6 great apps for children with SEN
Technology has the power to transform the learning experience for school children, helping to extend the reach of the teacher and enabling pupils to achieve their full potential. For children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), that extra source of support can genuinely make a significant difference to their enjoyment of school and their ability to make progress in lessons.
With a huge range of apps on mobile and tablet devices, access to some excellent educational tools is quick, easy and convenient. Here are six great apps that are perfect for bringing into the classroom.
ArtikPix
ArtikPix is ‘an engaging articulation app’ with flashcard and matching activities for children with speech sound delays. Pupils can work together in groups of four to collect data and practice sounds in words and sentences. It has 24 possible decks, each comprising 40 cards each, and four of these – ‘th’, ‘w’, ‘y’ and ‘h’ – are part of the free app. The rest can be purchased.
LetterReflex
LetterReflex is designed to provide a fun way to help dyslexic children overcome common letter reversals. Dyslexic children can get b’s and d’s, and p’s and q’s, mixed and muddled up. This app features two activities. The first, Tilt It, uses kinaesthetic learning to teach left from right, and the second, Flip It, allows children to practice what they learned while honing their letter discrimination skills.
What is Dyslexia?
This is an educational app, but not just for pupils. It features a video comic which tells the story of a typical dyslexic, and it helps teachers to understand dyslexia as well as sending them tips on how to help at school. The same developer has also created Dyslexia Quest, which features six games that test memory and learning skills.
Dexteria – Fine Motor Skill Development
Dexteria is a set of therapeutic hand exercises, created to improve fine motor skills, and the multi-touch interface can help to build strength, control and dexterity. It has an automatic tracking and reporting feature that makes it easy for teachers to identify progress.
StoryBuilder
Voted ‘winner of best reading app’ by the Huffington Post in recent years, StoryBuilder helps children to improve paragraph formation and integrate their ideas. They can build and record a narrative, using 50 story lines, and there are 500 audio clips of questions which help guide the story.
Bugs and Buttons
Bugs and Buttons features 18 mini-games and activities that make learning fun. The games help kids practice their hand-eye coordination and children with dyspraxia and other fine motor issues will benefit from using this app. Users can count colourful, fun bugs or cute buttons to practice their counting skills, practice upper and lower case letters, memory match, negotiate mazes, and more; great fun.
