Ah-ha moments revealed

Reflection Summary (Ah-ha moments revealed)

This course has been eye opening and extremely useful. The reason I decided to take this course was to improve not only on my knowledge about the various assistive technologies available, but also how to use these technologies myself. Before this course began, I had used an ipad a bit and felt fairly comfortable as I attended some of your assistive technology training sessions and have gone back to my school to train students and teachers on how to use various applications. Although, I had some training and knowledge about useful apps, how to navigate the ipad, I did not know how to troubleshoot or to properly make suggestions to other teachers about appropriate applications and assistive tech devices for kids. I was regurgitating what I had learned in my training, but not fully understanding why it would be useful. Not understanding the basis of why something would work well for a particular student.

I am relied upon to make suggestions to teachers about programing, teaching practices, appropriateness of activities for kids and it is my duty to teach my colleagues about enhancing performance of individuals with disabilities and providing independent access to a task. I finally feel confident in giving others guidance and advice, so professionally and personally I have gained confidence in myself as a Resource teacher. One question that I had been pondering throughout this course is "How will I implement some of these ideas discussed in class with my students and staff?".  I know that I will be able to implement and apply many of the ideas acquired during our time together as several teachers have shown interest in learning how to navigate the ipad and learn about the apps and when to use them and I know I am up for the challenge of teaching them. I am going to refer these staff members to get training through you (Barb) and then we can follow up by practicing once a week or biweekly (whatever we collectively decide). 

The hands on activities really aided my learning. Having the opportunity to play with the apps myself while getting the background information about how they can be used and going over who would use these apps and how to implement them into your teaching was practical and I found it very useful. I have applied this in my own teaching and a direct result my participation in this class has made me a better teacher and a more supportive colleague. I remember Lindsay asking me one day to fill her in on all the best writing apps for struggling writers. Before taking this course, I would have had to look them up and I may have just simply said iwordQ as that’s what I was familiar with, but instead I made a list of the top 5 I would use and gave reasons why I would use them and who they would be suitable for. I have to admit, I did have a list of the best apps/my favorite apps that I made during class one day and was able to refer to it to provide her with the information. 

Something I believe I struggled with in this course, was listening to instructions. I feel like I did not follow instructions when creating my itunesU courses. I think I had an idea of what I was expecting the course to look like, which did not match the expected criteria exactly. I left out key information and did not follow the UDL the way I know I should have. The quote by Alexander McQueen states,” Of course I make mistakes. I’m human. If I didn’t make mistakes, I’d never learn. You can only go forward by making mistakes. The biggest part of our learning comes from making mistakes. I realize that I did not design these courses in a way that made it inclusive for all. I think of myself as being an inclusive teacher and in terms of ensuring all of my students are engaged and independent, I think that I could have done better. If I could do it over, I would and I have a better understanding of how I would provide access for all students to participate in a way that they were comfortable and more successful. 

To conclude, this course has been by far the most useful and applicable course I have taken during my time at the University level, including my undergraduate degree, Education degree and my Masters of Inclusive Education. Thank you Barb for your guidance and support. 

Taking AT away

Hello readers,

I am usually against people ranting online as it seems pointless and distasteful; however, in this case, I am going to go on a little rant as it relates to the importance of assistive technology and how it truly can change someone’s life. 

One of my students (my favorite student if I was allowed to say so) is no longer at my school and has moved to a different school board. During our time together, we practiced reading strategies, writing skills, basic Math skills, life skills and spent many hours laughing, joking and learning together. This student of mine is someone who many underestimate on a regular basis based on her language barrier (her speech is difficult to understand if you don't know her well) and her cognitive delay. I will admit, I underestimated her at first before I got to know her. 

Luckily, it did not take long for this student to get her hands on an ipad to use in all of her classes and it was hers alone. She didn't seem to use it much last year or even in the beginning of September. She would look at pictures of her favorite band and listen to music using her ipad, but beyond that, she really did not take much interest in it. This student would receive one-on-one Resource support with me on a daily basis, so I took the opportunity to show her ways in which she can use certain apps to help with Math assignments, writing tasks, organizing her money and budgeting, ways to present her projects to her class and so on. Each day, she would become more and more excited to learn about the apps and practice using them on her own. One day, she came into my room and I could tell she didn't need my help anymore when it came to using BookCreator. Her teaching assistant made it clear she really did not understand how to use the application, so my student showed her how. I watched as she presented her the project she made for her Social Studies class, where she took pictures of her entire community and described the importance of each place. She showed the teaching assistant her biography of her favorite artist including pictures, video and text describing the person of interest. She even showed how she made a collection of "silly Ms. Munroe" pictures that she had secretly taken of me when I was teaching other students. She made a book for me without our knowledge and it was very sweet. To sum things up, this student not only learned how to use the apps that I showed her, but she was able to use them independently, teach others how to use them and even participated in sharing her projects, assignments and thinking with the rest of her class as an independent learner. She was proud of her accomplishments and surpassed what I thought she was capable of along with many other colleagues. 

