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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

" think we would all agree that a classroom with iPads looks and functions very differently than a classroom without iPads. While many administrators and support staff complete standard walk-throughs, some of them struggle with what to look for beyond the basics when it comes to evaluating a classroom infused with iPads. Recently, our district started offering iLEAP academies, which blend classroom site visits and in-house professional development for districts all over my state. Many of the attendees are administrators, support staff, and teachers that have limited familiarity with 1:1 classrooms but are seeking best practices to take back to their own schools and campuses as they implement a 1:1 iPad initiative or pilot. When I began searching for ways to facilitate this type of classroom visit, I happened on an excellent list of observation tips for a traditional classroom but found nothing specifically tailored to iPads. Thus, I felt there was need to create a "What to Look For" list that would embody the behind-the-scenes and not-always-obvious instructional pieces to look for when visiting a classroom with iPads. These tips are very granular and specific to iPads, but could easily be adapted for other 1:1 settings."

"Last Monday I lead a training in Hollywood for how to use your iPad to teach math. The assumption was that the teacher had an iPad and the students did not. This has been my reality ever since the iPad came out, I got the iPad 1 the first day it came out. Just yesterday all the students at my new school were issued iPads so now I am in a 1-1 situation. I'm excited for the change in dynamics in my classroom. I've decided to do a blogging series on using the iPad to teach, drawing from my experiences. Here are some of the suggestions I gave at the Hollywood training"

"You may not have thought much about the iPad background screens of student iPads.  Whether you share a cart with your grade level or have a small set to use or even have 1:1 iPads in the classroom, the iPad background screen is key real estate that you want to integrate into your iPad management plan.  Students look at the lock screen every time they open their iPads and the background whenever they switch apps.    Here are 5 ways to utilize that space:"

"iPads are amazing learning instruments that can improve instruction and student engagement dramatically. Those of us privileged enough to work in 1:1 iPad classrooms can attest to that. But lets be realistic: most classrooms around the world do not have access to the funds and resources necessary to equip a full classroom with iPads for each student. There are numerous teachers who have access to only one iPad at school, or they just own an iPad and think it would be a great idea to be able to use in the classroom. Luckily, there are several EdTech tools teachers can use in the One iPad Classroom in order to create lessons that are exciting, and provide unique educational experiences for all students."

"At first, I have to admit I was not the greatest fan of the iPad. Aside from its obvious advantages, like the battery life and the time gained from not having to get the class to 'log on', it seemed like an expensive gimmick. However, after experimenting with iMovie, I began to see some of its potential and I was hooked. I soon found that many of the content-free apps, such as iMovie, Keynote and PuppetPals provided me with a medium through which I could teach in an inspiring and innovative way. Three years on, the school now has one iPad between two children and the opportunities to use the technology in a creative way have multiplied. The iPad is a valuable and powerful resource which has changed my approach to teaching and learning. My lessons are now more dynamic, with greater opportunities for the children to make decisions and choices for themselves. The pupils are often scattered around the school working in small groups to develop creative ways to record, present, evaluate and explain. My role as a teacher has also changed as I have become a facilitator and guide, providing quality control and advice. I have been able to introduce longer integrated projects combining different subjects and skills where the iPad is a key tool in the process. The iPad has been invaluable in enabling me to make the curriculum change I wanted. I can now say the skills of curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking, reflectiveness and creativity are being practised on a daily basis through this technology. However, it is the ease with which you can create on the iPad that has had the most impact in my classroom. The controls are so intuitive that very little time, if any once an app has been introduced, is spent teaching the children how to use the technology. This means that tasks that would have seemed too complicated or time consuming in the past are now possible."

"The Franklin Academy High School implemented a 1:1 iPad deployment a the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Over the course of the next two school years, the pilot was expanded to include all grades 9-12 in the high school. This deployment has reached 475 high school students and all teaching staff. Our K-8 program deployed iPads across the grade levels in the form of class sets and mobile carts. This study targeted our 1:1 deployment at the high school to investigate the impact the device has had on teaching and learning. The survey used to gather the student data was administered in April of 2014. Students included in the survey used the device anywhere from 1 to 4 years. The students use the iPad while at school and home. Results of the survey hope to shed light on the impact the use of the iPad has had on academic gains as well as the development of the most important non-cognitive skills our program is founded upon."

"Here at St. Matthew's, in addition to a 6th through 8th grade 1:1 iPad program (where students take the iPads home), we have a 5th grade 1:1 iPad "stay at school" program. These students use the iPads during school hours, then turn them in at the end of the day."

"There is no end to the uses of the iPad in education. I've discussed that ad nauseum on this blog. As a learning tool, it has the potential to make a great positive change to learning. The only problem is Apple designed it for individual use. Schools are designed for ( or budgeted for) shared use. Conventional wisdom is for iPad use to occur in a 1:1 or BYOD Environment. In the best case scenario, I wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately, financial realities will often dictate that sharing is the only viable option if we want our students to enjoy the benefits of the iPad. It can be done effectively - I've shared my thoughts early in the year about the pros and cons of shared iPads - but doesn't happen without some time consuming workarounds. What follows is my take on the pains (and remedies) of sharing iPads in a rather large Primary (elementary) school."

