first blog

This is my first attempt at a blog, relatively painless so far. Assistive Tech and its application has always been an issue that is important to me. Without seeing the posts from other teachers in the course, the ability to teach to all students in the classroom is a goal of most teachers, I think. I am currently in a regular classroom setting teaching Geography 10 and Global Geography 12. Within the confines of this classroom, I typically am dealing with a few students who may have learning disabilities and usually some students on an IPP. In my Global Geo class, there are four students on an IPP, 3 who are autisitc, of which one is an ESL student as well. To state the obvious, reaching these students can be a challnge, particulary when two of the autistic students do not verbally communicate. The first class in this course has been an eye opener for me. Why do we not have one of these handheld devices for all diverse learners in our classroom? It would make sense to make these available to have some hope of engaging these students. I will relate the story of one of my students and the challenges that he presents; perhaps these is a solution. This student showed up in my classroom about a month into the semester. He is autistic, does not speak English very well and is only attending as a means of "auditing" this course and getting used to the routine of going to this particular school. His verbal communication is very limited and he is prone to aggressive behaviour especially when an unexpeted event occurs in his routine. I have noticed that his ability to draw is amazing, he is definitely gifted in this area. I have been told that it is not necessary to provide him with any activities in the classroom and he is allowed to enter and leave the classroom when he wishes. Instead of babysitting this student, I would rather find things to at least peak his interest in something related to geography. In this situation, a mobile device like an Ipad would be beneficial. Would an App like Dragon Dictate be useful? Are there applications available that would allow him to use his gift in a way that is meaningful in a geography classroom? Is there an APP for that? Anyway, I do not see the situation in the classroom changing anytime soon and it will probably get worse in the near future pending cutbacks. Would it be practical to have mobile devices for all students on an IPP?