Having access to this ipad really changed her life and it was the first time I saw such progression in such a recognizable grand scale. I wish I could end this story here, on a positive note, but that is unfortunately not where the story ends. This student moved unexpectedly and by no fault of her own she was forced to change school boards. This student does not have her ipad any longer. She has to make do without it as it does not travel with her automatically. I understand why and it’s not to say she won’t get one, but it hurts to know that she is expected to do without for the time being. It breaks my heart that she is gone and it truly is a shame that she does not have what she needs to be independent and succeed. This student is resilient and strong and I know she will do well no matter what, but I hope that her ipad is returned to her so she can have what she deserves and needs to be the girl I have come to love and miss. 

Reflections throughout the course

Reflections

We began this course learning about the Universal Design for Learning. Honestly, I had heard about UDL many times throughout my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience/Psychology and in Bachelor of Education but never truly understood it clearly. I thought of it as being somewhat similar to differentiation and certainly did not think it would be applicable all the time, only when necessary. This was a huge misconception that I am embarrassed to say I believed. It was evident that I really did not understand the purpose of the Universal Design of Learning. I found the discussion about the Universal Design for Learning to be one of the most useful parts of our course. It was interesting to me that many, if not most of us had heard the terminology before, yet we did not understand it clearly. I learned the clear difference between the Universal Design for Learning and differentiation and how to implement a more accessible teaching design that doesn’t simply differentiate, but provide opportunities for students to learn and show their thinking in a way that fits them as an individual. Differentiation is decided upon after the fact, once a student cannot participate in a homogenous class, whereas UDL is used from the start to allow for all learners to have access to participating and learning, improving engagement and interest. UDL challenges the curriculum. Ever since our first class, I started to be more mindful of my teaching practices. I often ask myself, “Am I giving students access to knowledge in a way that everyone can learn and be independent?”. 

We spent some time on AT during my Education degree and as a Resource teacher, I have had experience using AT with students; however, I learned a great deal about other devices that are available. Assistive technology is about enhancing performance of individuals with disabilities and providing independent access to a task. I always try my best to allow my students to have as much independence as possible and gaining knowledge about low tech devices and applications to best suit reluctant readers, writers and everyone in between has been the most useful. One thing I find that does not happen as frequently as maybe it should is re-assessing students for change in the appropriate assistive technology. I remember we in class, we talked about the many changes that occur as time passes and a students gets older. There are many physical changes, cognitive changes, emotional and social changes that take place and it’s important that the technology that these students have access to also changes with them to suit their needs. I know that in my experience as a Resource teacher I have seen a disconnect there at times when a student could become more independent with the change in their assistive technology. The beginning of October marked a change for me in my thinking when it comes to fitting students with the appropriate assistive technology. I began to challenge my idea of what assistive technology actually is and how it can be used, who can use it (everyone), who should use it, what it can be used for and how it can change so quickly. 

After seeing how PollEv works, I knew that it would be something my students would love and become even more engaged in. I love the immediate feedback you get as a teacher and the sharing of information in a way that students can remain fairly anonymous amongst their peers; however, I know each student’s thinking. I think this is a great way to share information, lead into discussions, check in with students to get a quick glance of their thinking and provide a visual representation of the class brainstorm/feedback as a whole class. 

Throughout the course, I had the chance to play with many new applications and test them out and determine the value and usefulness to particular students I work with. The following list include my favourite apps. 

Best Apps for UDL

1. Clicker sentences- early emergent writers for young students. Clicker docs- for older kids in elementary, subject specific and allows for word banks to choose from, not word prediction (NOT as good as Cowriter for story writing because no word predictor)
2. Cowriter for word prediction and iReadWrite 
3. Prologque for non-verbal students or students who need help communication such as students who are selectively mute. 
4. Garage band- audio recording, musically inclined students 
5. BookCreator (everyone!! This is by far my favourite app that I have ever used! It has changed one of my student’s lives)
6. imovie (everyone!! All of my students LOVE this)
7. Explain Everything- like youtube, explanation (with my voice) of an activity. Great for students who need extra repetition of the activity or concept and also could be used when you are not able to be with a student or a day where you are out. 
8. Pocket pond 
9. Readiris (all of my students)
10. Claropdf (all of my students)

