IPAD APPS EXPLORATION GROUP ACTIVITY
Mary Rose Peterson and Jordan Deahl 1
iPad Apps Exploration Group Activity
For this activity, we chose the iPad application Feel Electric! as an app that could
support the learning of two populations of students in Special Education. The two
populations or groups of students in Special Education that we have chosen/believed
would benefit most from this app, are the Cognitive Disabilities population and At-risk
population. Below, we will describe (separately) the needs of both of the populations, as
well as explain why the Feel Electric! Application would be useful and support learning for
each of these groups.
First, lets focus on the needs and characteristics of the Cognitive Disabilities
population. The main needs and characteristics of the Cognitive Disabilities population or
group are a variety of conditions that impair an individual’s cognitive abilities, with many
students in this group having problems with reading, writing, memory, and retention of
memory, with many of the students having difficulties in learning in only one aspect of the
curriculum. These problems can be and are resolved by teachers through productivity
software, as well as other software and online resources that can be used with many lowperforming students. The needs that the Cognitive Disabilities group have that need to be
addressed involve cognitive (attention deficits, memory and thinking skills, intellectual
ability, etc.), academic (reading, math, language arts, etc.), and social-emotional challenges.
The Feel Electric! app is appropriate for this group, because it addresses some of the
social-emotional challenges Cognitive Disability students commonly have, especially
regarding emotional expressions, and has a section on the app that is specifically for
describing how a person is feeling that day, which a student must fill in themselves, by
dragging the words that describe how they are feeling (and provide a verbal and written
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explanation of the words/expressions when they are clicked on to prevent confusion) into
the box. This app is also useful and supports learning through both reading and practicing
pneumonic language, and teaching cause and effect, as, when a student touches a word or
expression on the screen and it will be said slowly, the described, both verbally as well as
visually, so that the student can follow along, learn a new word, and more accurately
answer any questions that they are asked.
Now, lets focus on the needs and characteristics of the At-Risk population. The main
needs and characteristics of the At-Risk population or group are difficulty with
remembering a sequence of events or something one needed to do, an inability to read
comprehensively at their current grade level, challenges with writing expression, math
computations and computations, and finally, a lack of motivation to engage in school work.
The group of needs At-Risk students have can be met through the usage of educational
programs and applications that address each of their challenges directly.
The Feel Electric! app is appropriate for this group, because it helps students
express what they are feeling, work at their own pace, do the amount of work that they feel
comfortable with at one time and then come back to it later, and finally, because Feel
Electric! is also very motivating, and enthusiastic in it’s execution of it’s lessons, so it would
involve the students more. This app is also useful and supports learning through it’s subtle
teaching of phonics via touch screen technology and pictures with phrases beneath them to
help teach reading, recognition, and to explain certain human expression or emotions,
which may confuse or be confusing to all students.
Thus, for these reasons, both my partner and I believe that the iPad application Feel
Electric! is an appropriate choice for an app that could support the learning of two
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populations of students in Special Education, specifically the Cognitive Disabilities and AtRisk population groups.
Resources
Roblyer, M., & Doering, A. H. (2012). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching +
Myeducationlab With Pearson Etext. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Original work published
2000).