'Appy Hour Review: Five Speckled Frogs

In the consistent nature of Inclusive Technology apps, Five Speckled Frogs is a great springtime addition to the repertoire.

Like other similar apps including Five Little Aliens, Five Rock Stars, and Five Swimming Sharks, Five Speckled Frogs offers a catchy and familiar song with two additional counting activities.  It also costs $2.99 in the iTunes app store.  Switch accessibility is still an option. And of course the visuals and sounds are pleasantly aligned with the other apps/products.   But, here is the best part….. app designers listened to feedback! There are back buttons and a two finger tap in the upper left hand corner to quickly go back within the app without having to close out of the app completely.

Not only is it refreshingly wonderful and gratifying that as a consumer, my voice (and presumably others) was heard, but it shows how dedicated this company is to serving the educational community of special needs.  I hope to see this feature in updates of the other apps!

Five Speckled Frogs is such a frequently used concept in the pre-K setting, that there are many ways to create lessons and activities.  Now in the special education assisive tech community, we can say, "Yes there is an app for that."

If you want to be edutained….

The MacGuyver of Assistive Technology herself, Dr. Therese Willkomm will be in Rhode Island in March to lead a great workshop.  I have had the pleasure of participating in Therese's workshops twice.  Her unique presentation style and ideas ignite creativity and practicality that will follow you to work and home immediately.  After her workshop, I visited my local Ace Hardware multiple times to get my hands on PVC piping and various other supplies to make a variety of assistive tech supports for my students.  And luckily, my husband has access to lots of companies who supply many of the materials she recommends.  So if you want to be edutained, consider contacting TechAccess to register for this make and take session with materials included!

Assistive Technology Solutions in Minutes – Using Ordinary Items to Create

Extraordinary Solutions – A Hands-On Make and Take Fabrication Workshop

March 28, 2014 8:30 am —3:30 pm

Learn how to make over 50 adaptations to accommodate someone who experiences a disability. This hands-on, interactive fabrication workshop will teach you how to make over 50 adaptations in 5 min. or less. These adaptations include assistive technology mounting solutions for a wheelchair, table, bed, car, crib, and other surfaces; adaptations to an iPAD; creating basic switches; and making solutions using various plastics. Each participant will fabricate: an iLean, BookiLean, SlantiLean, ScaniLean, SitiLean, FlipiLean, MouseiLe-

an, a battery interrupter; momentary switch; a Plate switch; a camera mount; and an adapted stylus. In addition, participants will learn how to heat and bend acrylic and cut PVC pipe.

Materials and Registration $180.00 

Contact TechACCESS to inquire about group discounts    

To register for any of our workshops visit our website: www.techaccess-ri.org 

The mission of TechACCESS of RI is to promote and support the independence and achievement of people with disabilities through the use of technology.

Playful Way to Teach Grid Reading or You Sunk My Battleship

So Mudge pulled out my travel Battleship to play this afternoon.  And he tried to explain to me that he "knows how to play it."  But in actuality, this nearly 6 y.o. did not.

Battleship is a classic game.  It started out as a pen and paper a long, long time ago. Then Milton Bradley created the one we know and love today that requires fine motor coordination, letter and number recognition, spatial awareness, and grid reading skills.  Grid reading can be broken down further into following a vertical and horizontal line to the place at which they intersect.  This is not necessarily easy to get.  This is a precursor skill to being able to manage charts and graphs, maps, multiplication tables, or super geeky: plotting points on a Cartesian plane.

Of course, we played. And, of course, he thought it was great to sink my battleship.  But it took time to get there. He needed the demonstration of how to read a grid.  Now that I think of it, Battleship appears to teach plotting a little backwards because you state A,1 for example which is actually the Y axis first. True plotting is x axis first.  If the first number in the ordered pair is positive, move to the right. If it's negative, move to the left. Hmmmmmm. Anyway...

I found a website called FunBrain.com which has little educational games from grade K through 8th, that has some plotting activities.  You can also sign up for Khan Academy.  If you haven't already, Khan Academy is a free website that parents, teachers and students, or anyone for that matter, can test their math IQ then challenge themselves by learning new concepts, or get support in something they are struggling.   This is a PHENOMENAL resource.  The founder of Khan Academy originally just made YouTube videos to help his struggling niece; now it is a educational platform supporting millions of users at home and at school.

So math can FUNdamental, not just mental.  Sometimes you have to look at things outside the quadrilateral parallelogram in order to find the joy….

Oh, and just for a modification, the plastic travel version that I have had no contrast between the raised letters and numbers and the background which made it difficult to read. So I just use a black  permanent marker to highlight the raised alphanumerics.  Result- higher contrast, happier eyes.

Before, no real contrast

After, with contrast