Case Study

Case Study from New Ross Consolidated School

It is my pleasure to introduce one of my students who is a 13 year old male in grade 8 who has been diagnosed with a learning disability in both reading and writing. He is a conscientious student who always puts his best effort forward and who’s willingness and hard work is inspiring and has significantly impacted his academic success and learning. Although this student, let’s call him Charles, is motivated and tries his best, he continually has been struggling to meet the expected curriculum outcomes relating to reading and writing for his grade level and prior to having access to assistive technology was receiving C’s in both writing and reading strands of Language Arts. I am proposing that as a result of this student’s access to assistive technology, Charles is not only able to meet curriculum outcomes and is currently at a B level in both reading and writing, but his personality has changed, his organization has improved and he is using his device across all subject areas to illustrate his learning.

Charles lives on a farm, so it’s no surprise that he has many responsibilities at home to care for his family’s animals. He often works well into the evening following school and has little time for homework. Charles is well liked by his peers and his teachers. He is known as being easy going, hard working, cooperative and very bright. He excels in Math as his Math reasoning, perceptual reasoning, processing speed and number operations are above average. Although Charles has had success in school, he has always had to work much harder to succeed in reading and writing as he is below average in phonological awareness, spelling, reading comprehension, verbal comprehension, working memory and written output. Charles lacked confidence in his reading and writing ability and although he would be willing to share his writing with peers or read aloud he certainly did not display confidence. Charles is going to be in grade 9 next year and will be attending Forest Heights High School, which means the expectations placed on him academically and socially are going to be much heavier. He is used to being in a small class (currently he has 12 other students in his grade), so next year he will not be receiving the same teacher assistance. The importance of getting Charles prepared for next year’s challenges is crucial in his future success and for an overall release of independence. 

Prior to having access to assistive technology, Charles’ writing was almost illegible to his peers and teachers. He has wonderful ideas, but organization was a challenge. Charles would make frequent spelling errors even in high frequency words such as want, what, there, etc. It also would take Charles at least 3-4 times longer to produce the same piece of writing without having access to assistive technology, specifically the ipad. Fortunately, this year all students in the South Shore Regional School board who have been diagnosed with a learning disability were given access to an ipad to help them become more independent learners. Knowing that we were going to have a Learning Disabilities specialist come to our school and customize an ipad for my students, I began encouraging Charles to learn how to use the ipad. During our Science IBL class and Digital Citizenship IBL class, I would have Charles use an ipad to do his research and write up to get more comfortable using the ipad. Once our LD specialist came in to work with me and my students, she said that the most receptive student to the ipad was in fact Charles. He learned very quickly how to use his device and whenever possible would show his understanding through using the ipad. I have seen great improvement in this student and through speaking with teachers have also heard Charles has come a long way in his learning and what he is able to produce. The main applications that he uses on a daily basis include Claro pdf, Readiris, Notes HD, Google Drive for textbooks and novels (he uses text-to-speech in order to follow along with the English novel), Co-writer and BookCreator. Overall, Co-writer has probably made the most significant difference for Charles as he is able to produce a piece of writing that actually illustrates his thinking in a much more polished manner. 

In conclusion, Charles is able to show his thinking and understanding without the written output barrier, he is more engaged, has more self-confidence, his writing is more comprehensive, he is more willing to contribute to the class, his understanding of written work has improved as he is hearing and seeing what he reads and he no longer needs as much time to complete a product, which relieves the frustration both on him and his teachers. There are some draw backs that must be mentioned, which include his distractibility at times in the classroom and he can lose focus on the topic at hand. Also, he is not permitted to take his device home, so he is not able to complete homework using his ipad. Hopefully, next year he will have access to his device at home especially once he matures and shows he can care for the device on his own. Overall, it has been a truly life changing experience for Charles and it has been very exciting as an educator to see how greatly he has been impacted by the accessibility of assistive technology. 

Top apps for reluctant readers

Name of app: iBooks  

Description of app: The latest version of the iBook is particularly useful for children because it offers a read-aloud feature in which a narrator reads the book to you. For some books, the screen highlights words as you read along. You can also write your own novel (students, too), which can be published and shared throughout the class. This app allows you to download classic books, enjoy picture books and novels, so it’s great for students of all ages. In addition, there is a feature that allows interactive learning, diagrams, videos and pictures that go along with text to encourage reluctant readers. The font is easy to read and you have a choice of page layout.

