Apps For Special Education

Each time I take some time to really look around the App store I am amazed at how many exist. The possibilities are endless. I find it difficult to sort through which ones are worth it, even when they are free. I find it interesting how many free Apps are out there. I always feel there has to be some gimmick to suck you in and eventually make you play. For instance I was really enjoying Candy Crush Saga. I was free and I was an addict. Then I reached Level 33 and it needed me to pay to continue. I was sucked in. The girls just downloaded their first "paid" Apps over the weekend. They had itunes cards, so it's not like it really cost them anything. Still they took time to decide on how to spend it. 

On to the webinar... 

Science 360: This App has a bank of science videos on a  variety of topics.  It seems easy to use, just use your finger to scroll through the videos until you come across you are interested in for pleasure or for school work. This App would be a great motivator for anyone. Sometimes, especially in early elementary our science units are the most interesting.  It would also be good for those students who need enrichment. I really see this being useful for older grades. I decided to try it out on Emma. She's hooked! It provides hundreds of science videos. Obviously some of the topics are over her head, but she was really impressed with the ocean videos. She was exploring and learning but didn't feel it was work because it was so engaging. 

Dragon Dictation: I can remember Emily W.-F. bringing up Dragon Dictation in one of our early course. Of course this was pre-iPad for me. This voice to text App lets you speak to your iPad and then the iPad converts your spoken words to text.  A great tool for students  who struggle with written output. There's no typing, or fine motor coordination involved, just being able to speak. I do question how clear one might have to speak into the program to have the dictation be exact. I know that with Siri, she rarely understands what Spencer is saying, and struggles to answer Emma's questions. 

NASA:  First of all, I find many, not all things, but many things NASA interesting. I've visited both the Johnson Space Center (at 5 years old) and the Kennedy Space Centre (several visits) and have seen a shuttle take off twice in Florida. Right now I love following the Twitter posts from Commander Chris Hadfield. The images he's taking from the International Space Station are amazing! The NASA App HD allows you to discover a wealth of NASA information. It's not a game, and it's not as interactive as many other apps, but there are beautiful images of and from space and a wealth of information from and about NASA. Great tool for space units.