Business proposal

MEMORANDUM

To: Jan Powell, Principal (Autism Program), Riverside County Office of Education

From: Maggie Berganza, Instructional Assistant, Jurupa Readiness Preschool

Date: August 18, 2013

Subject: iPad for Jurupa Readiness (Autism Program) Proposal

Riverside County Office of Education provides Special Education programs where students develop their capabilities needed to expand. Early intervention through educational programs is essential for children with Autism. At Jurupa Readiness Preschool we strive to prepare the children to improve in their behavior, learning and communication skills as well as their social development. Through the years innovative technology has increased and has become a part of almost every individuals life. Technology has been presented and applied into children’s lives outside; and at times, inside of schools. Research demonstrates that an iPad can be an excellent communication and learning tool for autistic children.

The following proposal was written by Maggie Berganza, an Instructional Assistant at Jurupa Readiness Preschool (Autism program). The purpose of this proposal is to solicit an iPad for the Jurupa Readiness classroom; which would be implemented as a learning tool, a communication tool and a positive reinforcer for the children. Take the time needed to review the enclosed information. If there are any questions or comments related to the proposal, please contact Maggie Berganza. Your involvement is appreciated.

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iPAD FOR JURUPA READINESS

(AUTISM PROGRAM)

PREPARED BY:

Maggie Berganza

Instructional Assistant

Jurupa Readiness Preschool

PREPARED FOR:

Jan Powell

Principal for Autism Program at Jurupa Readiness Preschool

Riverside County Office of Education

Proposal Written On: August 18, 2013

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ABSTRACT

This document contains a proposal written for Jan Powell, Principal of Jurupa Readiness Preschool from the Riverside County Office of Education. The information in this document examines the iPad features and applications that can be used to assist children with disabilities. The Common Core State Standards states that children can be assisted by technology to meet learning requirements. The problem is that it can be difficult to teach children with Autism in a single way, since Autism varies by individual. The iPad can be an essential tool to motivate children in learning, communication and behavior. The iPad can replace all other intimidating methods, making learning an easy fun experience. The proposal describes a few of the features and applications the iPad offers children with disabilities. Included is a chart where the reader can compare features and it’s functions. In the document there are testimonials of children that have used the iPad and have improved in some way. Finally, costs and conclusion are displayed to have the proposal be considered for Jurupa Readiness Preschool.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 5 Riverside County Office of Education Goal ......................................................................... 5 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Goal ................................................................. 5

PROBLEM .................................................................................................................................... 6 Children Have Different Ways of Learning and Communicating ......................................... 6 Multiple Tastes and Interests ................................................................................................. 6

SOLUTION .................................................................................................................................... 6 Ease of Use ........................................................................................................................... 6 Guided Access ....................................................................................................................... 7 Speak Selection ..................................................................................................................... 7 VoiceOver ............................................................................................................................. 7 More Features ....................................................................................................................... 7 iPad Features Table ............................................................................................................... 8

IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................................................... 9 Learning ................................................................................................................................. 9 Communication ................................................................................................................ 9-10 Positive Reinforcement ....................................................................................................... 10

COST ........................................................................................................................................... 11

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 11

WORKS CITED .......................................................................................................................... 12

APPENDIX I: INFORMED CONSENT FORM ......................................................................... 13

APPENDIX II: PRIMARY RESEARCH TOOL ......................................................................... 14

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INTRODUCTION

This proposal will inform you of the different ways the use of technology could be beneficial for children with disabilities in meeting requirements outlined by the Common Core State Standards. This document will demonstrate the capabilities an iPad has that will enhance the children’s way of learning and communicating to be prepared and succeed in school and careers. Investing in the following project will help to provide learning opportunities for the students of Jurupa Readiness Preschool by engaging students in critical thinking, problem solving and becoming proficient in using technology.

Riverside County Office of Eductation Goal

As stated in the Riverside County Office of Education website, “The mission of the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) is to ensure the success of all students through extraordinary service, support, and partnerships.” With that said, Riverside County Office of Education strives to see all students succeed by exceeding requirements outlined by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), such as:

• English Language Arts/Literacy

• Mathematics

• Technology (According to a meeting I attended, “Sailing to Success,” the use of technology will also be a requirement included in the CCSS)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Goal

Students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be challenged to excel in the curriculum and be prepared for success in school and careers. As stated in the Common Core State Standards; to implement success for students with disabilities, they may be provided with additional support, such as:

• Presenting information in different ways to allow the student to learn in best manner.

• Change materials and procedures that fall within the Common Core.

• Assistive technology devices.