Why I chose it: This is a great app to use in for students to share their published writing activities in addition to using this app for reluctant readers. I know for many students, this app is a motivator when writing and reading. Students are motivated to create a quality piece of writing which can be published in iBook, but also students rely upon their iBook book shelf during reading activities as opposed to the anxiety ridden paperback novels. I chose this app because it is an all around fantastic app to use for many different reluctant readers and for students who have a passion for reading. 

Who would benefit: iBook is an excellent app for students who require assistance in reading and need to hear the words for comprehension as opposed to just seeing/decoding the text independently.  I have a student in grade 5 who using this app daily. His classmates read the novel, "Holes' aloud each day. He has a hearing impairment and gets extremely frustrated when having to rely on his classmates to read aloud. He will put headphones on and listen to "Holes" on iBook while reading along. He then can participate in the discussion and complete a reading response to the book. Students can also post their own books (that they have published) on iBooks as well. Readers can change translate the text as it reads written text in 18 languages. This is a perfect app for ESL students who may find comfort in the ability to translate if needed. There is a built in word or phrase finder so you can locate quotes, characters and the like. You can adjust the brightness of the screen so students who are visually impaired can use this app as well.

Name of app: Read me stories

Description of app: This app helps to develop a daily reading habit that delivers a brand new book every day. Fun features include text highlighting as you read and the ability to touch characters and explore story lines.

Why I chose it: I was unfamiliar with this app until one of my students in grade 3 showed me while we were using his ipad. He was really excited to show me a story he had been reading and wanted to share it with me. He is a very reluctant reader, so seeing his excitement definitely suggested to me that this is a truly important app for him to encourage him to read more. 

Who would benefit: The student who shared this app with me has ASD and has great difficulty staying on task when participating in classroom activities; however, when using this app he is completely engaged and focused. This is a great app for someone who needs to be able to explore the story line and characters in an interactive manner and have the ability to hear the words aloud while reading in order to be independent. It is amazing to see a student who is often dependent upon his teachers and teaching assistant to enjoy using an app such as this to read and show his independence and confidence in his own abilities. 

Name of app: ReadIris 

Description of app: This app has an editable text feature that can be used for scanned documents and pdf files.This app allows you to import images from your photo library or import pdf files, not to mention it recognizes over 130 languages. This app is designed to allow users to select content they want converted, reordered scanned images and to choose the output format in which to be used and to export the new files into iCloud (no internet connection necessary) so it can be used at your convenience anytime. 

Why I chose this app: I love this app because it recognizes all text, graphics, images and tables in documents. It is easy to use, reliable and of high quality unlike many app that claim to have the same purpose. 

Who would benefit: Students who would benefit the most from using this app are ESL students, students who need documents converted in order to use the text to speech feature in claropdf. This is an app that I would highly recommend for students who have a learning disability in reading, students who have a visual impairment and need text read to them aloud (using this in combination with claropdf) and for students who need text read to them during tests. This also useful for students who tend to be disorganized. Instead of keeping track of paper documents, they can scan all of their paper copies onto readIris and rely upon having the copy at their finger tips. 

Claropdf 

Description of app: This is an app that includes features such as text to speech, highlighting text options, proofreading accessible text. It allows the user to have more accessibility to text documents. Claropdf allows the background colour of the pdf to be changed, to enhance readability. It also supports VoiceOver. You can increase the font using this app, so students with visual impairment can have access to the same documents. There is text search within the document, so you can search long documents for a particular place of interest.

Why I chose it: Many of my students at the junior high level and even at the elementary level use this app. It’s easy to use, comprehensive and allows students to participate in the same activities as the rest of the class and allowing students to have independence in their participation. This app allows students to read text and complete assignments with more independence because they are able to manipulate the text. 

My favourite apps for reluctant readers 

1. Name of app: Raz-Kids 

Description of app: This app includes books and songs that help teach kids how to read using animated story books. Children can read along with the highlighted words as the narrator reads aloud.

This app provides a selection of hundreds of interactive, leveled books spanning 27 levels of difficulty, while covering a wide range of subjects. 

Why I chose it: Most students at the elementary level are familiar with the website and how to use it. This app is an extension of the website, which is easily accessible for all who have an ipad. I chose this app because not only can students see the words they are reading, but they also have the words highlighted and read aloud to them as they read. It’s easy to navigate for a child as well. I also like that teachers can customize assignments, view reports, and track student progress using this app, not to mention, reluctant readers can use this on their own at home for reading pleasure.

