Something to ponder...What would you prefer as a classroom teacher? An IPad or Kurzweil as a text to speech device? Here is some information before you make your decision.
IPad Kurzweil
Price: $329.99 - $729.99 $1200 - $1500
Time to Convert: 2 minutes Could take up to 1 hour
Where? In the classroom Out of the classroom (usually)
Accessibility? Easy student access/efficient Training required/less efficient
I know which choice I would make! With the IPad, you are able to snap a picture of a text document, use an App (ReadIris $40) to convert it to a PDF document, then have it read aloud. This can all be done in the classroom, so a student would not have to leave the room! With Kurzweil, you have to find the computer that Kurzweil is on, and it has to be connected to the scanner. Then, you have to manually scan the document. Then you need to find the scanned document for the student, then you can work with it. It is more timely and inefficient for a student to access information using Kurzweil. Often times, Kurzweil is not installed on a classroom computer, so the student would have to leave the room to receive the information. While Kurzweil is a great program, the IPad is more accessible. Accessibility is key!
Below is a demo on how to use Readiris...very easy!Exploring PECS
Before continuing, it may be helpful to follow the link below to learn more about Picture Exchange Communication Systems. This website gives a comprehensive overview includes a couple of videos!
PECS - Picture Exchange Communication Systems
We have spent some time working with Proloquo2go, which I feel is the most accessible PECS. It is so easy to use, and can be formatted to any student! Many schools are still using BoardMaker, which is a very time consuming for both the student and the person creating the cards. The link above shows how to create story boards using BoardMaker.
Exploring PicCollage Even Further
Ideas on how to use PicCollage in the classroom:
Upload a picture of any item and have students label it. I uploaded a picture of an animal cell, and included a word bank for students to label it. For some students, they would need the word bank, but you could also just upload the picture and have students label it without giving them the text. This activity would be used in a grade 8 or grade 9 classroom where the specialize in working with the cell and cell functions.
Upload a picture of a balance scale and multiple images of alge-tiles (variables and numbers). Using those tiles, you can move the tiles and show how you can solve any equation. The equations can be adapted to your students! You can modify this to include one balance scale, or up to 4 or 5 balance scales, depending on the difficulty of the equation! This could be used as a way to introduced solving equations in the grade 9 math classroom.
Upload a picture of a Cartesian grid. Create ordered pairs just using the add text feature. Have the students drag the ordered pairs to the correct spot on the grid! It can get a bit messy, so it would be important to make sure the ordered pairs that the students are plotting are spaced out nicely. I also included a dot before each ordered pair, so the student can place it exactly where the lines of the grid meet. This could be used in any junior high classroom, even elementary. It would need to be adapted for elementary (remove the negatives). I do this activity with my grade 9 students before we start our linear equations unit!
You could upload a graphic organizer for this next activity, or just insert a line down the screen by taking a picture of one and bringing it in, or by searching the internet for one. For this activity, we looked at the Grade 7 math geometry outcomes where you have to be able to distinguiosg between nets of different 3-D shapes. Students could classify them by dragging the different nets into the appropriate column.
As a teacher, often times I find myself grouping my students for different reasons. They could be working through stations, working on a project together or I may just want them to move around to sit with different people in the classroom. Using the following set up in PicCollage, we imported a chart and included the names of some people in our class. You are able to move the names around into different groups. This is used as an organizational tool by the teacher.
One more very exciting app...
Another really great app we explored today was Book Creator. This is an inexpensive app ($4.99) that gives the user creative freedom to create a book and share it with friends! You are able to import your own photos and videos, and also can record your own voice! These books can be published to iBooks to be shared with others. Here are some creative ways you could use Book Creator in your classroom:
Anything that a student would want to create a book about, you can do that using Book Creator. It is just much more engaging using technology!
Another really great app we explored today was Book Creator. This is an inexpensive app ($4.99) that gives the user creative freedom to create a book and share it with friends! You are able to import your own photos and videos, and also can record your own voice! These books can be published to iBooks to be shared with others. Here are some creative ways you could use Book Creator in your classroom:
- Social Stories
- Biographies
- Dictionaries for any subject
- Personal Encyclopedias
- Study notes
- Journalling
- Plus much, much more!
Anything that a student would want to create a book about, you can do that using Book Creator. It is just much more engaging using technology!
One last note for today....
Dr. Ruben Puentedura is the Founder and President of Hippasus, a consulting firm based in Western Massachusetts, focusing on transformative applications of information technologies to education. If you have some time, check out the following link.
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