When Nadia, a bright athletic 12-year-old, started the academic year at PACE School in Churchill the last week of August, she walked into a classroom equipped with iPads for student use, much like many of her peers across the nation -- whether they attend a special school like PACE or a mainstream school.PACE, a state-approved private school for students with autism and emotional support needs, started providing iPads to each of its 15 classrooms last school year. As a returning student, Nadia is already familiar with using "apps" for math and other subjects, and contributing to group lessons via wireless connection to the classroom's interactive TV screen.
She is also aware that her new teacher can give her individualized lessons on the iPad that are geared to her ability level. And she won't be surprised if those lessons feature one of her main interests -- Study Suggests Tool Use and Language Evolved Tog
-- as the theme.The iPad also is a social tool for Nadia, who attends PACE for its emotional support program and whose parents asked that her last name not be used. "Nadia is quiet," said her teacher from last year, Annie Hanniford. "When she would earn enough points to use the iPad during recess as a reward, she would wait until another classmate also earned enough points so they could use it together.
Nadia doesn't say much, but she connects with other students through the iPad."For students who receive special education services, particularly for autism, emotional support and speech/language, iPads are fast becoming a mainstay. At the same time, the use of the devices for teaching and learning in classrooms of all types, kindergarten through high school, is skyrocketing.