iPad/iPod-Touch/iPhone Apps for SPED/Special Needs by David Ligon
Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 11:43AM
Our preK-12 district is rolling out iPads this fall to support a SPED program, and so one of my objectives for attending the ISTE2010 Conference in Denver was to identify the latest SPED apps for these devices to use in our program. My research included discussions with Meg Ormiston, who let me know about the TCEA i*apps Spreadsheet (which appeared to be missing a SPED column), Camilla Galiolo who showed me apps she used in a recent pilot for autistic students, and Cindy Peters who gave me detailed info on which apps she uses in her work with special needs kids.
In lieu of a more specific i*app resource for special needs, both Camilla and Cindy recommended use of typical age-appropriate iPad educational applications which are geared toward the desired cognitive level. I need to do more extensive research on the subject, but at this time there does not seem to be widespread knowledge about the use of i*app resources for special needs. All that is about to change, hopefully, with help from myself and others in the iear.org community.
The list of iPad apps below, used for special needs students, were provided to me by Cindy Peters who took the time to show me each one, and let me jot down the titles to share with you:
Coins Genius - Free lite version available from FunVid Apps LLC, allows you to move coins around on the screen to support basic coin counting skills.
Biggerwords - Free by DollarApp displays very large text for those learning to read.
Soundrop - A free fun game-themed activity where a ball drops onto lines you arrange and it makes different sounds as it bounces.
Crazy Face Lite - Free app by Ezone.com where a green furry monster face moves his/her lips whenever you talk; great for students with trouble speaking, encourages shy students to speak more often.
iSign Lite - Great free app by iDev2.com for learning sign language.
Doodlebuddy - Free app by Pinger, Inc. used for finger painting, and can send work via email.
Toy Story 3 Read Along - Interactive iPad storybook app for $8.99, good early literacy tool for all learners, including ELL/ESL.
Flashcards for iPad - This $5.99 app is for all learners but can also be used effectively by special needs.
iBooks - Free awesome reading app.
iChalky - Is a fun little dancing figure app that you can control, for $0.99.
Wordwarp - A word game similar to Boggle, to see how many words you can spell out of a given set of letters in a certain amount of time, for $0.99.
iBloom - This has to be the coolest free app I've seen in a while. It teaches students how to grow plants. You turn the i*device on it's side and shake it to plant seeds, tilt the iPad to water the plants (you see a watering can appear on screen at the angle you are tilting it, and hear water trickle down). Then you have to blow on the screen (for iPod touch/iPhone) or whisk hand across the screen of the iPad to make the wind blow.
Finally, someone had mentioned to me at the conference that the ABA had approximately 22 Autism i*apps out on iTunes but I had not been successful at locating them in early searches. My determination appears to have paid off. A Google search turned up some apps made by modelmekids which seem promising, but by far the most active vendor in the space is kindergarten.com. They currently have 26 apps listed on their site which are based on "Applied Behavioral Analysis" (ABA) techniques geared toward cognitive level rather than grade level. These apps are designed to meet the needs of "children with learning disabilities such as speech or language delays, hearing loss, ADD/ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, Autism, Down Syndrome, Dyspraxia or PDD".
These apps are broken down into 5 categories, listed below, whose descriptions and pricing are listed out on the kindergarten.com website. Although they were developed for iPod Touch and iPhone, I suspect they may work on the iPad (iear.org will need to test this theory). In the interests of time, I am not going to repeat the vendor's eloquent descriptions of each product, but encourage you to go out to their site and read more about these apps:
Receptive by Class
Receptive by Feature
Receptive by Function
Receptive by Feature, Function & Class Combined
Actions
Alphabet
Earth Science
Emotions
Fruit & Nuts
Musical Instruments
Sports
Things You Eat
Things You Play With
Things You Wear
Vegetables
Vehicles
Zoo Animals
Animal Sounds Lotto
Inside Sounds Lotto
Musical Instruments Lotto
Community Helpers
Healthy Habits
What Doesn't Belong?
What Goes Together?
What Rhymes?
Receptive Language
Hopefully this information will officially kick-start the effort for leaders in the field to begin taking a serious look at how iPad applications can benefit students with special needs. As the research progresses I will keep everyone posted on my findings.
