Appy Days: Autorap

Appy Days in ChristchurchIf you have ever attended one of Ian’s workshops or training days, you’ll know that we like to have fun while we are learning new skills. Recently Ian delivered training on the use of iPads and apps to support the needs of students with special needs at a school in Christchurch, New Zealand. One of the apps he showed was ‘Autorap’ from Smule.

Our students use the app to create simple ‘rap’ songs simply by speaking into the iPad’s microphone. We’ve made raps about Henry VIII, about counting, about crossing the road safely, and even about importance of brushing our teeth. (more…)

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Units of Work for SLD

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I really liked the Thematic Units of Work from the NI Curriculum. Each unit is packed with teaching ideas around a curriculum theme or topic together with the resources needed to bring to bring it alive in your classroom. The NI Curriculum Team have produced a set of similar resources this time focusing on SLD teaching at Keystage 1 through 3. The units are PDFs, together with supporting Powerpoints and online activities. All are free to download and use.
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SENSwitcher: Still great, still free and still available

Senswitcher

I designed my first program for switch users back in 1999 / 2000. I had attended a meeting where we discussed the possibility of creating ‘PMLD’ software that could run online and delivered through the Northern Grid for Learning web site. The result was SENSwitcher. 140 activities that could be operated with a switch, touch-screen or pointing device that could be configured to allow for specific student colour preferences, tracking speeds and more. (more…)

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A quick review of MyGaze Foundations

mygaze4Like many of my colleagues in schools, I was deeply skeptical when I read some of the claims about eye gaze systems and how they might ‘revolutionize’ (their word not mine,) our teaching of students with profound and multiple difficulties. So like so many of you, I had to find out for myself what this technology brought to the classroom and how I might use it to help unlock some of my students.
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Free Gazespeaker Suite for Eye Gaze

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It seems to me that if you want to make BIG money in the special needs market, the place to be is eye gaze. It’s not uncommon to see pretty mediocre software commanding huge prices simply because it has a ‘For Eye Gaze’ label. Excited this morning to find the free (yes free) Gaze Speaker eye gaze suite. Gaze Speaker is a suite of applications designed for use with your eye gaze setup. The suite features a full AAC environment, a configurable web browser and a skills building section much like the expensive ‘eye gaze skills progression’ software we see from major suppliers. (more…)

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