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iPad gives voice to Marin County, CA special needs students
For many first-grade students, the best way to let your teacher know what you want is to raise your hand or shout out your request. But for some special needs students, it's difficult to speak or put thoughts into words. Marin County, California is now using iPads to help these students communicate with their instructors. Through grants from a fundraising organization called Dedication to Special Education, all 19 Marin County school districts have been receiving technology to help out special needs students. What's changing the face of technology for these students is the iPad. As noted by Sarah King, the co-chairwoman of Dedication to Special Education, "We've gone from a DynaVox, which costs about US$8,000, to a $500 iPad that does essentially the same thing. And the iPad is a lot easier for students to manipulate." The organization plans to use about $85,000 of their grant money to purchase as many as 80 iPads this year, but that doesn't meet the demand of special education teachers who have requested about $176,000 in technology -- including 122 iPads. King's 19-year-old son is autistic, and uses an iPad application called Conversation Builder to learn how to converse in social situations. Other students helped by the organization are using apps Proloquo2Go and Tap to Talk, both of which use pictures to let users express what they want to say. King notes that "In the past, we've bought dozens of computers, interactive whiteboards, projectors and software. But the iPad is taking over the universe." For the special needs students who are benefiting from the iPads and applications, Dedication to Special Education and the Apple devices are giving them a voice.
VerbalVictor app gives a voice to those who can't speak
Created by a caring father and his students at Wake Forest University, VerbalVictor is an interactive communication tool for people who are unable to speak. The application was developed by Paul Pauca for his five-year old son, Victor, who has difficulty talking due to a rare genetic disorder that delayed his speech development. Mr. Pauca tried several specialized speech devices to help his young son, but they were either too low tech or too expensive to be practical. Knowing that his Wake Forest students could do better with current consumer technology, Paul recruited his students to design this iOS application as part of a class project. VerbalVictor presents the user with a series of images and associates these images with pre-recorded phrases. An individual only has to touch the appropriate image to communicate with those around him. For example, tapping on an image of a kitchen could playback the phrase "I am hungry." Rather than a series of generic images and robotic voices, the application can be personalized for each individual user. Pictures of familiar environments can be imported into the app using the on-device camera, and a relative or friend can record his or her voice to accompany each image. The application will sell for US$10 on the App Store and will be available sometime next week for iPhone and iPad owners. [Via Engadget]
Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca (video)
How could we resist a story involving robot-powered babies? The Ithaca College Tots on Bots project aims to mobilize infants with physical disabilities by setting them atop a "mobile robot" equipped with a Wii Balance Board to let the young operator steer by leaning -- which, it turns out, works pretty well. Additionally, the vehicle uses sonar to avoid nasty crashes and a remote control that an adult can use to take control. Further study has to be made before any long term developmental benefits can be ascertained, but in the meantime it does look like a lot of fun. See it in action after the break.
