Apple
for Special Education
Found in the classroom and at home
Apple products have become a ubiquitous part of our society. Macs, iPhones and iPads can easily be found in our homes and schools. A great reason to use Apple products is to utilize the assistive technology applications.
Easy to use assistive technology applications
Some technologies are matched inappropriately to the student's needs, often times resulting in the technology being too complicated for the student to employ. Combined with a lack of funding this means less training time is available for the students to become adequately familiar themselves with the assistive technology. Educators have also been found to not have the know-how to appropriately adapt or repair the technologies they are utilizing (Issues in Digital Technology in Education/Assistive Technology in Education: A Critical Analysis of the "Highs" and "Lows"). The beauty in using Apple products is that they're simple and straightforward. They are easy to use for educators and students.
Ways to put this technology to use
A great way to use Apple in the classroom is the use of iBooks. iBooks give educators the opportunity to tailor content they want to use with their students. Interactive components can be incorporated into the books to target specific needs of students. iBooks supports VoiceOver, Speak Selection, and close-captioned videos to help all types of learners (http://www.apple.com/education/special-education/ios/). It is imperative that as educators we are open to and aware of all of the technologies available to us to aid our students who do not fit an outdated cookie cut model of what the average student is (Issues in Digital Technology in Education/Assistive Technology in Education: A Critical Analysis of the "Highs" and "Lows").
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