My students are a hardworking group of special needs students who are striving to reach their potentials! Our school is located in a wonderful little neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio near the Ohio State University campus. However, the students in my class come from all over the city by bus. They work very hard each day to learn all that they can and be the very best they can be. They amaze me every day with their perseverance and willingness to give learning so much effort! All the students in my room fall into a category of multiple disabilities and they require support from many different areas. This includes getting occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physical therapy, as well as getting adaptive physical education services. All these services are needed to support their learning of the general education curriculum. All the students work tirelessly each day to overcome their challenges in order to reach their full potential.
My Project
Getting two iPads for our classroom will allow my students to keep up with the latest advancements in education. With these iPads, and an Osmo Genius Starter Kit, our students will truly be provided hands-on learning opportunities that allow them to take a "byte" out of their learning! The Osmo programs will also provide opportunities for my students to work together while completing puzzles and games that access their high order learning skills. Giving my students the opportunity to talk with one another and develop important social language that centers around academics will be a very powerful tool! In addition to the Osmo programs, there are many amazing educational apps that will allow my students to work on a variety of skills, including fine motor, mathematics, and reading skills. Being a primary special needs program, many of our students lack many of the basic fine motor skills that allow them to be able to express themselves with written language. Many of my students also lack the physical ability to use a computer and mouse because their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are significantly behind their typical peers. Having apps that work to develop these skills is one of the most powerful tools I can give them as a teacher.
This coupled with the fact that my students are highly motivated by technology and enjoy learning that has a sense of fun, means that the sky of learning will be limitless.
With the ease of the iPad touch screen (versus using the mouse or keyboard), students who struggle to use the computer due to fine motor deficits will be able to access the learning and district wide programs that other students are afforded the opportunity to participate in.
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