The special needs of learners is always at the forefront of any teachers mind when preparing a lesson. I was interested to find out how the iPad might help.
I've found two apps that make the iPad excellent for our spec. ed. students.
The first one is Dragon Dictation. This comes from the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, who for years have been making speech recognition software, widely used in schools. This app is currently free for iPod and iPad users. Now I don't have much experience in spec. ed., but our lead teacher in that department (Hi Chris), thinks highly of it. Students can speak into the iPad's built-in mic, and the app will record and convert it to text. You then can copy and paste, email, or even post to facebook.
At the other end of the spectrum we have Speak it! This app will take any text and convert it to speech. If a student is researching online and has difficulties reading, he/she can copy and paste the text and the app will read it to them. The app will also read PDF and email.
The app also allows you to save them as audio files. A neat feature allows you to slow down or speed up the speaking, as well as change the size of the font. The app also highlights the words as it reads them, so that students can follow along. It is well worth the 1.99$, especially if you push it out to multiple units.
What makes these apps even more appealing for students are how discreet they are. Unfortunately, students with learning difficulties often feel shame and will avoid using help to avoid appearing "dumb". Using an iPad is cool, and other students wouldn't even realize they were using assistive technology. That in itself might be the biggest benefit of iPads and iPods for spec. ed. students. It removes the stigma and replaces it with a "cool" factor.
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