Apps for Austims

Monday, October 19, 2015

There are many autistic children that have difficulty speaking or expressing themselves with words. This can be very frustrating for an autistic child. Not to mention, not only is it frustrating for the child but also for the child’s parents and siblings.  For example, not being able to help out your daughter or son can make one feel very helpless and sad. Now, thanks to today’s technology autistic children are able to express what they feel or want. One of these new particular apps is called Proloquo2go.Proloquo2go is a Latin word that means speak out loud.

Proloquo2go is an app that can be downloaded on an I-Pad or I-phone. This program speaks out what you want to say or feel by simply pressing on a picture with words. Many years ago an app like this would cost around $7000. Now, this particular app will not cost nearly as much.  This app is worth the money because being able to express what you feel is priceless.  Whether it’s by using your own voice or allowing an I-Pad to speak for you.  As a matter of fact, anybody can use this application.  Proloquo2go is for anyone that is having difficulty speaking. Not only do people with autism use this app but so do many others with Down syndrome and other handicaps.

As I mentioned before, one would simply click on a picture with words and by doing so, the system will speak what you clicked on.  It can also speak in sentence form, how awesome is that? Creating an app that can express how you feel by simply clicking on what you want it to say is great. Children and adults do not have live a frustrated life. Hence, parents can now understand and help out their child in whatever way they need. It’s is a good feeling to know that your child can speak through an I-Pad and say what they feel. 

Ipads in the Classroom

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Every student appears to in-take information differently. According to this article Apple’s I-pads state that their product is not only helping students with special educational needs but also students at every different level of education and subject. This is all based on a small size sample of studies compared to the amount of students nationwide.

According to one study in a New York special education music class, the I-pad helped the students improve in all aspect of their school life. This class included students with a variety of disabilities, such as: mental, physical, developmental and autistic.  Not only did their communication skills improve but also their grades. Teachers claimed that the students overall skills were strengthened, such as their motivation, social bonds, future dreams and all the other little things that they see on an everyday basis.

   Apple claims that students appear to be improving in all aspects of education due to the use of I-pads. Studies appear to be backing these claims. However, the research is based on a very small percentage of students when compared to the amount of students nationwide. There appears to be a niche in the I-pad/notebook technology world that represents more than 1 billion in annual revenue.

In conclusion, I believe that these apple I-pads do help out students. It helps them improve their overall education and communication skills. I am also certain that they can help out more the special ed students as they have the harder times communicating. However, I also believe that the percentage of improvement is not as much as suggested by Apple. I believe that it is exaggerated so that they can continue to control this niche in the schooling systems.

Constructivist Classrooms

What does constructivist classrooms define? Constructivist classrooms are classrooms that allow students to think, question, and reflect freely based on their background knowledge and experiences.  According to the article “What is a constructivist classroom?” Taylor states, “Research shows that constructivist learning is congruent with how the brain learns.” Many believe that students can achieve more with this type of learning. For example, everyone learns differently and comprehends at different levels. Compared to the classrooms of the 50’s where teachers were instructed to present lessons that were dull and with too much information.  Constructivist classrooms are built to allow children to develop critical thinking, hands on, and work with a partner or a small group. Students seem to benefit when working in small groups or with a partner because they become more engaged with whatever lesson is being taught. Also, classrooms in the 50’s concentrated on worksheets, workbooks and basal reading. While constructivist classrooms let their students write in journals, books, workshops and present real live situations that again allow students to develop cognitive thinking. Another difference between the classrooms in the old days was that teachers were the evaluators. The constructivist ones not only the teachers are the evaluators but also the students. They do a lot of self-reflection and write about it to improve oneself. Teachers in constructivist classrooms are very much involved with the students by asking them questions, developing discussions and sharing/ exchanging ideas with each other.  There is no right or wrong answer to these type of teaching methods. An old school classroom might be enough to educate children and prepare them for the future but a constructivist classroom can allow your student to create his/her own future. In our school students enjoy working with a partner and enjoy expressing their ideas or thoughts from their everyday experiences.