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I couldn't wait to try it for myself and last night Junior's teacher brought one over for us to test drive, all I can say is WOW. The screen is huge, large enough for Junior to be able to use his eye gaze. There are apps with every kind of educational program along with communication apps and of course lots of games. The screen is super sensitive to touch so it was easy to help Junior with the activities.
The kids goofing around with the games this morning.
Aside from stiffening his arms Junior has no ability to use his hands so no he can't manipulate things on the screen but it keeps his attention and brings education to him(it is also much easier to move and get up close to him then a regular computer). For a child who is stuck in the house many months out of the year that is very important. Reading is a struggle for him and it takes a lot of work to keep him interested and focused. Today on the ipad we were doing exactly the same activities we had been doing on his boards but there was no struggle to keep him on task. He was totally focused and didn't miss one question. Some of the words were ones we had never worked on before. Sometimes it is all about finding the right tools to help your child reach their potential. I am so excited to find this tool and now to figure out how to get one for Junior(regardless of how much it would effect his educational progress the district will not purchase one for him because of his lack of movement).
I would love to hear what others think of the ipad and for those who have tried it with their child, how did they respond? Also is your school district considering the ipad as a communication/learning tool for their special ed population?
Heidi WOW! That is freakin' awesome! We need to start a Ipad blog for all of us out there with kids who could use them! LOL! How did Junior's teacher get her hands on one so quickly? Can you find out for me? I am jumpin' out of my skin for the 3G to come out this month, we needed this like....YESTERDAY!
ReplyDeleteWe got ours on Saturday...and my husband hasn't given it up much for us to play with. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut, I have been reading Winnie The Pooh to Max at night, and he's been reaching up and swiping the page to turn it. He's really enjoying that part.
I need to take some time and look up apps I think might work for him.
Do you have any so far you are liking for Junior?
This is such an exciting tool. I look forward to see more first hand experience accounts for children who are differently abled. I have written a blog post on where you can start to find some great apps for the iPhone/ iPad apps for iPhone/ iPad Also what about putting a donors choose badge (donorschoose.org) on your blog. You never know maybe someone will stumble across your blog and choose to donate money to get Junior an iPad. Perhaps his teacher may have to apply for it though. Just a thought.
ReplyDelete