This video is about the use of video iPods in a special education classroom which caters for children with intellectual disabilities and language or hearing difficulties such that sign language (ASL) is their primary mode of communication. We hear from the teacher, the classroom’s primary interpreter, and parents and siblings about how useful the iPods have been. At first the teacher was understandably sceptical about how helpful iPods could be for a bunch of non-verbal children, but the range of novel uses for the iPods is fantastic to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpxBvHr-Bw4
Some of the things the video iPods were used for:
- Sending verbal or video messages between teachers and parents instead of written messages.
- Recording the kids’ accomplishments in class to show the teachers.
- Recording stories read to the class, showing the book pages and sign interpreter and hearing the audio of the book being read.
- Making videos of sign language vocabulary appropriate to the current curriculum so families could learn to talk to the students about what they had done at school.
- Making video tutorials for specific signs requested by the family.
I’ve probably forgotten a few in there. I was awed by the special education teacher and interpreter and their willingness to try new things and to make the greatest possible use of technology. Good on you!
Who else is using the audio or video abilities of the iPods in classrooms? I’d love to post more stories about this topic.
- Ricky Buchanan
(Via More Than Words)
teri w October 6, 2008 at 1:13 am
I am really, really impressed with your forthought. I am trying to get a grant to use iPods for students who need to review movies or were absent. I applaud your fresight.
teri w
Jeanette Davies October 23, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Hi, I’ve been using iPods in several ways
1. Audio books on iPods
2. Teaching social skills eg using digital photos in ComicLife to explain the steps in washing your hands then exporting as a movie, also (I’m work in Catholic Education!) we took pics of a willing priest and a few volunteers to explain what is happening in Mass and what you should do
3. I have a student (autism) at the moment successfully speaking his answers to assignments etc into an iPod, then emailing the resulting file to teacher for marking
4. and of course sign language as in the video clip
Shirleen January 27, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I love to use the IPOD Touch for video clips, discrete trail teaching, reinforcing concepts, utube video and using the doucment camera. The voice output is on and the kids watch the utube using the document camera. The kids are so motivated. I am trying to focus on the touch as a communication device…It is working great…wish it had a digital camera and mic.