Class 5 Post
The first presentation tonight was Social Skills and Autism. The burning question I came away with is about the research around the idea that children with autism relate better to virtual reality than to the real world. Children with autism function better with highly predictable and controllable environments with few distractions. However, the world and everyday life are not predictable, controllable and free of distractions so I wonder if virtual reality is truly meeting the needs of these (or any) children. A quick search revealed lots of support for this concept but few scholarly articles. I want to come back to this when I have some time and research it further.
One of the apps I really liked was The Social Express. If this app works as well as it is presented as working, it seems like it would be a tremendous value for the $90 regular price. I really like that it is divided into two skill levels and covers all aspects of social skills and situations that one would encounter on a regular basis. I have included a link on my links list for this app. The apps that address crossing the street safely are very useful! This is a life skill that is needed by everyone. It is also curriculum linked in elementary school health and could be an IPP goal. I have added two links provided by Anna, Dallas, and Stephanie that address crossing the road safely. Practice Street Crossing is an app and is available for only $1.99.
The final presentation was New Apps for LD. I loved the table with the names and descriptions of various Learning Disabilities. This was very helpful in understanding the differences in the many LD's that are encountered in schools. I loved the app Virtual Manipulative because often there are many resources for literacy but few for teaching math concepts. The second app I really liked and can use in my school is Tools4Students. This app has several graphic organizers and converts the information to a text outline. A third app I feel I need to try is iMovie. Leanne was so excited when talking about this app and her enthusiasm is contagious! I can see how this app would be very motivating for students. I have added links in the links list for more information on these three apps.
Toni I too wondered about autism and virtual reality. Many of the IPP outcomes for the students that I have taught with autism have centered on improving socail skills and developing positive interactions with others. I can see that austic children would like virtual reality and its predicatable nature, but is this really what is in their best interests? I had a student who became very upset everytime I changed the setting arrangement in my classroom (which I did every few days) and who asked me to stop. We talked and I agreed not to change the seats as often and to warn him the day before I was going to change the desks, I could not agree to never changing the seats ever again for the entire year. Life has changes and I think we need to support our students into becoming more comfortable with change. In my situation, we both compromised and my student was able to handle the changes in the desks for the rest of the year. The few times, I forgot to tell him near the end of the year had significantly less impact on him than it had earier in the year.
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