July 10th reading: iPads as instructional tools to enhance learning opportunities for students with developmental disabilities: An action research project

What I liked most about the article were the apps that I could easily see working with my students. In schools, sometimes we get far too stuck on the curriculum outcomes and academics with special needs students, when in reality, we need to focus on their social interactions as well. Last year I worked with an autistic student who could not read social cues, and who did not appreciate being  surprised. Thus I could see the facial reader app and the pancake/cupcake app working really well with this student. 

The facial reader would reinforce discussions about social cues in a game-like stimulating manner. 

There's also a neat video on facial expression recognition here:

 The pancake and cupcake apps are arguably more captivating and memorable then me trying to explain how to make these items while baking- as the student would be very distracted.

What I further liked about this article is that I was told why ipads are useful for students with disabilities; including specific apps. I also enjoyed hear from both the teacher and student perspective.

Ipads encourages multiple intelligences teaching and as the article states, “allows for flexible learning, multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression.” An ipad provides all of these aspects in one device. The article also states that using videos on the ipad are motivating for students. I can relate to this claim. Anytime I used the overhead project in class to show videos, audio clips, or a combination of the two, I had students rapt attention. It’s like videos somehow don’t seem like education to students, they’re more likely to engage and almost feel like they’re “getting away” with something.

The students quoted in the article seem to agree as they say with the ipad, learning is an “Exciting and ‘‘fun’’ process: ‘‘Play sports, play tennis, do work, fun things, like spelling and reading, passwords, apps.’

The research also seemed very honest- teachers frustrations were conveyed. That they needed more planning time and professional development guidance with the ipads, that they needed ipads themselves (not just the students) and that teachers were frustrated that their students weren’t encouraged to use the ipads in regular stream classes outside the learning centre. I appreciated how the article also stated that more research needed to be done about the effectiveness of ipads in the special education classroom. I assume it’s difficult gathering data sense it’s all so subjective.