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" Apple has long touted its device's assistive technology as a powerful tool for the educational development of physically and mentally disabled children. The iPad's touch screen makes it easier to manipulate than more traditional educational tools. For children with autism, "the iPad is not a toy, but a tool that works best when there is a 'team effort' between parents and therapists encouraging its proper use," said Marc Reisner, co-founder of Reach for the APPs. "Our goal is to provide schools with iPads so they can reach every child on the autistic spectrum." Reach for the APPs built their site with an initial donation from Managed Digital. Now, they're seeking out donations of money and/or iPads from both individuals and corporations to propel the program forward. According to reports from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1-in-88 children have some form of autism, up 78 percent from just a decade ago. The demand for augmentative communications devices is growing. But the schools can't meet the demand, so the children are losing valuable time during critical developmental years. Lois Brady, a speech language pathologist and assistive technology specialist, said apps can help develop fine-motor skills, which will in turn make functions like writing and manipulating small objects easier for the students. "I have spent years working with the most challenging students that are considered profoundly disabled," she said. "And I have seen some small miracles when I introduce the iPad into our therapy, as the children have made huge gains in attention, focus, communication, language and literacy skills." Some experts also say that the iPad can lessen symptoms of autistic disorders, helping children deal with life's sensory overload. Brady will be contributing content to the Reach for the APPs website to inform therapists about the latest-and-greatest apps for children all over the autistim spectrum. Apps must be tailor

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"At TeachThought, we often provide lists of digital resources, and many of them are apps. Apps for struggling readers. Apps for struggling writers. Apps for project-based learning. Any while many of these apps are for students, the following list of apps from Sam Gliksman can be considered for both teachers and students, and an excellent foundation slew of apps for any 21st century teacher. From GoodReader and Slide Shark to Printopia and Air Display, all fill different niches of 21st century learning, and the many possibilities the iPad affords."

"Rounding up the best and favorite elementary school apps is not an easy task, the market is saturated and there are so many standouts that cover the gamut of grade levels. Obviously, one of the first considerations we focus on when writing a review is, of course, the learning potential of an app. Another important aspect is the shelf life - how long will the app be useful and stand up to the test of time? We want this to be a lasting resource for teachers and parents, the solid go-to list that will serve you well for quite some time. *Notice at the bottom of the page we starred some super apps that cross than more than one content area. We have put together a great list but if you know of an app we may have missed, please let us know about it in the comment section below. (Coming soon: Apps for Special Needs & Book Apps)"

"Please take the following survey and share your thoughts, then pass the link on to your colleagues and friends. I'm writing a new column for the Appealing Apps for Educators series in Appolicious and I'd love to get gather the opinions of educators and students on their favorite apps that they've used this year. These apps do not have to be new to the education market this year. Vote for one app per category only; apps can be listed in multiple categories. You also are not required to submit an app in every category. K12 classes may want to consider discussing the following categories, and making one group entry. NOTE: This is not a survey for app developers to promote their own work. Do not take this survey if you are not a K12 student, a K12 class or educator."

"The best writing apps for iPad, like any concept of 'best,' is subjective and further based on need and circumstance. Are you a poet drafting when inspiration strikes? A student taking notes and writing essays? A novelist that usually uses a desktop, but needs their new iPad Pro to do work on the go? While the idea of writing more than a few hundred words on an iPad may seem crazy, using the iPad as a powerful portable writing tool allows you to take advantage of inspiration whenever and wherever it strikes. And with iPad screens now approaching 13″ and capable of supporting USB connections to enable standalone keyboards, it's easier and more comfortable than ever to draft a masterpiece while away from your desk with the help of an app, an iPad, and a good idea."

"When it comes to text editors for the iPad, three of the leading contenders are Apple's Pages ($19.99), Soulmen's Ulysses ($19.99), and Tanmay Sonawane's Write ($1.99). We're no strangers to the Mac versions of Pages and Ulysses III, or the earlier version of Write for iOS. Now we're trying to answer the question: which is of these apps is best for writing on your iPad? As ever, that answer largely depends upon your needs. Let's explore the features they have to offer for handling a typical writing workflow."

"Below is a short collection of some interesting iPad apps students can use to help them with their writing and more specifically, outlining, drafting and writing stories. Some of these apps are featured here for the first time but for more options on digital storytelling apps check out this page."

