Case Study Presentations Round 1

Tonight there were 6 case study presentations. I really enjoyed all the presentations and it is evident that we all learned a great deal about assistive technology in this class. I really enjoyed the presentation of the young girl from NG. I like hearing how the apps supported her learning and the ah ha moment for her when she was able to point and hold up the I Pad when she needed to do so. I also enjoyed watching how a girl who was using the I Pod touch to communicate with her friends. Great use of the program Pictello! The My Toolbar presentation was very informative and detailed. It was great how the presenters broke down the positives and the neagatives of this program. I have since downloaded this program and am now exploring it. I was fortunate to go first and presented my case study which involved working with two grade 1 students on a Hyperstudio project. The project involved exploring, brainstorming, creating and presenting information and software. The theme of the project was social acceptable behaviors in different areas of the school. The kids learned how to create pages that were linked to each other, animation, video, input sounds and transitions. Both kids came up with great ideas of how children should behave in the classroom, the hallway, gym, cafeteria, on the bus and on the playground. I think they enjoyed themselves and they did a wonderful job. Our next step involves them presenting their project to each of their classes. Hyperstudio 5 is a great program for project based learning. It is easy to use and highly engaging for kids. The program costs approximatel $60 but you can get a 30 day trial for free at http://www.mackiev.com/hyperstudio/index.html  Check it out!