Now, we've had the iPads in the classrooms for a few days and clearly, they are already having an impact on our ability to expand our presentations and language options. The students are immediately drawn to them, but we are maintaining control so they will be used for educational and language development purposes. That doesn't mean they aren't very fun, though - for kids and staff alike!
Friday, September 10, 2010
iPads arrived for our students with autism!
This week, we got our iPads for each classroom, and what excitement they have generated! In a brief in-service for our teachers and SLPs by our veteran Speech and Language consultant, the staff learned about the basics - getting started, volume control, etc., and then we got to scroll through apps of all kinds. Each teacher and speech therapist spent a good deal of time pouring over the incredible variety of apps, and getting increasingly excited while discovering just a few of the obviously many possibilities available on the iPad.
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This sounds like a good opportunity to get some real data on how these devices work. Currently, although there is lots of excitement about the technology, there is little objective evidence of effectiveness. What measures will be used to determine this? They are, indeed, fun machines, but that could also detract from their being used as communication aids. I'm looking forward to following your blog to see how this works out ;)
ReplyDeleteAll of the iPads are registered with a secure computer on the school's iTunes account so the only apps that will be added are those that we find useful. Also, we disabled any apps which were not directly related to each iPad's intended function.
ReplyDeleteWe're still experimenting with different apps in a variety of settings. Since our staff has experience with many different communication devices, we should know very soon how the iPad stacks up on a bang-for-the-buck basis. Stay tuned!
I have been DYING to get these for our classrooms. Did they come with the apps preloaded? Can you give me any info on where/how to get a grant for my school? We have three classes for kids with autism and these would help them soooo much!
ReplyDeleteJennifer T, sp. ed teacher
marguerite7@yahoo.com