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The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

What will I need to implement the iPad into my therapy?

“ T h e k e y t o s u c c e s s f u l l y implementing the iPad into Speech therapy is to remember that you are the therapist, not the iPad. The possibilities are endless, and the apps designed for therapy can do almost everything for you but be the therapist. As you expect apps to become more and more sophisticated it is time to reflect on the importance of the user to take charge of being creative and guiding the learning at a l l t i m e s . ” Barbara Fernandes

However, regardless of your professional talents purchasing an iPad costs money and many times you may find yourself wondering how much will you need to

spend on this new therapy tool. The iPad in of itself is a tool and needs accessories such as apps and other hardware to give you what you need.

Regardless if you will use personal finances, grants, or school district funds the savings you have for using the iPad are significant when you compare it to traditional less dynamic therapy

products.

A recent online survey revealed that most speech therapists and educators spend their personal finances when purchasing apps. Lately, I have seen more and more

school districts and grants that allows speech therapists to use funds for purchasing apps, however a lot of convincing may still need to happen. School districts are slowly starting to notice the advantages of the iPad and I hope this document helps speech therapists, and educators to gather more information about the costs associated with purchasing an iPad and using it as a

therapy tool.

While the research to show the therapeutic and educational benefits of the use of the iPad are very limited, we can create a document that describes the financial benefits of the purchase of the iPad, apps and its accessories.

Recently I conducted an online survey in which people were asked where the funds to purchase apps came from, over 90% of responses indicated that

they had purchased apps with personal finances.

I hope this document shows you that it is not just about the cost of the device, but apps and accessories as well.

Modern technology bring interactivity, cost-savings, time efficiency while promoting learning. This document is a guide that set’s up costs of iPad, apps & accessories.

T H E I P A D

2 The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

The iPad has different connectivity options: Wi-Fi or WiFi+3G; WiFi+3G is a bit more costly than wi-fi alone. While the vast majority of speech therapy and educational apps do not require wi-fi, you may also want to check out the Internet settings at your work location in case you decide to use the Internet on your iPad. If you choose the iPad without 3G, you will need to download your apps from your computer or when your iPad is on the network. If you choose the iPad with 3G, you will have to account for the monthly expense of the 3G network with either AT&T or Verizon.

The iPad is the first item you will have to purchase. The initial decision you need to make is: which kind of iPad will I buy? The first thing you will need to figure this out is how much memory you will need. The iPad currently offers 3 choices for memory size, the more memory you need the more expensive it gets. The first thing I like to say is, “the size of memory is very personal and it depends on your style of use.” You have to ask yourself, “will I be using

it primarily for therapy or will this be a device for home + therapy use?” A

lot of people like to ask which size I have... I always answer, “it does not matter”. I am a very different user, the iPad I own I use for various presentations, demos, videos, etc. So, my iPad personality may not apply to you. However, I do like to share some statistics of my iPad. The statistics of my iPad can help you see how much memory educational, and speech therapy apps can consume on your iPad.

Songs 107

Videos 6

Photos 1,600

Apps 174 (16GB)

Total space used 21 GB

My iPad stats:

What does this mean? It means that I could own an iPad 32GB or 64GB but a 16GB would be too little memory for my use. However, this will give you a general idea for considering how you will allocate your memory.

WI-FI only or 3G?

Source: http://ipod.about.com/od/beforeyoubuy/a/ipad-model-price-comparison.htm

G E E K S L P . C O M

3 The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

The cost of apps for Speech TherapyNow that you have figured our how much you will spend on your device it is time to figure out how much you will spend on a variety of range of apps. Get ready! I have included all the apps I have developed and additional apps in several areas as examples of prices.

Area Name of App Price Cost of traditional product

Savings from traditional comparable

material

Articulation Assessment Sunny Articulation & Phonology Assessment $49.99 $199 ( for a non-standardized articulation test)

$150

Articulation Therapy Articulate it! $34.99 $228 ( for two sets of 540 articulation cards)

$193

Articulation Game Match2Say $19.99 unable to find a matching card articulation product

0

Articulation (focus on R) rIntensive SLP $19.99 $59.99 Decks of R flash cards

$40

Articulation Speech Trainer $7.99 $59.95 ( set of images with mouth placement)

$52

Phonology Minimal Pairs Academy $34.99 $139 ( minimal Pairs deck) $105

Total cost of Articulation AppsTotal cost of Articulation Apps $167.97 $695 $540

It is evident that the savings of $540 dollars go beyond that number, because you get a lot more for your buck with the app. Let’s take the example of Articulation apps versus articulation flashcards. Most of the articulation applications on the iTunes store contain over 800 images on it. Imagine carrying around 800 flashcard!? Besides the apps are not just digital flashcards, they track student data, create reports automatically and the cards are always organized. The words on the iPad, unlike the flashcards, do not get torn, and do not require constant unscrambling.

