Following you will find various information about things to consider, such as security, tips and tricks, school licensing, etc. I hope you find this guide helpful as you take this journey into the iWorld and special needs.
If you need an organizational tool-
something to keep you on task or to your appointments on time, have a place to jot down reminders, the iPhone/iTouch is an all in one tool to assist you in being organized. There are many such tools to help in every day life. Some of my favorites:
- Todo helps you focus on what matters most and allows you to prioritize what you need to do. There are many others as this is an area of great demand.
- Evernote is a great little tool for a variety of purposes. It's like an electronic notebook; you can store pdfs, pictures, word docs, spreadsheets etc. in a note page that can also include your notes for that day's lecture. There's an app for iPhone/Touches and it works on your computer. It can be interacted with in the web browser. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe. A wonderful example of how a tool like this can change a life- Patrick Jones has sustained numerous concussions throughout his life, and as a result suffers from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which causes severe short-term memory loss. In his day-to-day life, Patrick uses Evernote to help him piece together the basic memory flows we take for granted.
- The built in Calendar allows you to set reminders with a sound affect. In fact, you can set 2 reminders for different time intervals.You might also want to look into CalenGoo. For $6.99 it will sync with Google Calendar, is color-coded, allows more than one calendar to be used, has picture icons so the user can see what they are doing by using visuals and includes a to do list.
- You may also want to explore the visual calendar called Organizer. This calendar allows you to put pictures in it so if you know someone who needs a calendar but is not a strong reader- this just might be the ticket. Check it out. You can enter text, create diagrams, use emoji, insert pictures and save contacts just as you would write them down in your organizer. You can also record and play voice memos on the iPhone and iPod touch (older models will require an additional microphone). It is the perfect tool to manage your daily schedule, to-do list, notes or diary. An agenda app you might want to explore is InClass which was rated Best App for young adults 2011. It is an organizer, allows users to take photo, audio or text notes, keeps tasks for the day in one place with course alarms.
- Built in Notes app will let you make as many little notes to yourself as needed. If you would prefer, use the Voice memos which would allow you to speak instead of type.
- iProcrastinate is designed to be a simple, easy to use task management program for students. It allows the user to create a project with multiple steps that helps break a large project into smaller more manageable pieces.
Helpful Life apps worth considering:
- WordWeb offers a quick, easy-to-use and comprehensive international English dictionary and thesaurus. Fast searching, detailed definitions, synonyms, derived words, examples and a great user interface let you easily navigate between words.
- The built in Maps will help that spatially, directionally challenged individual. Or, just those who need a little help getting from here to there occasionally.
- Teachers/SLPs - check out this new app!! Percentally- a tally counter that automatically converts tallies to percentages. Use it to track progress in education, athletics, and other activities. Percentally makes it easy to document improvement in various environments.
- Speech Therapists- check out the Smarty Ears apps. They offer several interesting apps such as a Yes/No app, Expressive (A new app for AAC), Articulate It, iTake Turns and more. This may be a company you will want to stay in touch with.
- Teaching Functional Life Skills has become even better with the Conover Company apps. Be sure to scroll down on their site to see all that is available.
- Parents of a disabled child in the school system may appreciate this program developed by a parent: "Check off IEP Issues with Free iPhone App". "Basically, you create a file for your child's current IEP and get a checklist of all the different elements that go in it. Click on an item, and you get a reference to special-education law that applies to that item, and a space to enter notes. The checklist shows items with notes as highlighted, so you're less likely to forget what you wanted to say in the stressful atmosphere of an IEP meeting. For sure, you're going to look like an organized and savvy force to be reckoned with."
- iAdvocate is a free application available through iTunes that provides information on advocacy strategies for parents to help ensure school-aged children with disabilities are provided appropriate services and resources in their education.The idea behind iAdvocate is to empower and engage parents, make them aware of their rights and introduce them to a variety of resources. The app is designed with the hopes to better prepare parents to work more collaboratively with school professionals to achieve positive outcomes for their children’s education. What a positive approach for all!
- Needing a translator? Google Translate is a free app that will translate between 57 languages and provide you with audio results. iSpeak is a simple text translator with quality text to speech provided to speak the translated phrase back to you in the target language. The text to speech engine is very clear.
Tips and Tricks
for using and managing your any of your iTools? Here are a few:
- Tap home button 2 times to go back to first screen
- Tap again to go to search feature
- Hold any icon, when it starts to wiggle you can move or click x to delete
- Parental Restrictions are available - go to: Settings > General > Restrictions
- For more, check out Tony Vincent's Learning in Hand Tips
Oh, there is just so much you can do with these wonderful tools! You can record lectures, learn a new language, practice your multiplication facts, make grocery lists, find a recipe while shopping, help with money exchange, expand your vocabulary... and for so little.
- Santa Ana Unified School District has posted a really nice online "how to" guide with great visuals for all the technical stuff you need to know, such as: Syncing your iPad, Restore, Checking for up-Dates, Settings. This site is worth bookmarking!
- If you buy one of these great tools, you are making an investment so you may want to consider purchasing a Square Trade Warranty. You can get up to 3 years and it includes drops and spills!!! I bought one for my new Classic iPod for $32 and my iPhone 4 for $94. You can't beat that!
- Then we should discuss security as we know these are hot little items and if one is "lifted" a little security just might get it back to the rightful owner The document: iPad in Business Security Overview provides helpful advice on how to adjust a few settings to add some extra security. Also, you may want to consider downloading the free app, "Find my iPod". This app will allow you to send out an alarm, lock your system and or wipe it clean all through Internet access.
- You can restrict access to WIFI on the iPad (Settings;General;Restrictions and then Enable Restrictions - You then set a passcode.) Once you do this you have the option of not allowing access to Safari, YouTube, iTunes, and Installing Apps. If you choose to restrict these apps, they will not show on the device. You can also set content ratings for Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, etc. You may also restrict apps by going to settings to restrictions and turn this restriction on and setting a passcode.
- Are you worried about your apps being deleted. iOS Tips and Tricks can help with some helpful ideas to keep this from happening.
- Are you an educator wondering how the whole licensing thing works with iTunes, iPods, iPads and iPhones? David Niemeijer has made a wonderful attempt to walk you through the maze.
- A site with good information is the ConnSenseBulletin site, which also provides a listing of apps to use in education developed by an Assistive Technologist.
- A great Wiki to explore for how to integrate the iPod world into the education world, teachers may want to stay touch to the iPod User Group. They are posting as many help and how-to articles as they can and as quickly as they can so you can continue to be successful using iPod devices in your classroom.
The apps will continue to grow, improve and be awesome. You just can't go wrong!
Enjoy!