Who would benefit: All students, but particularly those who are auditory learners and students who have difficulty with decoding text and phonological awareness. This app would mainly be used as a compensatory app for reluctant readers. This app can help engage students who need extra motivation and it can help students to see their own progress, helping them gain confidence in their reading skills. 

2. Name of app: iBooks  

Description of app: The latest version of the iBook is particularly useful for children because it offers a read-aloud feature in which a narrator reads the book to you. For some books, the screen highlights words as you read along. You can also write your own novel (students, too), which can be published and shared throughout the class. This app allows you to download classic books, enjoy picture books and novels, so it’s great for students of all ages. In addition, there is a feature that allows interactive learning, diagrams, videos and pictures that go along with text to encourage reluctant readers. The font is easy to read and you have a choice of page layout.

Why I chose it: This is a great app to use in for students to share their published writing activities in addition to using this app for reluctant readers. I know for many students, this app is a motivator when writing and reading. Students are motivated to create a quality piece of writing which can be published in iBook, but also students rely upon their iBook book shelf during reading activities as opposed to the anxiety ridden paperback novels. I chose this app because it is an all around fantastic app to use for many different reluctant readers and for students who have a passion for reading. 

Who would benefit: iBook is an excellent app for students who require assistance in reading and need to hear the words for comprehension as opposed to just seeing/decoding the text independently.  I have a student in grade 5 who using this app daily. His classmates read the novel, "Holes' aloud each day. He has a hearing impairment and gets extremely frustrated when having to rely on his classmates to read aloud. He will put headphones on and listen to "Holes" on iBook while reading along. He then can participate in the discussion and complete a reading response to the book. Students can also post their own books (that they have published) on iBooks as well. Readers can change translate the text as it reads written text in 18 languages. This is a perfect app for ESL students who may find comfort in the ability to translate if needed. There is a built in word or phrase finder so you can locate quotes, characters and the like. You can adjust the brightness of the screen so students who are visually impaired can use this app as well.

3. Name of app: ABC Pocket Phonics

Description of app: Pocket Phonics teaches children more than 170 frequently used words. This app plays a recording of a letter and then asks the child to find the letter out of a group of about eight letters. When the child selects the correct letter, he or she receives a thumbs up and moves on. 

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it focuses on sight word recognition by using the visual and also the auditory in combination. 

Who would benefit: Students who need extra support in sight word recognition, students who need practice identifying letters and words and phonemic awareness would benefit from using this app. The app provides positive feedback and acts like a game, so for students who need extra motivation, this is a great one. This app would benefit someone with a phonological deficit. 

4. Name of app: Learn to Read!

Description of app:  This app is a novel version of sight word flashcards. Using a flash card deck of sight words, children will develop the building blocks of reading. This app includes voice prompts, examples (which we know are extremely important), and has easy-to-read text.

Why I chose it: This app focuses on sight word recognition using voice prompts, examples and straight forward easy text. This is an app that students can use on a daily basis in order to practice sight word recognition. This is a fun way for students to practice high frequency words, spelling and reading strategies. 

Who would benefit: Students in the primary grades or those who need extra practice with sight word recognition. This app is designed for kids from Kindergarten to second grade (although can be used with students much older who may have a cognitive or developmental delay in language).

5. Name of app: Bluster 

Description of app: This app offers word analysis practice in several forms and on several levels. It’s a great way for kids to learn to see patterns such as rhyming words, prefixes and suffixes, and other structural/phonetic similarities as well as usage categories such as adjectives and synonyms. This matching game allows for individual, self-paced practice, teamwork, and even competitive speed practice.

Why I chose it: This is an app that students get excited to use. Often times when we encourage our students who are reluctant readers to engage in a reading activity it causes anxiety and great reservation. This app may possibly be a fun and easy way to help students become desensitized to their reluctance and begin to gain confidence in their reading ability by practicing strategies in reading that will help build the foundation for their progress. This app help kids to see patterns and structural/phonetic similarities, so it’s a excellent tool to educate students in reading strategies.

Who it would benefit: Often students who have a learning disability in reading, recognizing and recalling basic patterns in literacy can take much longer and requires a lot more practice compared to students who do not have a learning disability in reading. Having access to an app such as this for students to practice. Students who are very reluctant and are not easily engaged in many literary activities may find common ground and comfort in using this app. This is a remedial app that can be used with students at any age, but most likely early elementary. 

6. Name of app: Booksy

Description of app: This app is designed to help children practice and develop their reading skills, students can download books that help to build comprehension, give cues, and even track progress with detailed user stats.

