iPods and Special Education

Both educators and techies alike are buzzing about using iPods beyond playing music, and integrating them into the classroom. The iPod has made a name for itself as a popular and convenient way to listen to music portably, using the capabilities of the iPod in the classroom can make a big difference in the education our special needs students receive. Instead of using an iPod to listen to music or to watch the latest music video, the iPod has earned an equally important position in the education field.

In the past, children who required help with things like taking tests would be taken to a separate classroom, and a paraprofessional would read the test questions to those students out loud. One problem that would occur often is that some students would need to hear the questions more than one time, while the rest of the students were ready to go on to the next question. These students can now get that help from an iPod.

The iPod provides an audio narration of the test questions and the iPod video screen also displays the text as it is being read. This allows students with a learning disability to work more independently, allowing them to work productively and have a higher self-esteem.

Teachers with students who are not fluent readers or have a disability can use an iPod to allow them to experience reading in a different way, and this is useful at any grade level. Pairing an iPod with the service of a website that allows you to download an audio version of a text, such as eBooks.com, allows the student to listen to the text rather than read it. Websites like eBooks.com allow users to download the audio files in an mp3 format which will be able to be played on an iPod.

Another tool similar to eBooks.com that can be used with an iPod is the LibriVox service. LibriVox is run by hundreds of volunteers who record the audio narration of books. These files are then made available for download for free on the LibriVox website.

Things like reminders, directions for assignments, and upcoming assignments can be recorded to the student’s iPod so that when they are at home, they can hear the teacher’s voice explaining what they need to do.

Teachers can also easily create audio files for their students to listen to. Software like GarageBand makes creating audio files easy, as well as adding text and graphics for video iPods.

Louisa-Muscatine Elementary School in Letts, Iowa has spent over $70,000 in technology investments. This implementation of technology in the classroom has given teachers at Louisa-Muscatine some new abilities.

Michelle Ryan, a special education teacher at the school says, “Using an iPod for testing frees us up to watch the students, and rotate around to make sure everyone understands the questions.” This is another benefit that iPods offer in the classroom.

With continuing developments in technology, the use of iPods in the classroom will become more standard, and children will be provided a better quality education.

For More Information:
http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/louisamuscatine/
http://librivox.org/

Back to m-Learning News