Through an iPad to an "I Can" Attitude

Funded Apr 30, 2017

I cannot find words to express my gratitude for your generosity and kindness in donating to my project "Through an IPad to an 'I Can' Attitude." Even though I had hopes for it to be funded eventually, I had never expected it to be funded over the weekend!!! You guys really rock!!! And thanks to you, my students now have an amazing device that they truly love and always look forward to using.

Most of us use Ipads for entertainment purposes. I do give it to my students as a reward also. I can't say I don't. In special education, we always work on a rewards system. Students always pick what they want to work for and when the work is done, they get it. Sort of like a bribe if you want to call it that, but it works. Some students choose Play-Doh, some action figures, some books, and some students choose an Ipad. The reward is a 5 min play time at the end of the work session and it differs from teacher to teacher. So I do use the IPad for play, too, but mostly it is used for instruction.

With the wide range of apps available I can create my lessons for all the individual groups, tailor the activities to specific children within the group, get instant feedback, and the kids can have fun while they are learning! For children that lack motor skills, touch screens are more intuitive and much easier than paper and pencil or even regular computers that require you to shift between a keyboard or a mouse and the screen. IPads are so much easier to operate for the students with disabilities; they can read to them if there is a need, you can make it bigger, you can make it smaller, and they're engaging and portable.

I could go on and on with the benefits of IPads in the special education classroom but I think if you look at the pictures that I uploaded and the smiles of those students, they will speak for themselves.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Alicata