Proloquo2Go

App/Tool Overview

Proloquo2Go is an amazing communication app that has transformed the lives of many individuals and won many awards throughout its history. This app is an AAC, or Augmentative and Alternative Communication app, which means it allows its users to communicate with others in ways other than speaking. There are a variety of differently abled people who benefit from this app; the list includes, but is not limited to, individuals with autism, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities that impact an individual’s ability to speak uninhibited. One of the reasons this app is so widely lauded is that it has been created to reach out to so many different people through so many different avenues; it is available in English, Spanish, French, and Dutch and can be accessed on iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Furthermore, the app is extremely customizable, letting its users create the ideal interface and range of abilities for their own individual preferences and needs. The app has an astounding number of features to aid its users in easy communication, but some of the most widely used features are the inclusion of ‘core word’ vocabulary lists, Text to Speech abilities in a variety of voices, dialects, and accents, use of images alongside words, and functions to help develop fine motor skills while working on fluency of language. This app, at its core, enables its users to develop language, communicate, and more freely express themselves despite difficulties or disabilities.

School Library Applications

Proloquo2Go would be extremely valuable in a school library setting because it would allow every single student, regardless of ability, to express themselves, communicate, and use the library’s resources to their fullest extent. The school library is more commonly known in many institutions now as the media center, or something of that ilk, which means that it encompasses so many important resources for students. This is an amazing feature, but it also means it can be difficult for students who lack fluid communication skills because they will have more difficulty navigating through all of these resources. Having this app available would be so valuable because students would be able to very clearly state their needs and wants to library staff, who would then be able to assist them in accomplishing their goals. The school library, or media center, exists to serve all of its students, so the staff who work there need to do all that they can to have access to and aid all of their students, regardless of ability.

The library is also a place for students to go to work independently and take a moment for themselves if desired, so having this app available for students in need to develop their communication fluency would be very helpful. It would be a wonderful idea to have this app available on some sort of device, preferably an iPad, to be available at all times for students who would like to work on their own when they have free time to do so. Having a more private and secluded spot in the library for this to happen would be very beneficial for students to feel safe and confident when using this app and developing their language skills.

Classroom Teacher Implications

Classroom teachers would be able to use Proloquo2Go in all of the same ways that a school library would. Again, the focus for this app is to help students develop their language and communication skills, so it is important for them to be able to do so in all of their school environments. It would be beneficial for a school to buy several copies of this app so that students are able to have access wherever they go in their school. Students who could greatly benefit from this app would achieve the most with continued practice and consistency, so it is important to have this app in a variety of places like the library/media center, the students’ classroom, the PT/OT classrooms, and other resource rooms where these students receive services. The more practice and time with this app that the students receive, the more confident they will feel when communicating.

Further Information

For more information about Proloquo2Go, please follow this link to access their webpage: https://www.assistiveware.com/products/proloquo2go

A second link to follow is the from the Apple App store, which provides more information: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/proloquo2go/id308368164#?platform=iphone

This app is a bit more of a financial commitment than other assistive technology apps; it costs $249.99 on the Apple App Store. While this is a bit of a steep price, it can be extremely beneficial for users who decide to purchase, so make sure to do your research before deciding on purchasing.

Chill Outz

App/Tool Overview

Chill Outz is an app that was designed to teach young children, approximately grades K-5, about mindfulness. It can be implemented with any child who is facing fears and anxieties, and is particularly useful for children with autism and anxiety disorders who need more support emotionally. The app has five different story lines and skill sets that the user can choose from when feeling overwhelmed or in need of a quiet minute alone. The five skills are body relaxation, diminishing panic through breathing, overcoming anxiety through shrugging, self-calming through humming, and getting ready for bed (or generally calming down) through deep breathing. Each of these skills is taught by a different friendly animal in an animated story so that children are more engaged and at ease when moving through the process. The goal is that through the use of these stories, the user is equipped with tools about mindfulness so that she is able to integrate these practices into her daily life as necessary. The users are anticipated to feel healthier in terms of both emotional and physical health, as removing anxiety, tension, and other issues can alleviate symptoms across the board.

School Library Applications

Chill Outz would be a very beneficial app to have downloaded onto a tablet or smartphone that students have access to throughout the school day. Today’s school library is truly more of a media center that can address a variety of student needs. One of these needs is the option to have a safe space to take a quiet, mindful moment when the stresses of the day are too much. Having access to this app in a comfy, cozy, and quiet corner of the library would help students who need to step away from the busy flow of the school day to recenter. The school library should be a safe space for students, so it would be an ideal space to use this app.

The above application of Chill Outz speaks more to an individual level, but it can also be used in a small or large group setting as well. Using this app could be helpful in aiding students when they need to refocus and settle in for a lesson or work in the library.

Classroom Teacher Implications

A classroom teacher could use Chill Outz in the same ways that a school library would. Teachers can also have this app available for either an individual setting or a group setting. Again, they could set up the app in a quiet corner of the classroom and allow students to use it when there is a bit of free or down time. They could also allow students to use it in times when instruction is not being held in the classroom, like during lunch or recess (as long as there are proper supervisory and ratio components happening!). The other option is to conduct class-wide sessions where all the students practice techniques such as breathing together in order to refocus after a more high energy activity like lunch, recess, or gym class.

