Universal Design for Learning

Using iPad Apps in an Alternative School

Teaching at an alternative school is a very unique experience and something that I was not taught how to do in my pre-service teaching classes. As an alternative school teacher, we create our classroom curriculum and environment using the UDL model, I just never realized there was an actual model...it was just how we all chose to teach. As we plan our curriculum, we constantly focus on the "what, why and how" of learning, making sure we offer as many options as possible. There is a common misconception that alternative means easier, but I believe that it is actually harder because there is no easy way out. Students are not allowed to slide by with the bare minimum requirements, passing with a D- and taking zeroes on missing assignments. They are required to obtain at least a C and are not allowed to settle for a zero on any assignment. Since we have smaller classes, we get to take the time to learn how our students learn and individualize each assignment to fit their learning style, so it seems easier to the student. They do not realize that they are learning the same information that they failed in with the traditional model because it is taught tailored to them. Technology makes this individualized curriculum goal even easier to obtain, especially with the availability of iPads in the classroom. The following apps seem like they would be useful in an alternative environment:

Soulver for iPad

Calculator that allows the user to see their calculations line by line. They can see a mistake and change that one line, rather than having to start over. Allows for learners that struggle to follow step by step directions to see the steps rather than just in their head. This will also help a learner that struggles with math concepts. They get very frustrated when they do not get the right answer and have to start the whole problem over again. With this app, they can see the problem and redo from that point, learning from their mistakes rather than just seeing it as wrong.

Frog Dissection

The requirement to dissect animals in Biology caused my grade to drop from an A to a C in high school and from talking to our students, they had the same experiences. For me, it had nothing to do with morals, but more about not wanting to touch the inside of anything living. This iPad app levels that playing field. Students get the same learning experience without having to physically smell the formaldehyde and touch the organs. Students that like to do the dissections can still complete the actual task but this could be an option.

AudioNote--Notepad and Voice Recorder

App with the ability to record drawing or handwritten notes, along with audio recording. User can export their notes to email. This could be a very helpful app for students that need the kinestethic process of writing or drawing to take their notes or an audio student that needs to say/hear the information as they study.

Pearltrees

Social bookmarking app that allows users to collect, organize, store and share information from the Internet as a graphic web organizer. Would work best with visual learners that get lost in all the words on their bookmarks lists and help students research, save and share information in a group project.

Book Creator for iPad

An option for students as an assessment piece, project, etc. Students can upload their own pictures or pictures from the web, edit text, and publish in iBooks. Books can be emailed, published to iTunes, or saved in Dropbox.

Show Me Interactive Whiteboard

Teachers can record voice-over interactive whiteboard tutorials and share them online. This would be optimal for students that struggle with health issues and miss a lot of class. The teacher can email their saved tutorials and students can watch them on their own time, rather than taking the teachers time outside or inside the classroom. Students can also use the tutorials in the flipped classroom model.

SpeakText

Students can touch any word on web pages or documents or copy and paste it into the app and it will speak or translate the words. It will translate/read whole web pages. Helpful for students that struggle to read long texts and need it read out loud to fully comprehend. Takes the stigmata away from reading out loud.

Knowtes

Digital notebook, that includes a web browser with a reading list, translator and drawing tool. Students can keep notes from the web, draw pictures, store their notes, blog, etc. then can save their work and share to dropbox, twitter, tumblr, facebook, etc.

National Archives--Today's Document

One critical aspect of teaching social studies is to teach primary versus secondary sources. The National Archives has an extensive number of sources available online for students to use, the problem is they do not realize the importance of those documents or their impact to history. This app gives the student a quick look at a primary document and the tools to analyze that document. This would be helpful in any social studies classroom as an extension to the textbook.

Strip Designer

Students can create their own graphic novel from provided templates. They can upload their own photos, add word balloons, and fun effect symbols. When the story is complete, they can be emailed to teacher/friends and uploaded to various social networking sites. This would be another took for a visual learner that struggles to put complex sentences together. They can graphically create the sentence and then use their novel as a guide for their writing.