I have a student who reads on a second grade level. If you remember from earlier posts I teach ninth grade physical science. As you can imagine this reading deficiency is a challenge. This student has an IEP that excuses her from any type of public speaking, reading or even being called upon to answer questions in front of her peers. This makes it difficult to properly administer ongoing informal assessment with traditional methods, thus she definitely benefits from differentiated instruction.
As reading and writing go hand-in-hand this student finds it difficult to complete written assignments. While talking to some students I have had in previous years I was introduced to an awesome app that helps cross this literacy boundary. It is called Dragon Dictation. Dragon Dictation allows you to talk directly to the iPad. The iPad essentially types the student’s response or even an entire essay.
A second app that would help this student is Science 360. This app has a plethora of videos that explain numerous science concepts. This allows all students, especially those with reading disabilities, to acquire information while not having to struggle with the large scientific words that would easily overwhelm them. While I feel literacy should be taught in all academic areas, it is nice to allow students the opportunity to learn science without bogging them down with even more mental hurdles.
Both Dragon Dictation and Science 360 can be used during my students learning skills class so that she will not feel singled out or looked down upon by her peers. Since both of these apps are on the iPad organization is plus; there are no papers or bulky equipment to shuffle through or keep organized. Another bonus to both of these apps is they are both FREE.
No comments:
Post a Comment