Additionally, as was mentioned in the app discussion, this tool is especially useful for students with autism and anxiety issues. This app could be even more integrated throughout the day to help students maintain a calmer mindset that will aid them in feeling more comfortable, engaged, and productive. If there are aids who work with these students, they should have the app readily available so they can pull it up whenever the need arises to help the student regain mindfulness.

Further Information

For more information about Chill Outz, please visit their website at: http://www.chilloutz.com/

This website has a variety of features such as sneak previews, FAQs, ways in which to contact the creators, explanation videos, and more.

Chill Outz is available at the Apple App Store and the Chrome Web Store for $4.99.

Popplet

App/Tool Overview

Popplet is a very simple and effective tool. The main concept behind Popplet is to help individuals, both in a work and education setting, organize their thoughts in a way that is easy to view, manipulate, and share. Popplet helps the user organize a topic and its resulting pieces of information into an easy to view web. This is a great tool for brainstorming and prepping information for an upcoming in-depth project or paper. It is also an organized and efficient way to take notes in a lecture or during a discussion. Popplet allows the user to capture text and images and use them in her web. It also allows customization for color scheme and languages used. Popplet also has a number of different ways to share in the information created; users can create a log-in to collaborate online or they can export their web as a PDF or JPEG to send and share with others. Lastly, Popplet allows users to make their webs public so that they can share with others, and search through other users’ creations. Popplet can be used on either an iPhone or an iPad.

School Library Applications

Popplet could be used in a school library from both the librarian and the student perspective.

Librarians could use Popplet to create webs of information to display in the library for different themes and events that are happening. For instance, if a librarian has chosen to have an Earth Day theme for the month of April, she could create a web with information about the Earth and Earth Day and have it displayed, either on a screen or printed out from an exported file, in the library. If a librarian is hosting an event that has several different components, she could use a Popplet display to outline each of the different sub-events that make up the larger event. Or if a librarian has an activity planned for students she could have a Popplet display to show them all of the steps they will be taking throughout the activity.

Students could use Popplet in the library if they are assigned work from a classroom teacher and need more time to work on it outside of class. They could also use it during an activity during library time that requires them to organize and present their thoughts. Another use would be for students to use for their own purposes to keep information like a list of homework assignments organized and easy to view.

Classroom Teacher Implications

All of the above uses listed for a school librarian and students could be applied to a classroom situation as well.

Another way that could be more effective for a classroom teacher over a school librarian is using Popplet as a class. Teachers have more time and flexibility in their classrooms, so they could use Popplet on a big screen in front of the class and the students could work together with the teacher to fill in the information into the Popplet. This could be done for a classroom schedule, list of classroom etiquette, sharing information students know on a topic at the beginning of a unit, sharing information students have learned on a topic at the end of a unit, and so on and so forth. This Popplet could then be made public so that all students have access to it both in and outside of the classroom.

Teachers could also assign use of Popplet for classwork or assignments. It is an effective way to see what students know about a topic and makes it easy to assess what understanding students have at both an individual and class level.

Further Information

For more information about Popplet use these two links: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/popplet/id374151636#?platform=ipad The App Store Preview or http://popplet.com/app/#/public Popplet’s website.

Popplet is available for $4.99 on the Apple App Store.

Speak it!

App/Tool Overview

Speak it! is a very simple tool that can be extremely beneficial for struggling readers or students with vision impairments and disabilities. This app is a tool that converts typed text to spoken word. Examples of typed documents this app can read from are emails, Word documents, text typed directly into the app, and other text-based documents that can be accessed on the device Speak it! is downloaded on. The app offers four different voices to choose from-an American male, an American female, a British male, and a British female. The interface of the app is customizable as well, allowing users to change elements such as font size, voice volume, and voice speed. Lastly, users can save personalized phrases that they use often for later playback.

School Library Applications

One way school libraries can use Speak it! is by offering it as a service on any device they own that has an app store and download capabilities. This would be a very useful tool for students who have a reading or visual disability or impairment, as it would aid them in reading books, school assignments, and any other textually based documents. It would be an excellent service for school libraries to offer that students could use during study halls or enrichment periods.

Another way school libraries can use Speak it! is to enhance and aid any programming they put on for their students. For example, having Speak it! would allow a wider range of differently abled students to participate in a book club, as they would be able to follow along easier with the additional support of the voice coupled with the text. Another example of a program this app could support is any sort of presentation. Differently abled students who are not able to see the presentation or who are not able to keep up with the pace of it will be able to follow along with the voice recording that Speak it! provides.

Classroom Teacher Implications

The implications and uses for a classroom teacher overlap with those of the school librarian. Classroom teachers can also use it to aid differently abled students in completing assignments and following along with presentations. Another use that is more fitting to a classroom teacher is that differently abled students will be able to more easily complete group work with classmates with the assistance of the app’s voice. This will allow these students to hear what their peers are doing if they are unable to read along with them as they work. It will also allow them to contribute to the conversation more easily as they will have multiple ways to access the information.

A second implication for classroom teachers is that differently abled students will be able to complete homework assignments more easily. Speak it! is an easily accessible app, so students will not be limited to using it solely at school, but could also use it at home on devices they have. This will make it much easier for students to complete readings and written assignments as they will be able to access the textual information through it being read aloud.

Further Information

For more information about Speak it! please use the following link for details and reviews: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/speak-it-text-to-speech

Users can buy this app for $1.99 on the Apple app store.