Why I chose it: This is an excellent app for kids to use if they need practice with reading comprehension. I also like this app because it tracks student’s progress, which will help students and teacher see their development, aiding in confidence and potentially enjoyment of reading. 

Who would benefit: Not only will this app help students with reading comprehension, providing cues, but this app will actually track progress with detailed user stats, so students and teachers can see progress throughout the school year. Other reading strategies that this app will most certainly help improve in students include predicting, inferring, making connections and synthesizing. 

7.Name of app: Word Wall 

Description of app: Children can develop early reading skills with the help of My Word Wall, an educational app for budding readers. Students will hear, visualize, vocally repeat, and write down letters and words to learn, plus get engaged with educational activities that are great for all learning styles. Fun games and structured learning make this app a great choice.

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it is inclusive of all styles of learners, it is engaging to students and it encompasses audio and visual learning in a game format that is more intriguing to reluctant readers. 

Who would benefit: Students who need to hear and see the words in combination would benefit from using this app, in addition to students who may have a learning disability in reading  such as a phonological deficit, processing speed deficit would benefit from using this app. 

8.Name of app: Reading Raven 

Description of app: Reading Raven is a reading game app. This app is one that helps makes the reading process more fun especially for reluctant readers. This app includes a reading adventure guide that offers practice with phonological awareness, practice making full sentences and printing and spelling skills practice. 

Why I chose it: This app aids in teaching kids how to write full sentences, practice printing and spelling skills as well as helping with phonological awareness. I know a few students who recommended this app to me, so if students are recommending it, I can be assured that it must be a kid friendly and fun app to use. 

Who would benefit: Students who have difficulty with syntax, decoding text would benefit from using this app. In addition, those who may have difficulty with processing and language barriers such as ESL students. 

9. Name of app: Aesop’s Quest 

Description of app: In Aesop’s Quest, Aesop the Ant reads through stories, revealing clues that help him in his quest. Little readers must remember important elements of each story to help Aesop along the way, developing reading comprehension and cognitive reading skills in a really fun way.

Why I chose it: There are a handful of students who I teach that use this app and they really enjoy it. I know in order to buy into reading , setting the stage must take place and using this app allows for investigation of information in the book in a way that is fun and takes the focus off of reading and more onto playing and investigating. 

Who would benefit: This app helps to develop a child’s reading comprehension in a fun way. In order to find clue to help Aesop on his quest, students must be using reading strategies to improve memory, recall of information and details in stories and also sequencing of stories. This app is excellent to help motivate reluctant readers, it can draw upon background knowledge, it definitely draws upon analytical skills and is an app that many students will not view as being school work, but instead a game. 

10. Name of app: Read me stories

Description of app: This app helps to develop a daily reading habit that delivers a brand new book every day. Fun features include text highlighting as you read and the ability to touch characters and explore story lines.

Why I chose it: I was unfamiliar with this app until one of my students in grade 3 showed me while we were using his ipad. He was really excited to show me a story he had been reading and wanted to share it with me. He is a very reluctant reader, so seeing his excitement definitely suggested to me that this is a truly important app for him to encourage him to read more. 

Who would benefit: The student who shared this app with me has ASD and has great difficulty staying on task when participating in classroom activities; however, when using this app he is completely engaged and focused. This is a great app for someone who needs to be able to explore the story line and characters in an interactive manner and have the ability to hear the words aloud while reading in order to be independent. It is amazing to see a student who is often dependent upon his teachers and teaching assistant to enjoy using an app such as this to read and show his independence and confidence in his own abilities. 

11. Name of app: Scholastic Reading TImer

Description of app: This app encourages daily reading with this iPad reading timer that keeps track of reading minutes and monitors weekly reading goals. It works just like a real stopwatch, but it’s fun for kids to see their reading minutes add up.

Why I chose it: I chose this app because I like that it encourages students to take responsibility for their own reading, allowing them to monitor their own progress, make their own goals for the reading process and also keep track of their own reading log. 

Who would benefit: One of my students relies upon his timer for just about every activity he participates in during school time. He needs structure and clear expectations to motivate him to do his best. This app is perfect for him because it allows him to make his own goals (with teacher assistance) for him to be mindful of when reading. He likes knowing how much time he has to read as it puts his anxiety at ease and help him to be organized. 

12. Name of app: C is for Cow

Description of app: With this app, kids can have fun learning phonetics and letter recognition. This is an app that is meant for early elementary or even pre-elementary or those with cognitive developmental delays. This app helps to teach children letter sounds, word sounds and the basics when it comes to learning to read.

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it’s a simple, fun way to learn letter sounds and words. 

