English Language Learners are a constantly fast growing population in the United States and educators are always looking for effective ways to support their instruction and help them achieve their goals. My school is a special education school where 100% students have special needs.
Being an ELL means you already have different linguistic and academic needs than your peers, but what if, on top of that, you are also emotionally disturbed, have autism, Down syndrome, are medically fragile, or have some other disabilities?
Well, welcome to my students' everyday life.
My Project
We all know how children love playing with technology. But in a school setting iPad is much more than just a toy.
An iPad is an ideal device for personalizing learning and strengthening language skills, especially for English Language Learners in a Special Education setting.
We need an iPad that would make their learning more engaging. Because an iPad allows the teacher to differentiate materials and tailor all work to the specific needs of the student, it helps students to immediately and independently take charge of their own learning as they are able to work at their own pace and monitor their own progress. They can practice language verbally on a device that is customized for them, record and shoot video while non-verbal students can draw and take pictures.
Educators and students alike can create their own interactive books for viewing on the iPad. Teachers can design vocabulary flashcards that pertain to the particular lesson they are teaching at the moment, they can track reading fluency for each individual student and track progress.
There are also thousands of books available that are specifically designed for ELLs that are interactive and so much more engaging than regular paper books. And especially for special needs students who can easily turn pages on the iPad with a touch of a button, it is no wonder that children with all different kinds of disabilities respond to technology a lot better than old fashioned boring paper worksheets.
Another great advantage of an iPad is its portability. If you know anything about Special Ed, is that there's usually a main school and a few off-sites. And if you are an ESL teacher and teach in Special Ed, then you travel between sites all the time. I go to 3 sites during the week and it would help greatly my students and myself if I could carry one with me.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Alicata and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
