Eagle Pass Heroes Donates iPads to Eagle Pass Independent School District Special Education Classrooms
(Press Release) On April 20, 2016, the Eagle Pass Helping Everyone with Special Needs Gain Resources for Outcomes to Guide Educational Success (Eagle Pass HEROES), a non-profit organization, held a press conference with the Eagle Pass Independent School District Special Education Teachers to at the Meeting Room of the De Luna Center, 649 Webster Street, Eagle Pass, Texas to announce a significant donation to local public school special education students.
Eagle Pass HEROES, donated over 40 iPads to Eagle Pass Independent School District Special Education classrooms at the April 20th press conference. The event was hosted by Eagle Pass Independent School District Administration and Special Education Director, Elizabeth Torres, and the iPads were delivered to special education representatives for every campus in the district.
Eagle Pass HEROES was formed by a local group of concerned individuals who were interested in improving access to resources for children with special needs in our community.
“Our organization was formed to assist children in our area with special needs obtain resources that will assist in their developmental and educational success,” said Catrina Purcell Longoria, the organization’s Executive Director. As the parent of a child with autism, Mrs. Longoria understands the importance of providing resources to the children in the community to help them develop into successful adults. With the support of fellow board members Wendy Maurer, Elizabeth Perez and Nikolas Libson, the organization was able to generate sufficient funds to get iPads into the special educations classrooms district-wide.
“Working on this project for the kids in our community reminded me why I love Eagle Pass and why I came back to Eagle Pass to pursue my career,” said Catrina Purcell-Longoria. “The generosity of our community and the way everyone comes together for a good cause makes me proud to call Eagle Pass my home,” said Longoria. Eagle Pass HEROES has already received commitments from other contributors and expects to donate additional iPads to the district before the end of the 2015-2016 school year. Eagle Pass HEROES is working closely with newly appointed Special Education Director, Elizabeth Torres, to identify the needs of the special education children and find funding sources to meet those needs.
The purpose behind the donation of the iPads to the special education classrooms was to put proven technology in the hands of the children who can benefit from it the most. Numerous studies have supported the use of devices such as iPads for the development and education of children with special needs.
There are 5 key features that make the iPad most beneficial to helping children with disabilities:
- Accessibility Features
The iPad comes with accessibility features – built-in modifications that make it easier for users with visual, auditory or other physical disabilities to use iPad. This includes VoiceOver, Zoom, White on Black, Mono Audio, and Speak Auto-Text. Many children have limited ability to interact with toys for typical developing children and therefore their play and readiness skills for school are limited. The accessibility features that come standard on all Apple products meet many needs for children with disabilities.
- Special Education Apps
The App Store has apps designed for people with disabilities that further support its accessibility features, such as the SoundingBoard,(create customs boards for communication) Proloquo2Go (touch-to-speak), SoundAmpR (auditory amplification), and more. These apps and others are highlighted on the Apple Store’s own Special Education section featuring apps for Communication, Emotional Development, Seeing & Hearing, Language Development, Literacy & Learning, Organization, and Diagnostics & Reference.
- Over 20,000 Education Apps for iPad
Apple recently announced at their Education Event that 20,000 education apps have been built for the iPad. They highlight their education apps with links to the App Store on their website. This variety gives educators, parents and children a chance to explore and utilize a vast range of content.
- Portability
The iPad is completely portable. While desktop computers and laptops posed obvious challenges for those with limited mobility, the iPad can be easily positioned to accommodate a variety of positions – seated, supine, prone and lying down. Many companies are also creating accessories for iPad to help mount and position the iPad in various ways to make it more accessible to people with physical disabilities.
- Motivation
It is well known that iPad touch technology supports interactive features that include drag and drop, tap, swipe, shake and drawing. These features add an element of fun to activities, making many apps a cross-over between “educational” and “games.” This creates motivational incentives for children to engage who might otherwise be less motivated.
The donation of the iPads by Eagle Pass HEROES was made possible due to the generous support of community partners like Aguila Construction, Morris & Dora Libson Family, Hilda Martinez Caballero & Family, Dr. Hector Alvarez and Eagle Pass Dental Clinic, La Guadalupana Adult Day Care, Superintendent of Schools–Mr. Gilberto Gonzalez, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Johnson, EPHS Administrator–Mr. John Cox, Ms. Sandra Ruiz Rodriguez with Rio Insurance Agency, Kunafin-The Insectory and Escamilla and Poneck, Inc.
For more information about Eagle Pass HEROES, please contact Catrina Purcell Longoria at 830-773-6700.
The information related to features of iPads is reproduced from an article published by Shoshana Stopek in the March 26, 2013 edition of Mommy Tech Bytes; http://www.mommytechbytes.com/2013/03/26/5-ways-the-ipad-helps-children-with-disabilities/