"For students who dread writing class, a blank page can look a lot like a ten-foot monolith; an imposing, empty slate towering over their homework list. Visual storytelling is one way to break students out of writer's block, and storyboarding apps are a pre-packaged strategy you can use to bring images to the narrative. Whether your students are afraid of writing or you're simply looking for a way to break up a brainstorming session, these 10 storyboarding apps for iOS and Android devices can help inspire-and organize-students of any age. The best part might be the flexibility of these apps. While they can be used for strict storyboarding in the creation of fiction, they can also be used for other tasks, including documenting project-based learning, sharing assignments, or capturing research notes."

"Read and Write for Google is an excellent Chrome app that provides text-to-speech functions from your browser. They have just released a free iPad and Android app. The apps provide text to speech functions, which are great for ESL, learning disabled, visually challenged and struggling readers, on your device, just like the web app does in the Chrome Browser and Chromebooks."

"Recently I had the distinct privilege of working with Julie Freed, Grant Wood's Assistive Technology guru, to present a number of iPad apps that can be used to help improve the reading and/or writing skills of students in special education. Interested? Here are some of the apps we talked about, along with the reasons why we picked them."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm quite a fan of the iPad (the Lollipop Nexus 9's not too bad either). Not because of its design or because its by Apple or any of that, but because of its keen heritage in the learning arena. Any one who knows me will tell you that I am not one for using tech for tech's sake, despite my evangelist moniker. Use of technology in a cross curricular sense should be measured and done with consideration for the best potential learning outcomes. With all that said, I've been doing this for quite some time now and I thought it time that I shared some of the Apps that have stuck by me or have struck me for their ease of use and impact upon learning in the classroom. Rather than blog about each one however or write in depth about each one either, I've done this in the form of a small poster, with the apps icons on. My periodic table of Apps that I developed from Sean Junkins' original is always well received however it really is a bit on the large size. This poster will feature Apps that hold stock in every classroom and can have an impact upon learning."

"As an advocator of the use of technology in teaching and learning, I believe that there are several ways we can use this technology to make teaching writing a more enjoyable task for students . Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has already shared some of the web tools to help teachers improve students writing and today we are sharing with you some great writing apps for iPad. Check them out below and if you have more suggestions share them with us below."

"So are there any apps that help students do this? Here is a list of apps that might. They are not going to write the papers for the students but some of them provide scaffolds, ideas or processes that make them think more clearly about the writing process."

"Ever have a thought slip away and wish you had written it down? Grab one of these modern note-taking apps, and you'll be able to jot down a promising idea at the drop of a hat. For some people, there's no replacement for pen and paper when it comes to taking notes. However, if you're open to a more high-tech way to record your thoughts, you might get more mileage from one of the many note-taking apps that are available to download for free from the Windows Store. Whether you're taking down shopping lists or writing HTML code, there's a notepad app out there that will suit your needs perfectly. Here are some of the very best modern apps to help you record your ideas and keep them organized."

"Stickyboard2 is a very good iPad app for creating sticky notes and mind maps. Actually, Stickyboard2 turns your iPad into a giant whiteboard with a never-ending stack of sticky notes. The regular price of the app is $9.99 but it is on sale today for free, at least here in Canada and also in the States. Not sure if it's free in other places. Taking notes and creating sticky notes on Stickyboard2 is super easy.The app supports a number of coloured markers you can use to write your notes. Arranging and organizing notes is also another powerful feature provided by this app. You can easily select a bunch of notes, then swipe with 3 fingers to instantly arrange them into neat piles or fan them out into a grid, columns, or rows. And the best thing of all is that you can export and share your stickies in text or PDF format."

"I was fortunate enough to watch a great webinar the other day about iOS apps that support students that are struggling with reading and writing. Many of the apps discussed were new to me which is always a plus. Here is the link to all of the apps but for this post I want to focus on just a few."

"In this post, I'm sharing 10 free and low-cost apps that may be especially helpful for individuals who find reading and/or writing challenging. I've written previously about some of these resources, but I thought it might be useful to put them together in one place, with information about the apps in point form."

"SeeSaw, a powerful and popular iPad app for creating digital portfolios, is now available as a Chrome web app and as an Android app. The new apps allow students to create and add content to digital portfolios. Through SeeSaw students can add artifacts to their portfolios by taking pictures of their work (in the case of a worksheet or other physical item), by writing about what they've learned, or by uploading a short video about things they have learned. The SeeSaw apps students can add voice comments to their pictures to clarify what their pictures document. Students can create folders withing their accounts to organize content from multiple subject areas."

"Write to Read ($6.99 for iPad, iTunes link) is a new iPad app which teaches children to use their imagination and create unique and personal books. In the process of writing, they will increase their reading skills as well."