16GB 32GB 64GB

Wi-Fi $666 $766 $866

Wi-Fi + 3G $796 $896 $996

Let’s now take a look at the numbers so far for iPad models + Articulation Apps:

G E E K S L P . C O M

4 The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

Yes, there are free apps available on the app store and it is possible to plan therapy and implement activities with the few apps available. However,

consider if you were doing therapy only with the free materials you have available to you ( maybe cups, papers, scissors, etc) and you know that it would take a lot more creativity to make it work.

Area Name of App Price Cost of traditional product

Savings from traditional comparable

material

Prepositions Preposition Remix $9.99 $210.90 (Prepositions software)

$200

Prepositions Speech with Milo Prepositions $2.99 $11.95 $9

Verbs Dr.Pine Learn Actions $1.99 $27.95 ( verbs flashcards) $26

Verbs iPractice Verbs $10.99 $69.95 ( Verbs Flashcards) $59

Opposites Montessori Pre-language Exercises $2.99 $29 ( Game with language exercises)

$27

Vocabulary Vocabulary Cacher 3 FREE $39 ( functional vocabulary flashcards)

$39

Syntax Sentence Builder $5.99 $43.90 ( Sentence structure CD)

$38

Pragmatics Is that silly? $9.99 $29.95 ( Figurative Language game)

$20

Following direction

Fun with directions $9.99 $99.95 ( following directions software)

$90

WhQuestions WhQuestions $14.99 $35.00 ( set of 5 Wh Questions flashcards)

$21

Problem Solving Autism & PDD Reasoning & problem solving $34.99 $35.95 ( software) $1.00

Total cost of Language AppsTotal cost of Language Apps $104.90 $632 $528

16GB 32GB 64GB

Wi-Fi $777 $877 $977

Wi-Fi + 3G $900 $1000 $1100

Let’s now take a look at the numbers so far for iPad models + Articulation +Language Apps:

As you can see your investment on iPad speech therapy gets more and more expensive as you add articulation and language apps alone. I have personally spent over one thousand dollars in apps for the iPad. At the same time, the savings you have over traditional products is extreme. We have so far saved $1,068 by using apps in place of traditional “flashcards”.

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5 The cost and advantages of implementing the iPad as a learning tool for speech therapy & Special education.

Essential Accessories for Speech Therapists

1.Case: Protection, protection, protection.

a.OtterBox (defender): $50.74

2. iPad Stand: Great for holding your iPad in therapy.

a.Rocketfish: $45.99

3.Cleaning solution: Clean your iPad after each session.

a.Klear screen: $21

4.Printer with air-printing capabilities: prints directly from the iPad. $59 ( HP Photo smart Plus)

5.Speakers: Must have for group therapy settings.

a.iHome $19

6.Wireless Keyboard: Typing long reports on your iPad. $34

Non-Essential Accessories ( but still fun or useful)

1. Stylus pen: $6

2. HDMI cable & adapter: $40

3. Bub Cap protector: $6

iPad/Apps accessories.Protecting and disinfecting your device can be as fundamental as owning an iPad. For sure, none of these “accessories” come with the purchase of the iPad and therefore they are extra expenses. Some accessories I like to define as “essential accessories”, others as “non-essential”. If you have a grant or are seeking funding for your iPad, you need to make sure you do your research on the accessories you want to include with the fund request.

$231 $52

Accessories Cost ( An estimate based on the products I use)

S E Q U O I A C L U B

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iTherapy purchase & costs Resource ListI have compiled a resource list I used to gather the information on this document.

1. Apple http://www.apple.com 2. GeekSLP http://www.geekslp.com 3. iTalk Foundation http://www.itaalk.com4. Smarty Ears Apps http://

www.smartyearsapps.com5.

About the Author:Barbara, the founder and director of Smarty Ears received her master degree in Speech and Language Pathology with an emphasis in bilingualism from Texas Christian University. Barbara speaks three languages (English, Spanish & Portuguese), and she has worked with children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and native languages in several countries.

In addition to her passion for working with bilingual children, Barbara’s passion for technology has led her to become an active blogger known as “GeekSLP” for www.geekslp.com and the blog of the American Speech and Language Association known as the AshaSphere. As GeekSLP, Barbara has been invited as a guest speaker in universities and International conferences, and given workshops and presentations around the

world on how technology can be implemented to improve the speech and language skills.

In 2004, Barbara was one of the participants of the program jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the Brazilian Ministry of Education, called “Promoting the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Society Through Assistive Technology: Culturally Appropriate Solutions.” Barbara has created over 30 applications that combine her knowledge of technology with her expertise in speech and language sciences. Smarty Ears is where Barbara’s passion is met.

As the CEO of Smarty Ears, Barbara Fernandes has created over 30 applications, which have been sold in over 40 countries to speech pathologists, special education teachers, and parents of children with special needs. Smarty Symbols is another one of Barbara’s creations; a symbol set that contains 11,000 symbols which also reflect Barbara’s passion for technology and multicultural issues. In her spare time, Barbara enjoys traveling abroad, scuba diving and playing with her gadgets and three dogs.