Senin, 10 Juli 2017
Bringing Mobile Technology and Apps to the Forefront in Educating Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Mary E. McDonald, PhD, BCBA-D and Jamie O'Brien, MS Ed Genesis Outreach Program/Eden II Programs

I
ndividuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty learning using traditional teaching methods (Geurts & Embrects, 2008). In order to promote learning in students with autism, teachers must capitalize on the learner's strengths. Research tells us that students with autism typically benefit from visual, rather than auditory teaching strategies. Research has also begun to examine the benefits of using technology when teaching students with ASD and has even begun to show that teaching with technology may be more effective and efficient for teaching students with ASD (Williams, Wright, Callaghan & Coughlan, 2002).
In attempt to maximize our students' learning, we have made attempts to teach new skills to our students across a variety of curriculum domains using technology. Some areas include expressive language, activities of daily living, speech, socialization, academics and vocational skills. We believe that by integrating technology into our curriculum that we can maximize our intervention time and make education more fun for everyone involved. Technology is so prominent today in all of our lives, that as educators we must introduce technology to individuals with autism spectrum disorders early on in their education. One benefit of using technology within the curriculum is the versatility it provides (Goldsmith & LeBlanc, 2004). The flexible nature of technology allows us to individualize instruction more readily for our students. In addition, it is important to challenge our students and keep their materials engaging. With the help of technology we can update student programs more easily.
The most recent use of technology with students with ASD is mobile technology and specifically the use of applications or "apps" on mobile devices. There are a great number of apps to be used with students with ASD, however one must proceed with caution when using apps in education.
A few things to think about:
  • Be sure to fully preview the app before using it with your student to be aware of the curriculum targets, the appropriateness of the "materials" and the level of difficulty.
  • Note that many students with ASD have great difficulty with generalization. They may learn a skill in one situation or with one set of materials and not exhibit that skill with a new set of materials. Therefore an app alone will not be enough to teach a concept to a student.
  • Apps also have limitations in that they have a finite number of exemplars available to your student. So they may use 2 pictures of a tree to teach this concept when your student will need a number more in order to learn to be able to identify a tree when shown a novel exemplar.
  • Many of our students have deficits in the areas of cognitive flexibility, meaning that they will learn a rule and will have great difficulty changing from that rule. For example if a student works on an association such as pillow goes with bed, it will be more difficult for them to associate a blanket with bed. When using traditional materials we can address the issues of cognitive flexibility with the materials we use. Apps sometimes may not address these issues for our students.
  • Yes there's an app for that! There are apps for almost anything you can think of these days, but that does not always mean we should teach a skill through an app or only with an app. Be sure to still have the kids manipulating real 3-D toys and materials too.


All cautions aside, apps can be an amazing resource for teachers and for their students with ASD, these are just a few of the many apps out there that can be helpful when teaching students with ASD:
Pictello
Pictello is a great app to use in creating social stories. Each page in a Pictello Story can contain a picture or short video and text. The picture can be inserted from your camera roll and text can be typed it. Pictello gives you the option of recording your own voice to read to the text or using the text to speech feature using a voice preloaded on the app. This app is easy to use. There is a wizard feature that walks you through each step of creating the story. Pictello stories teach social skills, recalling events, scheduling, and following instructions.
iEarnedThat
iEarnedThat is a token board app. The user can upload pictures from the camera roll of the reinforcer and then turn it into a 3D jigsaw puzzle. As the child earn pieces of their token board, it forms the picture of their reinforcer. In this application, the user has the options of 2 pieces to a 60 piece puzzle. iEarnedThat uses fun sounds and interactive puzzles that keep the student engaged. This app is completely customizable for any student. iEarnedThat makes it easy to always carry a token board with you right on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. It is simple to add in a new picture of a reinforcer and use it for your student anywhere you go.
Agnitus- Games for Learning
This app offers interactive games across a number of academic or pre-academic areas such as matching shapes, colors or letters. It also focuses on adaptive daily living skills with hygiene lessons on showering and toothbrushing. Kids will love playing "Icky Bathtime Fun." Many of the games feature either Olly or Icky, cute and mischievous characters, and the app tracks the student's performance level. A parent/teacher "report card" is available so that you can see how the student did. It can also be used to assess the student's ability to generalize "mastered" skills to this app.
2017 © Copyright - Rajabijak. All right reserved
Powered by: PineappleTech