Author: AccessAbility Smyles

Tony Kershaw writes:-

“I am including information cc to my sister Anne Powell, Dave Summerville (who was himself Jenna Coleman’s Tutor at Arnold School in Blackpool).
Sad to think that such a great school as Arnold School in Blackpool ,with many good times had by pupils and staff, which has closed. Albeit that it has merged to form Arnold KEQMS on the Lytham St Annes site rather than its old site in Blackpool. Pupils’ would no longer have the great distractions of the Big Dipper or the Max Tower at the world famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach close by at south shore Blackpool. Where from the Learning Support office a great view and a-god-send for all concerned, from time to time.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3514336/I-ready-great-responsibility-lies-Jenna-Coleman-stars-Queen-Victoria-trailer-major-new-TV-drama.html

This website is a one page wonder just to introduce myself to interested customers.please either use the QR code or http://aas123.strikingly.com/

I have posted before about The Grid. It has had some modification and the ability to post directly from an iPad and make an attractive website instantly is a good improvement. But editing still presents difficulties so you have to plan in advance and make sure the content is what you want loaded

Working with families using mobile devices I have come across the need for protection of children with special educational needs from inappropriate sites . This list may be useful to educators and parents alike

Youtube Alternatives
Also, this may be a way to control and protect YouTube useage for children by setting up your own channel which is free and easy to do . You will need an email and a mobile phone to activate the account. Here are some step by step instructions

Creating your own YouTube Channel

1. Create a google account – need an email address and a mobile phone
2. Create a YouTube Channel
3. Populate a playlist of favourite clips
4. Add restrictions (under Privacy)

TeacherTube Pro is another alternative to consider. I think it’s come from America judging by the content but it contains educational material for educators to use, worth a look anyway!

On holiday I find that I have to download images to my Surface from my camera. Windows 10 on the surface has an excellent easy to use post processing tool “Photos” which I can quickly whizz through 100’s of images with making adjustments such as lighting, shadow and colour saturation.

But I also find that I want to transfer to my iPad. There are a few ways to do this. Dropbox being the most common. But on my large photo files I have found this slow and failing. Then I tried my next tool of choice Pushbullet. Again a good tool for sharing across all my devices such as my laptop.  I downloaded InstaBullet (£1.49) on the windows store  which hasn’t proved successful for purposes other then sending a message to all my devices.

Then I came across Infinit – this has done the trick. There is a free download and an app for iOS. It offers a speedy drag and drop way of transfer. I suggest to read the instructions  first so that you know that the send icon ( paper aeroplane) does the work!

Now I can work artistically using my many photographic processing apps. The iPad with its direct touch offers the most facilities for doing this with a plethora of great apps which I will share with you in a future blog

Have you noticed if you post a panoramic taken from an iPhone it will display your image with tilt and movement. Awesome ! Great for exploring environments. Need to look again at ways to use this in teaching and learning.

I have always been an admirer of Seymour Papert’s work in his ideas he wrote about in the book “Mindstorms” which you still can get from Amazon. Therefore, it was with interest that I came across Project Bloks which is a google project on simple idea bloks for making computer programs. This is an idea I fully endorse which gets the children to build sequence and name them as a program routine or sub routine. Thus giving more ownership to the pupil and to make computing a learning language. If you want to learn about the project and maybe join then take the link below:-

https://projectbloks.withgoogle.com/about/

Would we consider Virtual Reality as a tool for teaching?

In the past I have thought this might be a tool that would bring great benefit to those with Profound Learning Disabilities in terms of play and experience beyond their own body. But I now think having experienced VR via a cheap headset that utilises my mobile phone that as absorbing as it is I think you need some intellect to appreciate it. But it needs testing. For those with autism and ADHD this might be a tool that focuses attention. All other distractions are removed. But such people may wearing the device a difficulty .

Total immersion can be obtained in a variety of ways from Immersive Environments that provide a tool for teaching and learning. For those with physical disabilities bringing the experience closer to them would be so useful and powerful.

Back to my cheap headset. Here a few apps for my iphone that I have tried and so I will try and organise them according to type of use:-

1. Environments – Aquarium-VRa, VR Moon, Cardboard
2. Experiences – Within, GoPro VR, Skydiving
3. Games – Roller Coaster,Go Karts VR
4. Cinema – VROneCinema, YouVisitVR
5. Creative – Tilt Paint, Auug

These are the broad areas of use VR have apps for. In terms of teaching and  learning then subjects such as Geography, Ethics and Cross Culture  are the areas where VR could provide factual and debate material. Extreme Sports provide experiences combine them with drones and gopro headsets and there are various ways to have new experiences that maybe your body doesn’t allow you to experience. Although not as rich experience as first hand experience it does provide a totally immersive experience.

Tools are coming that are truly exciting. Holographic and 3D projectors are being developed which brings a virtual experience into the classroom for group experiences. As I think many of my pupils would not like a headset attached to them hav “auuging a VR tool that doesn’t require a wearable is very attractive for those of us working in SEN.

Google have  Tilt Paint  which shows the creative aspect and I have been impressed recently with a music tool called “auug” – which converts an iPhone into a comprehensive 3d immersive sound instrument.

Conclusion

Low cost VR is now affordable for the classroom. Gaming consoles like Microsoft’s Halo and Occulus Rift headsets are providing tools that would aid those limited by their own bodies to experience an immersive experience of what it might be like. In terms of teaching and learning field trips could take on a whole new meaning! We can visit inhospitable environments from the safety of your own armchair/wheelchair!  As a form of leisure then gaming apps can be truly immersive in a first person sense. This is good for the imagination and for expressing yourself through writing, speaking and listening. Work could be done on emotional intelligence which is a key skill for those with relationship and behavioural problems. To rehearse and replay what is appropriate behaviour.  At this stage such things are just ideas and concepts but worth developing a teaching and  learning plan that could capitalise on this new technology.