Helping Learners Learn
Technology is useful in education not just because it is a cool diversion from textbooks and chalkboards, but because it allows students who might not have been able to sit with their peers in the classroom to keep pace toward their learning goals. As Philly.com reports today, this applies to many students who suffer from social behavior disorders such as Asperger’s. Rather than segregating these students into alternative courses and classrooms, which can be costly in small and rural school districts, schools in Minneapolis are using iPods to teach students who have social disorders how to behave and interact with other students.
It may have started out as a form of entertainment, but Pederson says this kind of technology is turning into an unexpected boon for children and teenagers with special needs. The devices, it turns out, can be crammed with the kind of information they need to get through the day. While it’s still experimental, she said, “I think it’s going to spread like wildfire.”
iPods, because of their social acceptability and their practical uses, can simultaneously bring students into differentiated instruction without ostracizing any one student because of his or her learning impediment.
The staffers at Fraser came up with the idea after they noticed how students with Asperger’s would use iPods as a calming device, to block out noise or other distractions. “We just started thinking, how else can we use this technology?” Pederson said. They got a $7,500 private grant to buy the iPods and other equipment, and started experimenting.