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E d Te c h S h o w D a i l y M o n d a y, J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 5 2 2 RESEARCH PROVEN – EFFECTIVE APPS FOR UNIQUE LEARNERS In the past few years the number of iPads in the classroom has grown exponential- ly. While the number of apps directed towards educators is overwhelming, are any of them proven to work in special education? From the Attainment Company, the answer is a resounding yes! In particular, apps from Attainment provide a spectrum of instruction specif- ic to special education needs across ELA, math, transition, health and social skills. Here's is a brief picture of some of Attainments ELA apps. You can heck out all of its apps in the app store or online at www. attainmentcompany.com. In ELA from early literacy to the sec- ondary grade levels, Attainment apps have been researched and proven effec- tive. They are being used in thousands of classrooms for students with disabilities including intellectual disabilities and autism. Language Links to Literacy is an application designed for use in class- rooms to teach language development and sentence structure both expressively and receptively. Language competence is a strong predictor of subsequent reading ability and overall academic achievement (Catts et al). Indeed, the research section of the 2010 Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects states: "Oral language development precedes and is the foundation for written language development." The Early Literacy Skills Builder (ELSB) is a recently released app that is identical in content, scope and sequence to the Early Literacy Skills Builder Curriculum, developed under the DOE Project RAISE at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. The curriculum was research proven to be effective in teaching students with intellectual disabilities and autism. Students in the research group had signifi- cantly higher scores than the control group using the Edmark Reading Program. Next is the Early Reading Skills Builder (ERSB) designed to take students elementary-secondary from beginning lit- eracy skills to reading at the second grade level. ERSB is an out-of-the-box blended curriculum with app or software directly integrated into the instructional protocol. The scope and sequence starts with begin- ning letter sounds and across the 26 lev- els, teaches all the phonemic elements in the English Language while students learn to read connected text with compre- hension. A randomized control trial with 32 students demonstrated that students who had access to ERSB had significant- ly higher gains in reading than the control group. The ELA continuum continues with Access Language Arts (ALA), an app designed to complement the curriculum, Teaching to Standards, ELA. In the ALA app, age appropri- ate contemporary fiction and non- fiction stories have been adapted for improved reading and comprehension specifically for individuals with intellec- tual disabilities and autism. The stories include fiction and non-fiction titles age appropriate for secondary learners. Research for ALA was through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) with University based partners conducting classroom research. Visit the Attainmentcompany.com for more information on all Attainment Apps and Blended Learning Solutions! For more information, go to attainment company.com or stop by booth #2349. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF BIOMETRICS IN SCHOOLS Why would a school use biometric tech- nology? Quite simply, to improve effi- ciency, operations and security. