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Ms. Cusick's Classroom Edit display name

  • Garfield Elementary School
  • Spokane, WA
  • 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

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From my experience in working with special needs students I have been around many students that cannot communicate verbally. I have also come across many devices that students can use to answer questions, let their desires be known, etc. In the past I have used a large button, that I have pre-recorded an answer on, that the student can hit or bump to reply to a prompt. These are very limiting yet offer a way for the child to communicate and participate. The current use of IPads in Special Ed classrooms has opened up a whole new way for students to use their "voices." There are many programs available for an IPad that make communication possible. IComm, IConverse, MyTalk and many others are either free or relatively inexpensive. The ability for students to answer questions, make choices known and even simply say hello puts more control back in the hands of the student. In our library classroom I would love to offer students a choice of activities, have the ability to ask them for answers and even simply give them the chance to say hello when they come in. I had the opportunity to be in a classroom once that had an IPad and the experience was humbling. The students had different apps that were specific to their needs and their ability level. Students could makes choices on stories, let the teacher know if they were upset or having a good day, answering yes and no questions, answering questions about stories and many other things.In addition, many have goals in their IEP's (individualized education plans) that can be fulfilled by these apps.

About my class

From my experience in working with special needs students I have been around many students that cannot communicate verbally. I have also come across many devices that students can use to answer questions, let their desires be known, etc. In the past I have used a large button, that I have pre-recorded an answer on, that the student can hit or bump to reply to a prompt. These are very limiting yet offer a way for the child to communicate and participate. The current use of IPads in Special Ed classrooms has opened up a whole new way for students to use their "voices." There are many programs available for an IPad that make communication possible. IComm, IConverse, MyTalk and many others are either free or relatively inexpensive. The ability for students to answer questions, make choices known and even simply say hello puts more control back in the hands of the student. In our library classroom I would love to offer students a choice of activities, have the ability to ask them for answers and even simply give them the chance to say hello when they come in. I had the opportunity to be in a classroom once that had an IPad and the experience was humbling. The students had different apps that were specific to their needs and their ability level. Students could makes choices on stories, let the teacher know if they were upset or having a good day, answering yes and no questions, answering questions about stories and many other things.In addition, many have goals in their IEP's (individualized education plans) that can be fulfilled by these apps.

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About my class

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