Storytelling with iPads

One of the first studies on a math app was conducted by USC Professor Michelle Riconscente  on Motion Math.  The results indicated that game play can boost kids’ confidence in and enthusiasm for academic subject matter.  Here is the research design and some of  the findings.

"The study evaluated whether playing Motion Math led to increases in children’s fractions knowledge and attitudes. Over 120 participants played the game for 20 minutes daily for five days, for a total of 1 hour and forty minutes of game play. Among the main findings were that fractions knowledge increased an average of 15%, and participants gained confidence in their fractions ability and reported liking fractions more after playing the game.

With hundreds of educational iPad apps on the market, it is important to know whether they help children learn, and whether iPad apps like Motion Math also contribute to children’s positive attitudes toward academic subject matter. Though much more research is needed to test learning apps, and to discover ways to use them most effectively with a broad range of learners, this study marks an important step toward testing educational technologies with stringent research designs.

In less than two hours of game play distributed over five days, the app shifted the needle on participants’ understanding of a topic that has long eluded most learners."

Amazon this morning updated its Kindle iOS app with support for Apple’s “VoiceOver” reading and navigation feature for blind and visually impaired users of the iPhone and iPad. Amazon says more than 1.8 million e-books will support the technology, which automatically reads aloud the words on the page.

Are you interested in learning about some of the Apps that are available to help children with special needs? There are thousands available, but which ones should we choose to help students with reading, writing and math concepts? How can Apps be used to meet individual student needs?

These questions and more will be answered by our guest, Kathleen McClaskey! A past guest, Kathleen will be sharing a wealth of information with on The Inclusive Class Podcast on Friday, September 14, 2012, 9 AM EDT

Paul Hamilton has share an app that can level the playing field for almost every learner.  Picle is a free app that helps learners put together digital stories or multimedia presentations easily by combining photos with audio narration and sound.  Imagine the creativity that could be generated with learners having the ability to express and share what they know with this easy to use app. As for teachers, Paul points out that they could present information to learners in multiple ways.

Paul has shared a video he created with Picle in his blog.  Check it out!

Here is another app developed by Smarty Ears that could level the playing field for many children by understanding their phonological levels so that educators can choose areas of skill development.  

"The Profile of Phonological Awareness (Pro-PA) was developed for the purpose of evaluating and describing the phonological awareness skills of children."

"The Pro-PA aids in obtaining a complete picture of a student’s individual skills in phonological awareness by assessing and analyzing errors and providing information about the approximate skill attainment in each individual area. An understanding of the profile of skill attainment as well as specific types of errors made by a child, which can be outlined in the notes, will result in an intervention plan that can more appropriately and specifically target the child’s phonological awareness difficulties."

 Thank you to Tanya Cole for developing this app!