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PROBLEM

Children Have Different Ways of Learning and Communicating

Autism varies significantly in character and severity. Each individual has different levels of learning and posses different behaviors. Since Autism varies, it can be difficult to teach all kids one single way of learning, communicating and even structuring of behavior. Even though each child has a different technique of learning, they do tend to have some similarities in the way they learn; from observations in Jurupa Readiness Preschool, the children seem to be visual learners and have shown improvement in learning, communicating and behaviors with the assistance of positive reinforcers.

Multiple Tastes and Interests

The problem is that teachers and aides can’t just depend on a single reinforcer for the whole class because each child has different tastes and interests; for example, not all the children like candy or books. These characteristics make it challenging for the teachers and assistants and eventually for the children. As staff gets to learn more about each child, they start to accommodate to the childrens needs; to be able to assist them in succeeding and meeting the CCSS requirements. Not being able to just do one thing for everyone, has made it difficult for the classroom because budget cuts prevent the teachers from getting all materials necessary for each child to work with. Positive reinforcers are important for children with Autism; reinforcement is used to increase appropriate behavior and teach learning and communicating skills.

SOLUTION

Now, you might ask, “How is an iPad going to help and accommodate all the children?” The answer is simple, it is a universal object that can be used in multiple ways to accommodate each individuals needs and interests. The iPad provides necessary features to assist each child in any way possible to improve their learning and communication skills. “How?” You might ask, lets take a look at some of the features offered by the iPad:

Ease of Use

It is important and essential for the material presented to the children to be simple to use. Any material presented that is too hard can discourage the child; making the child lose interest. As stated in Nirvi Shah’s article, some of the applications available for them easily replace bulky, expensive older forms of assistive technology. For children with poor fine-motor skills, the touch-screen design is easier to use than a desktop computer with a mouse or a laptop with a touchpad. The screen’s size makes the gadget user-friendly for students with vision problems. Overall, the iPad was built to satisfy every individuals’ needs.

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Guided Access

As stated in the Apple website, guided access helps students with autism or other attention and sensory challenges to stay on task. A teacher can limit an iPad (iOS device) to stay on one app by disabling the Home button, and restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen. Wandering taps and gestures can distract the children from learning, but with this special feature teachers and parents don’t have to worry about any interference when the child is learning.

Speak Selection

iPad has a speaking selection feature that allows a word to be heard as the child reads it, which can help with comprehension. Speak Selection can read a student’s web pages and ebooks out loud. It is as easy as double-tapping to highlight text, then tap Speak, and the device reads the selected text. Students can have words highlighted as they’re being read so they can follow along. One really good feature of Speak Selection is that the voice’s dialect and speaking rate can be adjusted to suit the students’ needs.

VoiceOver

As stated in the Apple website, VoiceOver is a gesture-based screen reader that lets students know what’s happening on their Multi-Touch screen, and helps them navigate it, even if they can’t see it. Students can click on the Home button wherever they are in iPad (iOS) to access VoiceOver. They can hear a description of everything happening on the screen, so they can know which application their finger is on or have an ebook read aloud. Students can also adjust the VoiceOver speaking rate and pitch to meet student’s needs.

More Features

Above are just a few of the unique and different features an iPad offers to suit each child’s needs. In the following table from the Apple website, you can see all the features the iPad (iOS) offers to provide accessibility to all learners. It gives a detailed description of what the feature does and what it is used for. The table also allows the reader to see what features work best for each disability that ranges from: blind and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, physical & motor disabilities, and literacy & learning challenges.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Above is a screenshot of the Special Education Collection Apps that Apple offers through the iTunes Store. There are hundreds of applications available that can be embedded into the iPad to assist in children’s learning and communication skills.

Learning

As mentioned above, the Special Education Collection App has various applications to chose from to improve children’s learning. You can chose from: Mathematics, language arts and literacy, which are the main requirements to be mastered outlined by the CCSS. The iPad assists in making learning a fun experience for the children. In Nirvi Shah’s article she mentions Chance, an autistic student that was once intimidated by math worksheets. An iPad application called Math Ninja starts off with a brief game and then presents one problem at a time. The fun experience changed Chance’s views about math. Similar to Math Ninja, most learning applications start off with games to engage the child, and as the game continues, learning increases.

