April 10, 2015
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 16
TIS AND THAT
Apps for Students with Autism By: Luke Swiney
Au#sm Awareness Day was April 2, 2015. Students with au#sm can be some of the most teachable and reachable children in our school systems. Technology is one of the best ways to educate these children through various modes of ac#vi#es. Most teachers now have iPads, so this brief summary of really cool apps for students with au#sm will help generate ideas for interac#ng with these students. Of course there are always the apps that help create social stories, and comic strips. However, it is very important to help the high func#oning students with au#sm con#nue to learn the relevant informa#on for life aFer school. Talking Larry $0.99. This app helps students with their speech and pronuncia#on of words. Talking Larry is a goofy looking bird that will repeat the words spoken by the student. This will help develop language skills as the student can hear the way they said a word, except in a different voice. Tiny Frac2ons $5.00. This program helps students understand the difficult skill of frac#on recogni#on and solving. It has various levels in which the student can work toward. It starts out simple and eases the student into more advanced levels of solving frac#ons. What’s the Word FREE. Vocabulary is a very important part of English and reading development. This app gives the student four different pictures, and then the students choose one word that describes all four pictures. This app ins#lls good cri#cal thinking skills as well as a fun way for students with au#sm to further their vocabulary knowledge. TapToTalk FREE. Nonverbal students with au#sm need ways to communicate with the people around them. This app gives that nonverbal student a voice. It has different categories such as ‘emo#ons,’ ‘needs,’ ‘wants,’ and the so important ‘bathroom’. The student simply selects what they want to say, and the device will speak for them, allowing them to convey their needs/wants. USMapPuzzle FREE. Geography and history may be difficult subjects for students with au#sm. This app can help students understand where the states are located on a map. It is as simple as placing the state in the correct area on the map. Each state is already outlined, so it will help with shape correla#on, as well as names of states.
1:1 iPads…Now What? By: Audrey Long
My love for teaching and technology hit a whole new level when every student was assigned a school issued iPad here in Raleigh County. We are approaching the end of our second school year with the new