Some Notable Tools and Apps for Special Needs Students. May 16, 2014 One field that education technology has made a significant impact is students with special needs. Technology offers these individuals with many opportunities for communication and interaction. Here is a set of notable tools in this field. A popular and full-featured Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) iOS app to help those who have difficulty speaking.
An iOS app with speech therapy exercises to help people with autism practice rate, rhythm, stress, and loudness of speech. Designed with Applied Behavior Analysis techniques, this iOS app helps individuals with autism learn how to calm themselves down. Developed by psychologists, this iOS app helps improve social skills. This AAC website and Google Chromebook app allows you to create, edit, play, and share communication boards on Google Drive. This collection is curated by high school district librarian Shonda Brisco. This one is curated by the Louisiana Assistive Technology Centers. 4 Free Web Tools to Boost Student Engagement. When students use tool technologies to create content, their engagement is largely based on how successfully teachers craft the learning assignments, rather than on the technology itself.
This is different from what happens with other types of technologies, such as tutor technologies (e.g. software for learning). Here, student engagement depends principally on technology, taking teachers almost completely out of the equation. Having said that, there is ample evidence that when meaningful instruction designed by the teacher is combined with motivational tool technologies, students' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement can be significantly increased -- more than technology could ever achieve alone. Motivational tool technologies, amongst others, possess the following key characteristics: myBrainshark myBrainshark is a superb tool that allows students to add a voiceover to PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, videos, and photo albums -- or to simply produce podcasts. Padlet. Sakai Project | collaboration and learning - for educators by educators.
Restricting young people’s access to social networks would be a huge mistake. IT’S A COLD, wintry evening and, in a room in the heart of the Liberties, a group of teenagers is hard at work. In one corner, five young people confer excitedly over how best to edit a film they’ve just shot. Nearby, another group records and edits podcasts. Two teenagers listen intently to a tutor, brows furrowed in concentration as he explains how to build a smartphone app. Alongside them, three young people upload new text and photos to their blogs. This is Future Creators, a free after-school programme for 13 to 16-year-olds in Dublin 8, delivered by the Digital Hub Development Agency in collaboration with the National College of Art and Design.
Engaged, communicative and interested in learning Typically, participants in Future Creators come from designated disadvantaged schools and are at risk of early school-leaving. Learning skills relevant to their envrionment In recent weeks, a lot has been said about social networks, cyberbullying and young people’s access to online tools. The Schools Broadband Exemplar Project. High-speed broadband for all secondary schools 'by 2014' Fiach Kelly Political Correspondent – 07 February 2012 EVERY secondary school in the country is to get industrial-speed broadband to allow for interactive teaching within two-and-a-half years as the Government plays catch-up with our international neighbours. The rollout of 100Mb per second broadband in all 650 secondary schools is scheduled to be completed in September 2014 -- although just 200 schools will be connected by the start of the new school year in September. There will be a further 200 connected next year and the remaining 250 by 2014 -- meaning thousands of children will finish three full academic years before their school is connected.
The entire scheme will cost a little over €40m and will be jointly funded by the Department of Communications and the Department of Education . In addition, there are no plans to extend the scheme to primary schools, the Irish Independent has learned. Pilot Mr Rabbitte said the faster broadband is a "win-win" for students and teachers.
Read More. School broadband plans announced. 05 March 2013 High speed broadband will be installed in more than 200 secondary schools by the end of the year, ministers have vowed. The second stage of a national roll-out will result in 216 schools in Dublin, Meath and Kildare having the business class service, with the final 250 to be connected in 2014. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said despite Ireland's current economic difficulties, the investment in driving schools forward into the digital age was money well spent. Mr Quinn said: "The internet is providing learners with the possibility of learning at any time and in any place. Accessing education through mixed media delivers a richer educational experience.
He committed to the integration of ICT/digital technology in teaching and learning across the curriculum, including as part of the new junior certificate from September 2014. "From now on these schools will mirror the workplaces of tomorrow. Press Association. Welcome to Digital Schools | Digital Schools. Blog. Many teachers of junior primary classes, learning support and resource teachers and indeed other SEN teachers will have familiarity with Clicker 5 and 6 on the PC and Mac platforms. The good news is that Clicker has come to tablets also with the Clicker Docs app for IOS - (€25.99) available for purchase on the iTunes app store. Clicker Docs is a child friendly primary school wordprocessor for the iPad. It requires IOS 6, so an iPad 2 or better is required to run the app. It offers pupils a word prediction facility that will encourage pupils to be more adventurous in their use of vocabulary when writing. Crick realise that in may classrooms iPad tablets may be timetabled and not accessible to teachers and pupils at all times, so they have made sure that work started on the iPad app is transferable to Clicker 6 on your PC or Mac.
