With mobile devices being integrated into special needs classrooms, it’s tempting to want an app for everything, including every IEP goal and objective. By doing this, however, educators and parents can easily overlook the full range of possibilities for tablet devices. Rather than looking at a single subject app, there is amazing potential for apps that focus on consumption, curation and creativity. These types of apps grow with your students, rather than your student “outgrowing” the app. In choosing curation and creativity apps, you don’t lose money by purchasing “disposable” apps, which are only good as long as the student needs practice on a very specific objective or goal. Once that short-term objective has been attained, the app is no longer useful for the student. So, what types of apps grow with your students? There are many, but here are just a few.
Appropriate for Primary/Elementary:
1. Tiny Tap: Create educational games, interactive lessons and presentations, puzzles, social stories, digital books, and more. Share to devices easily.
2. Scribble My Story: Draw and create story books, add audio narration, and share with parents. (See picture on left)
3. Chatterpix Kids: Take or import a picture, and record to make it talk!
Appropriate for Secondary:
1. iMovie: Easy video editing – within minutes create your own “movie” trailers around the video content you capture.
2. Thinglink: Make any picture interactive! Add website links, audio, video, and more. Simple way to make interactive academic “posters” showcasing student knowledge.
3. Google Drive/Docs: Now that FCPS is a Google Apps for Education school district, give your students access to documents and presentations through the app.
Appropriate for All Levels:
1. Scene Speak: Create interactive visual scenes and social stories with hotspots.
2. Our Story for iPad: Create slideshows of digital pictures, add text and audio (optional). Perfect for social stories and digital stories.
3. Educreations: Want to create a screencast for your students? Want your students to explain their thinking on a problem? Or maybe you would prefer to create a social story? This app is for you.
4. Edmodo: Give your students access to their virtual Edmodo classrooms for resources, assignments, and forums.
5. Tellagami: Create a customizable avatar, import a picture as a background, and record your audio to make your avatar explain or narrate the background picture. Think about the possibilities if you imported a math problem, science diagram, historical timeline, or a location for a social story. (See picture below)
Appropriate for Primary/Elementary:
1. Tiny Tap: Create educational games, interactive lessons and presentations, puzzles, social stories, digital books, and more. Share to devices easily.
2. Scribble My Story: Draw and create story books, add audio narration, and share with parents. (See picture on left)
3. Chatterpix Kids: Take or import a picture, and record to make it talk!
Appropriate for Secondary:
1. iMovie: Easy video editing – within minutes create your own “movie” trailers around the video content you capture.
2. Thinglink: Make any picture interactive! Add website links, audio, video, and more. Simple way to make interactive academic “posters” showcasing student knowledge.
3. Google Drive/Docs: Now that FCPS is a Google Apps for Education school district, give your students access to documents and presentations through the app.
Appropriate for All Levels:
1. Scene Speak: Create interactive visual scenes and social stories with hotspots.
2. Our Story for iPad: Create slideshows of digital pictures, add text and audio (optional). Perfect for social stories and digital stories.
3. Educreations: Want to create a screencast for your students? Want your students to explain their thinking on a problem? Or maybe you would prefer to create a social story? This app is for you.
4. Edmodo: Give your students access to their virtual Edmodo classrooms for resources, assignments, and forums.
5. Tellagami: Create a customizable avatar, import a picture as a background, and record your audio to make your avatar explain or narrate the background picture. Think about the possibilities if you imported a math problem, science diagram, historical timeline, or a location for a social story. (See picture below)