It all begins here!

Well new blog, new start! I have been meaning to find the time to write this blog for several months. Having moved to a special school just over a year ago, there have been many times that I thought I really must find ways of bringing my love of gaming and tech into my new class.

The mainstream curriuculum has so many wonderful opportunities to link into topic based titles for the Wii and my year 6's used to love the personal challenges that they could set themsleves using the DS's to improve thier spelling (using word coach) or mental maths (using brain training). However the challenge presents itself when you look at the difficulties faced with children within the Autistic spectrum ( referred to from now on as ASD). Many children with ASD develop a great passion for ICT. Computers don't require them to understand emotions, unravel the social expectations of a situation or lead them out of areas of comfort.

Or do they?

My first challenge when engaging my students with ICT is language. Many of our students are pre-verbal and comprehending instructions for tasks (either in a verbal/makaton/gesture form from me) can lead to frustration. So I need tech that is intuative- that provides instant cause and effect. My work using the fabulous Helpkidzlearn website showed me very early on that I cannot expect my children to be able to control an extenal device like a mouse or keyboard. They need to be able to interact with the graphics presented. Add a touchscreen into the mix and hey presto! Children who could use one or two games straight away and have now, several months later, mastered several games and activities successfully. Some individuals are even beginning to navigate between games :o)

So this lead me to think- where next? We can use software specifically designed for childen with SEN and ASD, but what else is out there for us? The combination of strong visuals, intuative use and no need for a control device has lead me in two general directions.

1. xbox 360 with kinect

2. iPad/iPod touch.

We have a Wii which many of our older and more higher funtioning student use and enjoy very much. However the use of a controller and buttons etc has lead to us finding only one game that my class can enjoy. I cannot recommend 'Thomas the Tank Engine and friends: Hero of the rails' highly enough for any KS1/FS class- great for any transport topics!

However the option of having no controller with the xbox appeals greatly. We are currenltly investigating the possibilty of an xbox to use with the game kinectimals for our animals topic.
Will update this blog regularly with our progress.

iPads intrigue me the most but that will have to be a plan for another day.