work, or leisure.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Take a look at the support features of the NEW iReadWrite:
Leveling the playing field with iReadWrite!
Carol Leynse Harpold's curator insight,
March 11, 8:50 AM
Read & Write now has an app! I've heard good things about it!
Carol Delete the scoop?
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"The rapid pace of new educational technologies has made it so that students with special needs can accomplish many things in the classroom that were difficult or even impossible for them only a few years ago. The following list contains some of the best apps I’ve seen for kids with neurodiversities in communication, reading, sociability, attention, and behavior."
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Here are some programs and related apps that can level the playing field:
>> Dragon Naturally Speaking (app: Dragon Dictation) >> Proloquo2Go >> iStudiez >> Kurzweil 3000 (app: firefly) >> Stories About Me >> iCommunicate >> Tiblo (This one is not actually an app, but a UDL manipulative tool) 
Liz Carulli's comment,
March 5, 7:05 PM
theres now technology and materials to help special needs children in the classroom
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SpeechBox App for iOS. Designed for use with Children with Apraxia of Speech, Autism, Down's Syndrome, and other Speech Language Difficulties.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
"Within moments of opening the app you can get started practicing. There are no complex menus to navigate through before being presented with the pictures.
Not only can you work with the over 700 beautiful retina quality pictures, but you can add your own pictures using the iPad’s camera or photo library. Now you can add pictures of friends, family and other common objects the child can practice with.
Dean Mantz's curator insight,
February 12, 2:34 PM
Very nice app for special services. Resource shared by @starden via her Scoop.it site: www.scoop.it/t/idevices-for-special-needs. ;
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 10, 12:08 AM
The following application allows autistic students to engage confidently with assistive technologies to allow them to make informed, ethical and sustainable decisions about technologies for preferred futures including personal health and wellbeing, recreation, everyday life, the world of work and enterprise, and the environment (ACARA, 2013). Delete the scoop?
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Kathleen McClaskey's curator insight,
February 1, 6:49 PM
A few years ago I met Alex at an ISTE Conference and want to say that she has a wealth of experience and knowledge in using tools with diverse learners. Alex is a speech language pathologist with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) and she will be sharing both UDL strategies and iPad apps that are engaging for ALL students. She will also introduce class profiling as a valuable strategy for teachers. Don't miss this webinar as you will walk away with ideas that you can use in your classroom tomorrow! Delete the scoop?
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Check out this collection of quality apps designed to help young children develop their skill at handwriting, sentence construction, or planning and drafting a story.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Reading Rocket has compiled a set of 9 apps to help young students in writing. Locate the link for more literacy apps that Reading Rocket has shared.
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 6, 7:49 PM
Great applications that make improving literacy skills fun and engaging for all students. Delete the scoop?
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List of applications for people with autism or other special needs for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
You will find a comprehensive and well organized list of apps in some 20 categories (8 for AAC) that includes the following information: >> App logo. >> iPad version data: app name and prices in dollars and euros. >> iPhone / iPod touch version data (same fields). >> Link to the iTunes webpage and to the iTunes app page >> Website with more information on the app provided by the developer or its distributor.List of languages supported by the app. >> A link to the review of the application published in this blog, if it is already written (represented with the “TEST” logo). >> A short description of the app. This is NOT meant to be a well-thought summary but only an indication of its functionality.
If you are looking for Android apps, you can find a separate list here. 
Megan Halverson's comment,
February 28, 11:09 AM
Thank you and yes, Wei these could be stratgies for all children! Thank you for the feedback!
Megan Halverson's comment,
February 28, 11:09 AM
Thank you and yes, Wei these could be stratgies for all children! Thank you for the feedback!
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 9, 11:59 PM
The folloing list of applications provide opportunities for autistic students to apply practical skills and process technologies and resources to meet current and future needs (ACARA, 2013). These skills include developing 21st century life skills such as communication. Delete the scoop?
