LeapFrog’s brightly hued Tag reading
pens — which sound out letters and
words — give students with special
needs a boost in reading abilities,
confidence and social skills. Popular
devices like these also eliminate
divides among children with varying
skill levels in classrooms, says
Emily Bouck, associate professor of
educational studies.
“Using socially desirable technologies
as assistive technology, you reduce
stigmatization,” explains Bouck,
who’s co-authored papers on the
subject for The Journal of Special
Education Technology and Preventing
School Failure: Alternative Education for
Children and Youth.
Seeking popular innovations to
repurpose, Bouck also has identified
cell phone calendars, alarms and
calculators; iPod audio and video
prompts; response clickers; and
educational apps, all with positive
results.
Students can use cell phone calendars
and alarms to remind them about
homework, classroom activities and
other things they need to remember.
The audio or video prompting can
give students a list of tasks, steps to
be completed in the tasks or simple
reminders. The clicker response
systems are an avenue for self-monitoring.
The range of educational apps is
ever-growing, with many providing
visual, auditory and tactile learning
opportunities, Bouck reports. Another
“Children whose stuttering persists also lag
in development on speech sounds, speech
motor coordination and brain functions
for processing language, but more research
is needed to identify how measures like
these can serve as predictive factors,” says
Weber-Fox, a professor of speech, language
and hearing sciences and a cognitive
neuroscientist.
“Speech therapy resources are not necessary
for every young child who stutters, but
the let’s-wait-and-see approach is missing
children who could benefit from early
intervention,” adds Smith, a distinguished
professor of speech, language and hearing
sciences. |A.R.
Everyday Technology that Helps All Students
Emily Bouck P H
O
T
O
B
Y
VI
N
CE
N
T
WA
LT
E
R
PH
O
T
O
B
YV
I
NC
E
N
T
WA
LT
E
R
potential aid is the smart pen, which
records lectures and conversations while
students also take notes. Apps, too, are
available for smart pens.
“When we implemented everyday
technology in an elementary school,
we had students who were not in
special education ask to come to
the resource room because they
wanted to use the technology,”
Bouck says.
At another school, students
with disabilities using popular
devices have taught other
students how to use them. “To
me, that is empowering,” she
says. | K.M.
