Education Weekly: iPads Become Learning Tools For Students With Disabilities

Teachers are finding ways to help students with disabilities communicate.  Students with severe speech difficulties (resulting in jumbled speech) are using iPads for communication.  These student draw a lot of negative attention from their peers because of their diverse needs.  These technology tools have not only helped these students communicate, but have drawn positive attention from their peers.  I have three students in my classroom with severe speech difficulties.  We use a Neo to help them communicate their desires and the students enjoy using this piece of technology.  To think a simple machine can make all the difference in positive communication for someone that has never experienced this.

ReadWriteWeb: Skype in the Classroom

I have not attempted or had the opportunity to use Skype with my students.  I know that some high school classes are utilizing this tool in their classrooms.  Students use it to connect with foreign exchange students that previously attended the school or the foreign exchange students use it to contact their families back home.  Some teachers have used it to bring guest authors into the classroom so students can interview them.  It has also been used for virtual field trips as well.  I think within a few years we will see this great resource in more and more classrooms.