Tablet PCs in education settings
Tablet PCs in Queensland schools
Within the state education system, students who require additional support are assisted with a range of student services. This can include using assistive technology to support a child with meeting their educational needs.
Information about learning and disability support is provided on the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) website.
iPads are being trialled as an assistive technology in some special education settings. You can watch a video about how students at Mount Isa Special School are using iPads to support them with their learning.
Darling Point Special School, in the bayside suburb of Manly in Brisbane, is also trialling iPads as a tool for students.
‘We've got 28 iPads in the school, and we are a school of just over one hundred children,' says Charmaine Driver, the school principal.
Academics from Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast are working with the school on two research projects.
'We are tracking issues around teacher and teacher aide confidence and knowledge in regards to using the iPad as a teaching tool,' says Charmaine.
‘It is also around which apps are viewed by teachers as being beneficial, from an educational sense. The other piece of research... is around making sure that we get a good data collection process around educational improvements.'
The devices are being used in the English, Math and Science curriculum at the school. While the research projects are ongoing, Charmaine says initial feedback has been positive.
‘The parents and the teachers are finding them very useful,' she says.
‘My observation would be that the children are communicating better in most cases with them than with most of the other adaptive devices (that are used at the school).'
The Disability Services Support Unit
The Disability Services Support Unit (DSSU) is a state-wide service unit in the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE). The purpose of DSSU is to enhance and facilitate inclusive education practices, with a focus on students with:
- disabilities
- special needs in communication
- specialised health needs.
You can contact DSSU on (07) 3240 9333 or email disabilityservicessupportunit@deta.qld.gov.au for more information about services that are available.