Who would benefit: This would benefit students who need practice with letter recognition, word recognition and those who need a little extra motivation to practice phonics. this would also be beneficial for students in early elementary who have difficulty with phonological awareness, processing of information and working memory difficulty. 

13.  Name of app: GoodReader

Description of app: This is an app that transforms text to speech on text files. This app is intended as a pdf reader, a text to speech reader for text files and is perfect for many students who are reluctant readers. 

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it’s compatible for ipads/iphones/ipods and DropBox. This is an app that students can use not only for in class assignments, but students can also use this on their own personal devices outside of school as well. 

Who would benefit: This app is more appropriate for older students as it’s intended as a pdf reader, a text to speech reader for text files including doc., docx and txt. This would be a perfect app for a visually impaired student and students with auditory language barriers. This would also be an app I would recommend for student’s with a learning disability in reading. I have two students at the junior high level that would benefit from using this app in addition to read-iris and claropdf. 

14.Name of app: TextGrabber

Description of app: This app is similar to ReadIris in that it transforms a paper hard copy of text into a readable pdf. This is compatible with iphone cameras, text to speech, intended mainly for iPhone, but can also be used on ipads as well and ipods. 

Why I chose it: I chose it because it is compatible with iphones and ipads, which means that students can use this app not only on their ipad, but also on their phone (if they have an iphone that is) and ipod, which makes it accessible at all times. 

Who would benefit: This is an app, like GoodReader that is more appropriate for older students as it’s intended as a pdf reader, a text to speech reader. This would be a perfect app for a visually impaired student and students with auditory language barriers. This would also be an app I would recommend for student’s with a learning disability in reading. 

15. Bookz pdf Voice Reader 

Description of app: This app is meant for transforming text to speech in pdf files. It also highlights text while you read, for easier tracking ability. In addition, there is a high quality voice used (not robotic like most) when reading the text aloud to students. This voice reader is also available in various languages, so it is perfect for ESL students. Not to mention, you can easily import pdf files from Safari, email attachments and DropBox.

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it is easy to use, attractive for older students and is compatible with students who need text read aloud and possibly may need language translated. 

Who should benefit: I would recommend this app to students who are at the junior high, high school level who require text to speech compensatory feature with research projects, reading emails and attached documents and also to students who would benefit from having access to translator features. I found that some of my students last year struggled with understanding exam questions because of their language barrier. Having access to this app may help students with comprehension of the question without providing them with the answer. It is inclusive of these students and provides them to be on an equal playing field. 

16. Reading for Details 

Description of app: This app is designed to help students build reading comprehension skills. Students read passages, then test their understanding of the who, what, why, when, and where at three different levels of reading difficulty.

Why I chose it: I chose this app because it is easy to use and encourages students to think about the who, what, when, where and why in everything they are reading. This app is great for all students and can be implemented into the Language Arts curriculum for all learners. 

Who would benefit: Students who are reluctant readers because of their understanding/ decoding of text and promotes reading comprehension. This is an app that I would use in my classroom with all students to improve upon their understanding of text and analytical skills. 

17. Name of app: Nebulous Notes

Description of app: The purpose of this app is a text editor for students that have low vision.  This app includes a text to speech option, print or share via email, integrates DropBox and can be used on ipad/iphone or an ipod touch. 

Why I chose it: Although this is an app to aid in writing tasks, we cannot forget how intertwined the writing and reading process are. Students who have a vision impairment and speech impairment not only show difficulty in writing, but in fact reading as well. This app allows students to read their work and their peers work in an easier manner. 

Who would benefit: This is a beneficial app for all, particularly for students with low vision. There is an option for large font, variable contrast between text and background. This would also be great for students who have visual impairment and speech impairment. THis app also is accessible to many students, particularly those who already own an ipod or iphone as it is compatible with these devices as well. 

18. Name of app: Phonics genius 

Description of app: Phonics Genius is a flash card style app designed to help kids learn words by letter sounds. It encourages kids to notice and think about the individual sounds in spoken words. Phonics Genius has over 6,000 words grouped into 225 categories, including single letter and letter combination sounds. There's also a listening game where kids match visual and spoken words, as well as pre-recorded audio playback to help kids hear each word clearly. The words in Phonics Genius are best for kids with previous reading experience, rather than beginning readers.

Why I chose it: Kids can learn how to listen and look for letter sounds with the Phonics Genius app. They can also learn how to piece together different letter sounds that form words. The pre-recorded audio playback helps kids sound out words (they can record their own voice or their parents, too). I chose this app because it’s a fun way for kids to learn and practice this essential reading skill, especially if they've had some prior reading experience. 