Communication

Special Education Collection App also offers applications that can help a child improve in their communication. The applications that improve communication skills vary from: emotional development, life skills, language developent, and organizational skills. As Nirvi Shah stated in

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her article, an application that helped a student in communication skills was Proloquo2Go. With Proloquo2Go the student was able to scroll through pictures or choose from phrases and sentences she used often and the iPad would speak for her. This application helped the child express herself. Based on reviews on this application there are cases where the child actually takes the iPad everywhere they go to be able to communicate with people inside and outside of school. Below is a screenshot of the famous applicaton Proloquo2Go and some of the functions it possesses:

Positive Reinforcement

As stated on the Steps for implementation: Positive Reinforcement, “The relationship between the use of a target skill/behavior and receiving reinforcement increases the future rate and/or probability that the learner will use the skill again.” With that said, it is highly important for a child to receive positive reiforcers that motivate the child to do good in the skill or behavior they are targeted to improve in. Children get tired and bored of the same reinforcers (ex. popcorn, candy, chips) something new and attractive can motivate the child. The iPad can always be updated with different apps, that the children will never get tired of. The iPad is convenient because not all the children learn the same way or have same interest, so it’s easier to satisfy a group with an object that contains a variety in one.

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COST

Currently, the iPad is priced at $399 through the Apple website. Jurupa Readiness Preschool is soliciting for one iPad, which will be used during the one-on-one time the children get with the teacher. Most of the kids own an iPad at home, having one at school can help the children learn how to use it and take that knowledge to access the ones at home to better communicate with peers. It is optional to include Proloquo2Go the communication application; which is currently priced at $219.99. This application has great reviews and ratings from past customers and I believe can be a great asset to the classroom, but there are many other applications available that range from being free and priced up to $200 each to chose from. The great thing about the applications is that you can read the reviews before making a decision in buying the applications.

CONCLUSION

Learning and communication are essential skills in life that can be acquired from an iPad. Having access to the right tool can facilitate these main requirements for the children. Based on reviews and testimonies, the iPad can be a great asset to a classroom for Autistic children. Action needs to be taken soon, early intervention can prepare the children for school and future careers. If given the opportunity, the iPad can demonstrate the amazing and essential features it possesses to Jurupa Readiness Preschool.

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WORKS CITED

Apple Technology: Uniquely Equipped to Let Every Student Succeed. (February 2011). Apple. Retrieved August 24, 2013, from http://images.apple.com/education/ docsL417450B_US_Uniquely_Equipped.pdf

Application to Students with Disabilities. Core Standards. Retrieved August 25, 2013, from http://www.corestandards.org/assets/application-to-students-with-disabilities.pdf

Autism Fact Sheet. Naional Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Retrieved August 20, 2013, from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

iPad. (2013). Apple. Retrieved August 18, 2013, from http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

Our Mission. (2012). Riverside County Office of Education. Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://www.rcoe.k12.ca.us/aboutRCOE/mission.html

Shah, Nirvi. Special Ed. Pupils Find Learning Tool In iPad Applications. (2011). California state University, San Bernardino: John M. Pfau Library. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/ehost/detail?sid=3c1e452a-90bb-434f- b124-d8e1418c7f4b %40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=26&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d %3d#db=aph&AN=59265369

Special Education. (2013). Apple. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from http://www.apple.com/ education/special-education/ios/

Steps for Implementation: Positive Reinforcement. (2009). The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina. Retrieved August 22, 2013, from http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/sites/autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/files/ Reinforcement_Steps-Positive.pdf

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APPENDIX I: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

My name is Maggie Berganza, and I am a student at California State University, San Bernardino, I am inviting you to participate in an academic research study. Involvement in this study is voluntary, so you may choose to participate or not. A description of this study follows: I will be asking a series of questions about iPads; the information will be used to evaluate additional uses of the electronic device. This information will be used in a business proposal for my upper- division writing class Management 306: Expository Writing of Administration during Summer 2013.

If you decide to volunteer, I will be asking you seven questions that you are to answer to your best knowledge. The interview will take no longer than 15 minutes. There are NO risks while participating in this study. Any research that involves risk, of any kind, to the subject can NOT take place.

If you no longer wish to continue, you have the right to withdraw from the study, without penalty, at any time. All information for this study will be kept anonymous.

I have been assured that the information I provide in this study will be destroyed after the researcher consolidates data. There will be no permanent record of my participation in this study.

I _____________________________________________ am a willing participant in this study. (Participant’s Name)

Signature of participant:

______________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________

Print name of participant: ______________________________________________

Signature of researcher:

______________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________

Print name of researcher: ______________________________________________

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APPENDIX II: PRIMARY RESEARCH TOOL

Interview Questions:

1. Is the iPad easy to use?

2. What ways do you think the iPad can assist the children?

3. What features does the iPad posses that can help the children?

4. When using an iPad, does the child show interest?

5. Give me an example of a child improving in learning? What area(s) (writing, math, etc.)?

6. Give me an example of a child improving in communication after using the iPad.

7. Can the iPad be used as a positive reinforcer? Explain.

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