Friday 4 July 2014

iPad learning for special needs #iPadLearningZA


I learn something new each time I attend a workshop with regards the use of iPads and learning.

Karen Hart, an iPad Facilitator at Think Ahead, gave a workshop on Wednesday at the iStore on Sandton Drive about app solutions for special needs.

Karen Hart

iPad is the best for remedial teaching, because it has so many inbuilt features! 
(I believe it to be true, because I haven't seen other tablets with the same features!)

The Core Group is responsible for the following:
Local support for educators, parents and learners
Extensive teacher training
Curriculum integration
Infrastructure and technical planning and support
Parent and learner support (at every single iStore)
        Check out the iParent website for workshops and resources.
Community of best practise
International keynote speakers


App solutions for special needs:

Karen Hart:

Dysphasia

A child who can type, but not write.
He will type on the Notability app, and mail it back to the teacher. They could both scan their learning material, and mail it back to each other.
Apps: 

Dyslexia

Solutions:
- Improving character recognition  - Dyslexia Quest
- Zoom - a built-in function to enlarge text - 200 to 500%
- Speak selection - built-in function to read text aloud

Auditory learning

Struggling learning text documents

- Use in-built voice memo (or something like QuickVoice?) to record his summarized work 
- Memos can be shared via email or iTunes or on iOs devices (sent to iPod)
- The student listens to his summarized work
- App: Text Grabber to convert from image into text file
- In-built Speak Auto-Text (with Accessibility function) can be used here as well

Low Vision and Blind

In-built settings in Accessibility: (first place to change settings for visually or auditory challenged people)

- Inverted colours - black background with white text / with orange and purple
- Zoom function
- Voice-over > speaks every single version on screen
- Flexy: works with qwerty keyboard (chosen app) > builds up dictionary of your own words. Train it and create predictive text. Flexy speaks the iPad to you. 
- Google Maps - direct you step by step

Hard of hearing

This is especially a challenge in the South African context. (There are no sign language apps).

Apps:
Book Creato
- Can be used to create own manuals and videos for learning.
- Custom creation of visual dictionary
- The books are uploaded onto iBooks

iMovie (or can also use the normal video function on the iPad)
With iMovie there is an option to make your own movie or use the trailer function for                     instant themes.

In-built features:
Mono audio on iPad > can customize what level of sound go to ear
FaceTime > smooth communication
Camera for use in visual learning and teaching
- The Accessibility feature can be accessed by a triple click at the bottom.
Voice over - Change rate of speech that iPad speaks with Rotor function (twisting                               motion swipe up or down with three fingers
- Speak Selection (Choose voices)

We were shown how easy it is to use Book Creator and to incorporate video, picture and sounds. 
Book Creator has also come up again and again as one of THE apps to use with regards learning and teaching. Specific books can be created for specific needs, and children can use this very successfully in their own learning and projects at school. With one app you are able to create many different solutions!

I will do another post about Autism and some of the suggested apps by Elschen Kluge next week.


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