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Bookshare support now includes organizational accounts
Listen to PDF and Word documents, articles, eBooks and Web pages with text-to-speech. Integration with Dropbox, Pocket, Instapaper, Bookshare, and Gutenberg. Silky smooth synchronized highlighting and autoscrolling. Rock-solid stability. 55 amazing voices in 20 languages available.
Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
Voice Dream Reader has been updated and improved with many features that can level the playing field for many learners. If you are looking for an app that can support your learners who are using Bookshare, you have found it here. If you are looking for an app to support your ELL students, you have found it here.
Please share this far and wide to educators, everywhere! Delete the scoop?
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Kathleen McClaskey's insight:
The app is designed to help people with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome and other special needs with emotion recognition. The app is geared to help in three distinct ways; improve recognition of the emotion, the meaning behind the emotion and then the speed at which the individual can interpret the emotion.
Features include > 9 different emotions > 36 levels > Simple and intuitive gameplay > Rich array of soundtracks and scenarios Delete the scoop?
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"Meaghan Roper, a junior at Burlington High School, shares a similar story with the iPad. When Meaghan was six years old, she was diagnosed with a visual impairment. In the eighth grade, she started to notice a decline in her vision. She sought out surgery to repair or delay her vision decline, and while successful, the procedure did not hold for very long.
A Transformative Experience
Meaghan recalls her first moments with the iPad and how she and her liaison discovered the variety of new opportunities that this one device presented. One of the first things she used was the ability to invert the colors of the screen. The iPad gives users the opportunity to read predominantly black text on a lighter screen, or to invert the colors and overlay white text on a black screen. This one feature, Meaghan recalls, was "transformative" in her learning of what the iPad could offer her educational experience.
Apps for Every Need
In Meaghan's day-to-day operation of the iPad, she uses several applications to manage her content. It doesn't take her too many apps to get through her school day. She's thankful that, along with transitioning to the iPad, Burlington also married the Google Apps for Education suite with this device. She finds ease in accessing Google Docs from multiple devices and knowing that her work will always be safe, secure and not dependent on a machine's functionality."
Read more about how Meaghan uses apps to support her learning!
Steven Blomdale's curator insight,
March 6, 7:46 PM
Through the use of assistive technology special needs students are able to learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively, and in their lives beyond school in the 21st century.
The blog following blog by Andrew Marcinek, Instructional Technology Specialist, writes about how iPads are being used as assistive devices. He describes the iPad as a opening for many, showing the potential of the iPad as an assistive technology and how it can change learning for students with impairments. Andrew writes about meaghan and how she used the iPad and applications throughout her schooling. Its worth a read. Delete the scoop?
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"TextGrabber + Translator turns your iPhone into a multifunctional mobile scanner with translation capability."
An inexpensive app that can actually turn an iPhone and IPad into a scanner. You simply take a picture of a document with your device and the app uses Optical Character Recognition to create an editable text file. Just take a picture of the text, and you can immediately edit it or translate, share via e-mail and SMS, or post directly to your account at on Facebook, Twitter and Evernote.
Not only that, but it can translate documents from more than 40 different languages. This app can also be very useful for anyone who prefers or needs to read (and manipulate) digital text documents rather than print documents.
One more app that is leveling the playing field!
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If you have a learner that struggles to write, this is the app that can stir the imagination and help them be creative with a Wow!
Book Creator for iPad • Choose from portrait, landscape or square book sizes. • Add pictures from the Photos app; grab them from the web; move, resize and rotate them with your fingers. • Edit text using the onscreen keyboard; apply rich formatting • iPad's fonts - over 50 to use. • Import video and music, and record speech within the app.
Here is what an Pre K-12 Assistive Technology Specialist said about this app: "My students loved this app. They felt it was so easy to use, that they could open it for the first time and know intuitively what to do. Having it then go to iBooks and create an individual bookshelf was fantastic."
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