Impressed by the iPadsibilities of iPads in Special Ed

Over the weekend I had the great pleasure to attend Ed Camp Boston. My friend Harold Shaw and I drove down together early in the morning. On the drive down the conversation turned to tablet devices and their use(s) by schools. Neither of us have iPads or other tablets in our classrooms, but we're intrigued by the conversations happening around their use in schools.

As the Ed Camp Boston schedule filled-up, it was clear that Harold and I weren't the only ones interested in exploring the possibilities for iPads in classrooms. I choose to attend an afternoon session titled iPads & iPods in Special Education led by Meg Wilson. I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow of the whole hour. In short, I'm very impressed by the possible uses of iPads in special education, particularly with students who have multiple special needs. The app that Meg showed that impressed me most is Sign for Me. Sign for Me is definitely not a free app, but if I needed it I would gladly pay for it.

In the same session Meg directed us to a great wiki called Mobile Learning 4 Special Needs where you can find a large categorized list and review of apps for use with special education students.

I'm still not ready to run out and deploy iPads to all 1250 students in my school. However, now that I've seen some more of the possibilities, I am less skeptical of the idea of deploying iPads in a 1:1 classroom. I continue to look forward to learning more about iPad uses in schools.