OK, I admit it.  I was late coming to realize just how valuable the IPod could be.  I did think that it really hadn’t moved on functionally from the Nano and I did not pay too much attention to it.  I thought it was all about the games, photos, music and local news.  Then my 12 year-old niece got one for Christmas and made me look at all of the games that she had downloaded onto it.  After watching Spongebob do all sorts of weird things and sitting through countless and pointless “tests”, she showed me how you search for different programs.  That’s when I saw the flashcards and social stories that were available!  Genius!  Here is a device that is portable and while waiting at the doctor’s office you can look at photos together to build vocabulary, or play games to string together sentences, or review appropriate behavior for different environments with social stories.  There are a number of “free” applications to download that provide many ready-made stories or flashcards and there are also some that you can buy to build your own.  I just had to get one and I have been using it non-stop.  I love the computer and there are many wonderful programs for supporting various forms of development.

The Ipod is not as versatile as the computer for available resources, but it is portable and the applications are expanding constantly.  As a teaching and support tool, I feel this device is too valuable to ignore (unfortunately I have no stock in Apple and am not benefiting financially from this blog.)  I just wanted to share some ways that I am using mine:

• •    You can take your own photos and download them into the Ipod to allow you to go through your own vocabulary flashcards. Save the photos in category files like verbs and nouns for babies/ toddlers and themes for older children like ‘the circus’ and ‘summer vacation.’
• •    Download a favorite song and play as a reinforcer
• •    Keep track of frequency data with a stopwatch/ tally counter application
• •    Download social stories (I have the Model Me Kids free download with 6 great stories)
• •    Download puzzles and matching games for varied reinforcers and activities for developing attention skills
• •    I have an application that models different emotional states
• •    I bought an application that allows me to make my own social stories with photos I take and sentences I write so that the stories are highly individualized the way they are meant to be.
• •    I have flashcards of first words for some of my younger students.  The advantage here over traditional flashcards is that these pictures are animated

Let me know what you use the Ipod for and how you are getting on.  As always, I love to hear from you.

 

© Ann Wheeler, DSC 2010

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