Past projects 3
Speech Therapy in the Metaverse!
Funded Nov 29, 2022Thank you for your kind and warm donation. Your generosity will help children move into the metaverse and beyond! This tool is very impactful, but costly. This new headset will involve more students in group sessions to engage in this highly technological activity. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kristal Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and one other donor.Make Virtual Reality a Real Life Reality!
Funded Sep 24, 2021Your gift truly elevated the level of speech therapy in a Title 1 school. The virtual reality devices you provided has given us the opportunity to connect with speech therapy apps in the Metaverse. It provided an Avenue to give variety and tackle traditional speech language therapy goals in a non-traditional manner. For example, with the VR headsets that utilize a cellphone, we were able to subscribe to Floreo, which is an immersive experience specific to speech and language delays. Using our highly coveted Oculus 2, we have been able to take adventurous trips and experiences as if we were there. We have been to Paris, London, Rome, the Jurassic age, the futuristic age, etc. and used our Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast experiences. We have also used games such as Vacation And Job Simulator to execute tasks such as following directions. As their provider, I have too taken up interest in the metaverse to design games and provide content for my students. Your gift has sparked so much learning in Bed-Sty and we want to express our utmost gratitude for your gift.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kristal Thomas
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 11 other donors.Keep Speech Therapy Alive - In Bed-Sty
Funded Apr 7, 2015I would like to take the opportunity to personally thank each one of you for the generous donations you made for the "Keep Speech Alive, In Bed-Sty" project. When the students walked in the therapy room and saw all of the illustrious and appealing games and software, they became extremely eager to push towards their targeted IEP goals. My students made ecstatic quotes such as," Where did all of these things come from?" and "Can we open it now?" I gave my students the opportunity to open the new materials that targeted their IEP goals.
My speech scholars are using the resources selected to assist them in areas of language in which they present with delays or deficits. Some of these items target articulation, language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, reading interventions, phonological and phonemic awareness, vocabulary growth and development, Narrative skill development and social skills. These students have become experts in using the smart board and the software sent by you, the donors, has afforded my students the opportunity to reach targeted goals with a multisensory approach. The story teller's box and the reading comprehension wheels provide a colorful visual cue to assist in narrating and analyzing a story. It is amazing what children are able to accomplish when these materials are used with purpose to reach a goal.
In conclusion, these items definitely impacted the growth of my students in the short time we have had the materials. My English Language Learning students can narrate a story using temporal concepts, my children with autism can now present solutions to daily social situations and well as reading comprehension, and my speech and language impaired students now have visual strategies in enhancing their vocabulary through Double Duel (a game of homonyms and homophones) and the Shades of Meaning vocabulary games. About 80% of my students reached at least one or more of their Individualized Education Plan goals in speech and language and we continue to utilize these products to enhance the success rate of speech services at PS 81: The Thaddeus Stevens School.
Again, a great big thanks adorned with my sincerest gratitude –
Kristal M. Thomas, MA, CCC-SLP, TSSLD”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kristal Thomas