See also Eric Sailers' groundbreaking work: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Apps for (Special) Education
Reader Comments (14)
Great post and if the iPad can help and support special need more people should know about it.. One of my son has dyslexia. I havent tried many apps on that field, but I do review educational apps. If my site can help you spread the words, I will be happy to add a new category for Special Needs. I would need to lnow more on how those apps benefits special needs.
Let me know and I will do more research on the subject.
Nathalie
You have a tremendous list of eduction and SpecEd iPad apps here all in one place! I'm going to definitely link this to my blog and use what you have developed here. Fantastic.
Just absolutely excellent! As you know from our discussions, Special Education iPad apps for our daughter is something both my wife Cindy and I are very interested in. Your list will help other parents like us who are looking for a resource to find such applications for their own children.
Thanks for your effort and information.
Thank you both for your support of this very important effort. Natalie, as soon as we have some data for you then we will coordinate further. John, I appreciate your efforts especially to bring this subject to light. I have been in touch with author Eric Sailers who has the most incredible eBook out that appeared to be a complete list as of April 2010. I added a link to his book at the end of my blogpost.
~David Ligon (@EdTechLeader)
What an important list.
It is amazing how applications can be of assistance and get results like no other.
I'm the founder of iMagine machine and we are developing apps focusing on Edutainment.
One of our apps that has been very helpful with kids with disabilities is Faces iMake-Creative Craziness!!!
http://bit.ly/aQnx5f
It is based on the acclaimed workshops of the artist Hanoch Piven and enables kids to create anything they want without limitations, no expectations, no know how - just drug and drop. Magic Happens.
Faces is being used in class, listed as an education software in Closingthegap.com
Faces iMake is free at the moment.
I hope it will help more kids in expressing themselves
Eyal
iMagine machine
http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/2009/06/ipod-touchiphone-app-round-up-for-users.html
http://specialneedstechapps.blogspot.com/
Thank you both very much for adding to iear's running list of iPad and iPod apps for special needs. It is very much appreciated! I will be looking through your links and including these apps into the prototype app image I am developing for the Special Ed program in our district.
~David Ligon (@EdTechLeader)
Hello.
We've are considering the use of an ipad or itouch for our 6 year old son who has childhood apraxia of speech and associated language disorders and learning delays. Really encouraged by what we've learned is out there. Anyone recommend a ipad vs. itouch for a child of that age?
Thanks!
Hi Tom,
Comparatively, the iPod Touch requires more fine motor-skills to operate than the iPad. As such, our district implementation deploys the iPod touches for the upper grades (HS), and iPads for the lower grades (K-8). Hope this helps... and sorry it took so long to get back to you, I had been focused on a grant deadline. Thanks.
-David Ligon
Hi David,
Many thanks for providing this list and for raising awareness regarding the use of apps for students special needs. We value iEAR'S reviews. We also have a series called "There's A Special App for That" in which we review apps that are effective for students with special needs. Some of these apps were not specifically designed for the area of special education, but can be used to assist with either remediation or support for children or adolescents with delays associated with a diagnosis of learning disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, language delay or developmental delay.
The series is available on our site at: http://www.inov8-ed.com/category/special-app-for-that/
Cheers, Andrea (inov8 Educational Consulting)
It seems there is plenty of apps lists.
I've compiled one for iPad/iPhone apps at http://www.iautism.info/en/2010/09/20/application-list/ and another one for Android apps at http://www.iautism.info/en/2011/03/25/list-of-apps-for-android/
Hope they are useful.
Francesc
It’s amazing that the iPad and associated apps, have revolutionized special education, allowing more potential of at home learning without the necessity for a behavioral therapist, during these “sessions.” Another essential for the iPad is a case that can protect it in case it is dropped while it is in use. This is particularly beneficial for those who want to take advantage of the various educational apps on the go. We have found the accessory iBallz is particularly beneficial for this purpose, as it provides 360 degree drop protection, and will protect the screen and hard drive if it happens to plummet to the ground, while children are using them. You can learn more about them at www.iballz.info.
Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you a great website for some very helpful autism/special needs apps for your ipad/iphone/tablet pc etc. Check out
http://www.a4cwsn.com/mobile-education-store
The Mobile Education Store has great apps for conversation building, language building, question building, a speech journal, and so much more! All great apps that target our autism kiddos. Also, while you are there, check out the main site A4CWSN (Apps for Children with Special Needs).
Blessings to you!
Amanda