iPads+and+special+education

IPads: A Promising New Tool for Special Education

When it comes to Web accessibility, or any technological accessibility issue, there is a lot of excitement building around the potential of iPads and similar tools. The iPad has several features and there are many apps available that are helpful to people with cognitive disabilities not only to access technology and the web, but also to access basic communication functions. For example, there is an app that provides a button for a person to push that plays common phrases that they need to be able to say in a normal day, but otherwise cannot. Parents whose children have limited speaking abilities are reporting hugely positive outcomes with tools and apps that provide the types of language assistance that are available on iPads today.

The iPad has other appeals as well, such as the touch screen. Kids like to interact with touch screens and have an easier time doing that than they do with a mouse. The iPad can be taken home so that parents and paras and teachers can facilitate a consistent flow of information both in the home and in the school. The iPad is also predictable. It will do what it did yesterday, and in the same way. Children with special needs can count on that consistency. Many of the available features and apps on the iPad can be used in much the same way that peer reviewed and proven special education techniques are already being used. So, while the tool is revolutionary, it is not so revolutionary in the sense that the apps reflect what we already accept as effective special education teaching methods.

There are several great resources about iPads and how they are affecting or are affected by special education. Here are a few links to explore:

http://marianipad.wikispaces.com/Articles+Worth+Reading

http://specialeducationtoday.com/category/ipad/

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/equipment/tp/featuredapps.htm

http://specialeducationtech.com/special-education-tech-news/conflicted-practice-ipods-ipads-in-special-ed/