"Over the past couple of years, I have had the awesome opportunity as a principal and teacher to be part of a school that adopted iPads on a 1:1 device to student ratio. I went into the program unsure if iPads would be as effective of a classroom device as traditional laptops, but have become convinced that the iPad offers more for classrooms than traditional desktop or laptop computers. Here are the ten reasons I why I have found iPads to be the perfect classroom tool."

"Tim, a Director of Instructional Technology from El Paso, Texas, gives a strong account of how iPad can be used as a tool for creation. He clearly details some of the concrete ways that the often-defended tablet can be used to produce videos, music, drawings, and works of art that move well beyond consumption. Kim, on the other hand, offers a unique perspective as an educator who has recently transitioned from supporting an iPad environment to using a Chromebook as his primary device. In his post, 3 Reasons Why Chromebook Beats iPad in 1:1 Programs, Kim gives the following three reasons for the superiority of the Chromebook: Chromebooks are for creating, and iPads are for consuming The App vs the Web The Google Ecosystem for Collaboration The most viable of these three reasons from Kim is the final one, the collaborative tools that are inherent in the Google ecosystem can be accessed seamlessly on a Chromebook. While iOS device access to Google tools continues to become less and less of an issue, schools that want to focus primarily on Google tools should look no further than Chromebooks. However, I would like to challenge Kim's first two points. As he notes in his discussion around his first point, the consumption versus creation debate with iPads and Chromebooks has been made countless times by those on both sides of this discussion."

"What blog entries would you share with someone just getting started with an iPad initiative that was facing a bit of opposition in-house? Upon reflecting on that question--and you have to remember I've moved slowly from iPad antipathy to embracing iPads over the last year--I realized that there were a few blog entries that just might be helpful. So, in the spirit of being helpful, here is my round-up of iPad entries: "

"In the past, coding was a pretty niche affair, those of us with our Acorns, Spectrums and Commodore 64s experimenting with lines and lines of code. I remember as an 8 year old, spending ages typing out lines of code on my beige Acorn Electron to draw….a line on the screen. To add insult to injury there was no way to save it unless I wanted to erase my tape of "Ice Ice Baby" and replace it with my code. Needless to say because we were put into the deep end in those days, like millions of others I was put off a bit by coding and just played computer games instead. Fast forward to the iPad era and coding is coming back in a big way. Some very talented developers with a love for coding have produced some spectacular apps, turning the iPad into a coding studio in your hand. There are some great iPad apps which take the pain out of coding for the layman and can teach your children (and you) some excellent skills."

"Teachers and students everywhere are receiving iPads this year for use in their classrooms. Some schools are even providing iPads to every student in their classroom to create a true 1:1 mobile computing environment. While all of this is very exciting, the iPads are only useful tools if teachers know how to incorporate them effectively and they are equipped with the right apps. With a new school year just beginning, I thought it would be nice to feature the best educational apps available for teachers and students."

"One of the computing classes that I teach at school is HTML, and being a 1:1 iPad school I wanted to refresh my scheme of work to take advantage of using the iPad. Now, let's get one thing out of the way, coding on the iPad may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, the fact that I can work on it in class and get the students to take the same software home and continue working is a real bonus for me. I had a good look around for an app which would fit my needs and zeroed in on Koder. My reasons for choosing this were mainly because it offered a browser preview of your code and it also wasn't rated 17+ (Apple rates pretty much any app with a browser 17+ for unrestricted web access unfortunately). It is worth noting that it offers other coding languages, but for the purposes of this review I'm going to concentrate on HTML."

"This fact there are over 14 million iPads in schools illustrates how many 'decision makers' have chosen the iPad as a tool for learning. As we continue to integrate the iPad into schools, it is worth reflecting how the initial setup and training can have a real impact on the success or failure of a 1-to-1 programme. The recommendations below are borne out of a desire to help teachers without overwhelming them and to model good practice to students. There are many apps that could have been chosen, but those mentioned below are generic and able to serve a purpose across the curriculum."

"School has started for most of us around the country. Alarm clocks are set, bleary-eyed kids stumble their way to class, and iPads are being handed out. Just a typical day here at Eanes and many districts across the country. As the amount of 1:1 schools and districts continue to grow with many different devices, but specifically the Apple iPad, I thought it might be good to reflect and share the laundry list of items we've prepared in getting ready for our roll-outs. (all high school students, 8th graders, and 2 grade levels at the elementary schools are 1:1 this year) I've already written about 10 things NOT to do in a 1:1 here (the list is growing in year 2) but what about things we SHOULD do?"

"Tech geeks Leo Laporte and Sarah Lane love their iPads so much, they've created "iPad Today," the TWiT network's first show highlighting the best apps, most helpful tools, coolest tricks, and essential news surrounding the iPad revolution. "iPad Today" is smart, informative, and lots of fun. Recorded live Thursdays at 1:30pm PT/4:30pm ET on http://live.twit.tv."

"Regarding our 1:1 iPad Program commencing at the beginning of 2012 in our year 6 and 7 cohorts, i have attached all relevant documents which have been part of informing parents and our community about our iPad happenings so far. All documents are in PDF format and can be downloaded."

"I have recently been asked to provide a number iPad sessions for teachers. I had one school where they had recently bought a large number of iPads and wanted to start from scratch. Another had a 1:1 Program in a particular year group but wanted their colleagues to get an understanding of the potential of iPads in the classroom. I was able to use this Teacher ToolKit idea for both groups. "