More information on Clicker Docs can be found on: Youtube Video is available which demonstrates the app in action. Screenr Screencast - by Brian S. The H2 Learning Blog. Schools 100 MBS Project. FAQs. General Questions Are all schools connected to the Schools Broadband Network ? Where can schools access more information on the Schools Broadband Programme? What should schools do regarding Internet access in the interim of being connected under this programme? Filtering Questions Why are some websites blocked on the Schools Broadband Network? Can I unblock some websites for an Adult Class Technology Questions Is broadband limited to a number of hours of Internet access per day? What broadband access technologies will be used to connect schools? What is a Broadband Router?
Are all schools connected to the Schools Broadband Network? 99% of schools are conencted to the Schools Broadband Network. . ^ Back to top Where can schools access more information on the Schools Broadband Programme? The Service Desk is the central point of contact providing schools with information, advice and technical support in relation to the Schools Broadband Programme. Can I unblock some websites for an Adult Class. Schools Broadband. Portal for Irish Education. 33 Interesting Ways to use Mobile Devices in the classroom. Text Message (SMS) Polls and Voting, Audience Response System | Poll Everywhere. FON_project_2010.pdf. Learnosity Connects Language Learners Worldwide via Voxbone.
Learnosity Connects Language Learners Worldwide via Voxbone By Dian Schaffhauser 03/04/09 Learnosity , a software company specializing in language learning, will be using Voxbone services to affordably connect language students around the world with their teachers and each other. Through its global IP network and store of access numbers, Voxbone will provide a means for Learnosity's students to share their native fluencies and accents with others on other continents, for the cost of local calls.
The company said in a statement that the Learnosity platform and hosted applications have been deployed in governmental education projects in Ireland and Australia and are under consideration in 10 other countries. In practice, students dial in on Voxbone numbers, enter their student IDs, and meet fellow students of their subject language on conference calls, where they conduct assigned role-playing conversations. "Also, there is no learning curve for the student. Learnosity (Learnosity) Fon_Project.pdf.
2010: Learnosity Prezi by Gavin Cooney on Prezi. Learnosity / Open University iPhone App demo. Learnosity. Learnosity Voice - learnosity-acec2010-presentation.pdf. Tour. Microsoft Word - Document3 - Fon_phase3_report_2010.pdf. FÓN project. Foghlaim Ón Nuatheicneolaíocht / Learning through new Technologies The FÓN project examined the use of mobile phones and networked computers for teaching, learning and assessing Irish at post-primary level. Work on FÓN was divided into three phases: Click on the links to the left or above to learn more about each phase of the project . So how were mobile phones and networked computers used in MALL and FÓN? The mobile phones were used in three ways: 1.
The networked computers were used to facilitate online text-chat between students in a secure and teacher-monitored area. Teachers had access to a secure online interface where they could listen back to students' responses, provide feedback, set up new chat sessions and monitor student progress. Students had a similar online interface, where they could access all of their recorded responses and chats as well as any teacher feedback associated with them. MALL and FÓN - documentation and resources Related links. Mobile Learning Technologies for 21st Century Classrooms. By Jonathan Wylie The mobile revolution is here. More and more schools are moving toward mobile learning in the classroom as a way to take advantage of a new wave of electronic devices that offer portability and ease of use on a budget.
Netbooks, iPads, cell phones, iPods, e-readers and even PDAs are increasingly becoming the tools of choice for today's educators, and it is easy to see why. Mobile learning technologies offer teachers-and students-a more flexible approach to learning. Computer labs are great, but do your students use technology in the classroom, in the school garden, in the study hall, in the gym, and on field trips? In 2001, Marc Prensky warned us, "Our students have changed radically. The education system we work in is not always known for its speed at latching on to new ideas and methodologies, but with mobile learning it is catching up-quickly. The research that has been done on the use of mobile apps like these has been very promising. So what about e-readers?