Amazing Apps

Due to having class cancelled one stormy Saturday we had to respond to 3 webinars about some pretty incredible apps. This was a really fun experience because it introduced me to so many useful apps.
We had to reflect on our top three apps for each webinar.
The first webinar I watched was:

Top Free Apps for Special Education

My favourites 1. Pocket Pond:  
This is an amazing app and one that I have found very useful since discovering it while watching this webinar. I have used it multiple times with certain students in my class who need some sensory to help to calm down! I have downloaded it on my iphone and ipad and 2 of my students regularly ask to use it!  It is a koi pond that allows you to buy new fish, clean the filter in the tank, feed the fish and glide your hands on the water making a lovely sound that even I find calming. It can also be used to teach students about ecosystems. It's great to help students who need help to prepare for transitionsThis app has definitely helped life in my classroom!

2. Dragon Dictation:
This is a great app for students who have difficulty getting thoughts down on paper. It's a voice recognition app that can be used to send emails, write notes, stories etc.  The student needs to be very articulate for this app they have strong vocabulary and are able to verbally express their ideas.
I love this app and have used it with students in the past. It's been very helpful for a student in my class last year who had difficulty writing throughts down. However, he had to be very clear when talking and we had to practice with the app a fair bit before he was able to get the Dragon Dictation to record his thoughts correctly most of the time.

3.Calendar App
This is one of  my all time favourite apps. The fact that it syncs with all my other devices is amazing. I can even sync it with my husbands phone, which means we all have our schedules at the touch of our hands and this saves time and stress. So for a student who has (executive function) memory difficulties, this app would be life changing because it is so easy to use, change and update and now caring an iPad or iPhone with you everywhere is very common which helps to make students feel less self conscious when needing this assistive technology.

Apps For Severe Autism


1. Fluid2 App a really cool sensory regulation app. I was drawn to this app because of the relaxing music as well as the ability to move the water.  It is great for students who need something to calm them as they have transitions. It helps students to self-regulate and relax. It is similar to the Pocket Pond app as it has calming music and the ability to manipulate the water.

2.Proloquo2 I think this is one of the most amazing apps for special education and autism. It really has changed the face of communication for students with special needs. When teachers, parents and students are trained to use this app,  the ways it can change a students life are so profound.  I think back to the Suzie Ruben story and how her life was forever changed once she was able to use a device that could help her communicate. Suzie had essentially been a nonperson until the moment when she typed on a computer keyboard to speak.  Proloquo2go makes so many things possible, and it's on a device that is such a social norm in this day and age. Amazing. It's also  wonderful because it can be constantly changing and evolving as the students activities change.  Where as something like pecs takes so much time to change and add vocabulary for the student Proloquo2go can be changed literally on the go! I love this app!

3.Robert Munsch Ebooks
These are great for students with autism and allows students with autism to be able to participate in independent reading in class. They are really affordable and easy to use.  These are great and I have been able to use these in class with one of my students who has a very low reading level and has difficulty participating in independent reading. Excellent



Communication Apps:

1.Sounding Board:
A much cheaper alternative to prologu2go. You can have up to 9 cells.  It's nice to have a cheaper alternative to proloqu2go.


2.Expressive:
Another much cheaper alternative then proloqu2go the app doesn't have access to as many pictures as proloqu2go, but it still is very useful for a student that has communication difficulties.

3.ArtikPik
This is a speech practice app. It is in game form which is a great way to reach students.
You can choose the types of sounds you want to work on and you can find out if they have mastered various sounds. I could see this being very useful to find out where you need to go with a group of students.