High school students in Queens, New York, are using the iPad as a musical instrument. The students have been described as having “severe learning disabilities”, and many have an autism spectrum disorder. Their teacher, Adam Goldberg, found a way to use the iPad to enable the students to make music. This is amazing!
It has been known, for quite some time, that the iPad is incredibly useful for students with a variety of learning disabilities and special needs. One example of this is how the Milford school district, in Connecticut, uses the iPad with students who have autism.
The school purchased three iPads, and handed them to families in the district who had a child with an autism spectrum disorder. The child uses the iPad to communicate with his or her family, at home, when the school day is over. The child also brings the iPad to school and also uses it there to communicate with teachers. This really opens up the world of kids who are non-verbal!
Another school, this one in Queens, New York, has started using iPads in a way that I have not heard of before. Adam Goldberg is a teacher of high school students who have “severe learning disabilities”. Many of them have an autism spectrum disorder. The students have learned how to use the iPad to make music.
The PS 177 Technology Band gave a musical performance to the students and teachers at their school. The band stood in a horseshoe pattern, with their iPads on stands. Songs included “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”, “The Nutcracker”, and more.
This gives kids who would not have been able to experience what it is like to preform in a school band the opportunity to do so. The really amazing thing, though, is an unexpected result of using the iPads. It has opened up the student’s ability to communicate with others, and increased their desire to do so.
When Apple made the iPad, it wasn’t specifically intended to be a communication device, or a tool to help non-verbal children and teens reach out to the world around them. Despite that, teachers and parents are finding new, and innovative, ways to use the iPad with children who have autism and other disorders.
Want to help out PS 177? You can go to iTunes and download an original piece of music that is preformed by the band. The song is called “4-2-4 Jam”, and it ambient and lovely. Proceeds from sales of this track go to PS 177.
Image by John Karakatsanis on Flickr