In my classroom, I have 8 students in a combined 3rd and 4th grade classroom. Sounds wonderful, right? Well, well two of the students are severely autistic (one has a full-time aide) and a few others have IEP's, and some others qualify for Title 1 services... there is never a dull moment!
A need that I have in my diverse classroom is being able to have an activity for my one autistic student to work on while I am working with the rest of the students. My class is set up so that I work with a group at a time. My autistic student will work with me in a group but when he is not with me, he is not able to do much. This is usually when he will act out, get angry, become bored and want to go home, etc. My specific need is that I use technology, the IPAD, for this student to keep him focused on something when I am not able to work directly with him.
According to Rhonda McEwen, a Canadian Professor, in this CBS interview http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385702n, she is asked the question if these tools are actually teaching. Rhonda replies that their is not a significant amount of data available yet because the IPAD's are fairly new and that the rate of change in autistic learning is fairly slow. She is an advocate that the IPAD's are helping students communicate and that they are autistic students are able to stay engaged through the touching, sliding, listening, etc. that the IPAD offers.
Although there may not be a lot of scientifc data to support the IPAD's yet, there are a number of testimonials on autismspeaks.org, http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services//technology/ipad-testimonials/1. Through reading these testimonials by autistic students and/or their families, students are engaged in IPADs, they are learning, and they are enjoying it. The opportunities are endless and new apps are available continuously for just a small price.
What is my plan for this project?
Educational Need: To engaged my autistic student in a way that he is still learning and exploring during a time when I am not able to directly work with him.
The plan: The student will have approximately 30-40 minutes daily to explore the IPAD using approved apps while the teacher is reading a teacher read aloud book to the students. The school has 3 IPADs available, one being available at this time everyday for my student. The goal of this plan is that the student will be engaged and not having so much down time that has in the past become a problem for this student.
I actually began this process this past week after beginning to research ideas for this project. It has already become something that this student looks forward to after lunch and he has shown excitement rather than begging to go home, call mom, use the bathroom numerous times, make himself sick, etc.
Indicators of a successful project: I am hoping that this tool is not simply used as a babysitter while I work with other students. I am hoping to use apps that encourage learning and exploration. This student it in 4th grade with a low reading level. My main goal is to use this as a tool for engagement rather than the student trying to get out of class. Secondly, I hope this student will use approved language arts apps that will help with his reading ability. However, this may be a hard goal to measure because of other factors. (We can test his reading ability but cannot be certain was is all contributing to his gains in reading levels) For this particular student, being engaged is most of the battle.
Stay tuned for updates on how this project goes!
Trista Teuscher
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