Who would benefit: This is a great app for students who need practice with speech, for example there is added articulation practice mode so users can first record their own voice and then listen and compare it to the recorded pronunciation. This is also a great app for kids who need practice with decoding, phonological awareness, who may have a deficit in processing, memory and or a reading disability. 

19. Name of the app: Cat in the Hat

Description of app: The Cat in the Hat app is an interactive book app that allows students to explore pictures, increase their vocabulary and has a text to speech feature that students can use to narrate the story themselves. 

Why I chose it: Many students love Dr. Seuss, so using an app that incorporates classic stories helps to encourage and motivate students. This app also highlights the words while it narrates, it allows students to learn new vocabulary words by tapping on the word they are unsure of and it shows pictures to go along with the word. In addition, students can record their own narration and share it with other peers. This app is engaging and builds students confidence in reading in a fun, comfortable manner. 

Who would use it: I think that this is an app that most students at the elementary level could use to expand their vocabulary, practice reading fluency and reading strategies, such as inferring, predicting and synthesizing. 

20. Name of app: Hooked on phonics

Description of app: This app is based upon a program that has existed for a long time. This app helps to build children’s reading fluency, provides practice with letter sounds, words and writing and reading sentences. This app is designed for students who need practice with phonemic awareness, oral language, alphabetic knowledge and print awareness. This app address different stages of reading, which is great for a variety of learners. 

Why I chose it: I chose this app because I know it has been proven to work for many different types of learners. It has a focus on individual needs of students and provides a wide selection of lessons for teachers and students.  This app includes music, games, lessons and stories that engage students. This is an app that can be used in school and can also be given to students to use at home for extra practice. I chose this app because it’s great to beginning readers and to reinforce skills at home and at school.

Who would benefit:  Currently, the app only is leveled up to a grade 2 reading level, but they are in the process of creating books and lessons for higher level readers as well. This is a perfect app for students who are beginner readers who need extra practice with their alphabet, letter sounds and those who need practice with reading fluency. 

21. Name of app: ReadIris 

Description of app: This app has an editable text feature that can be used for scanned documents and pdf files.This app allows you to import images from your photo library or import pdf files, not to mention it recognizes over 130 languages. This app is designed to allow users to select content they want converted, reordered scanned images and to choose the output format in which to be used and to export the new files into iCloud (no internet connection necessary) so it can be used at your convenience anytime. 

Why I chose this app: I love this app because it recognizes all text, graphics, images and tables in documents. It is easy to use, reliable and of high quality unlike many app that claim to have the same purpose. 

Who would benefit: Students who would benefit the most from using this app are ESL students, students who need documents converted in order to use the text to speech feature in claropdf. This is an app that I would highly recommend for students who have a learning disability in reading, students who have a visual impairment and need text read to them aloud (using this in combination with claropdf) and for students who need text read to them during tests. This also useful for students who tend to be disorganized. Instead of keeping track of paper documents, they can scan all of their paper copies onto readIris and rely upon having the copy at their finger tips.

 22. Claropdf 

Description of app: This is an app that includes features such as text to speech, highlighting text options, proofreading accessible text. It allows the user to have more accessibility to text documents. Claropdf allows the background colour of the pdf to be changed, to enhance readability. It also supports VoiceOver. You can increase the font using this app, so students with visual impairment can have access to the same documents. There is text search within the document, so you can search long documents for a particular place of interest.

Why I chose it: Many of my students at the junior high level and even at the elementary level use this app. It’s easy to use, comprehensive and allows students to participate in the same activities as the rest of the class and allowing students to have independence in their participation. This app allows students to read text and complete assignments with more independence because they are able to manipulate the text. 

Who would benefit: This is an excellent tool for all students; however those who would benefit the most from this app are students who struggle with reading comprehension, phonological deficits, processing deficits, reading disabilities. Students who used to rely upon having a teacher read their assignments orally and received oral testing, now can use this app independently to complete assignments and tests. I have seen the direct impact it has had on my students with reading disabilities and they could not be more proud of themselves for gaining independence and confidence in their own ability. It is really heart warming to see the progress my students have made simply from having access to this app. 

Famous and successful people with an LD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoeZAXUZbqQ

Universal Design for Learning

Today, we learned about Universal Design for Learning in addition to Convergence of technology and Assistive technology. Selena and I made a video using imovie trailer about Universal Design of Learning. It was AWESOME!!

http://www.slideshare.net/mlmitchellpe/universal-design-for-learning-meeting-the-needs-of-learners

The video above is my new favourite app!!