Abstract:

Rapid technological advances the last few years have lead to significant changes to education. The use of iPads and the other tablets put technology in student’s life in a different way than it was before. According to Newton, Dell ( 2011), these hand-held devices offer to students with and without disabilities easy access to learning opportunities, information, organizational systems, communication, and, interestingly, emotional support . Not only students, but the educators at all levels also, are adopting mobile devices and are finding exciting ways to use them in their instruction (McMahon/Walker, 2014). IPads and tablets succeeded to be part of their life in such a short time because they are portable, intuitive to use, and they provide a different modality of learning, one that has an element of fun. A great number of researches are running around the world about the creative involvement of these devices in the educational procedure. Special education uses assistive technology, and special designed software, at all grade levels to improve communication, reading and writing, to overcome the disability’s barriers and even to fine motor skills. IPads and tablets were not, of course, the first devices used in special education classrooms for helping Students to Read, Talk, and Connect . As it has already mentioned, special education teachers have used a variety of software for years to teach and supplement lessons in math, reading, writing, organization, and memory and other assistive technology devices to help students with listening, sitting, and solving daily school problems as grapping and using pen. But these devices have opened up the world of technology to the average classroom and have been instrumental in helping some of the most challenged students read, talk, and connect. So, taking under consideration the positive impact of tablets and iPads in general education, researches are exploring the impact to special education. Possibilities in terms of learning, self-expression and (digital) inclusion are exploring in these researches. People with special educational needs (SEN) are not afraid of using new technologies especially tablets and iPads, what is crucial for them, is that they are given the chance to use them and get the support they need. As a result, a great number of applications for SEN have been built for android devices and for iPads such as Proloquo2Go, Proloquo, Peeping Musicians from Inclusive Technology, BBC Something Special, Magic Finger from Inclusive Technology, Load2learn, Grid 2 and many others. In this paper is going to present the first results of a case study from the use of tablet and grid 2 and some more android applications from three (3) students in Greece with severe physical disabilities who are facing serious problems of communications in their daily life. Inclusion is their classroom and collaboration with their classmates are studied. Results are positive and confirm the research results from using tablets in classroom. Of course there are a lot of things that have to be taking in account, a serious parameter, is greek laws for education that are putting a number of limitations in the use of these devices in classroom.

Keywords:

Special education, inclusion, students with severe disabilities and physical diaabilities, tablets.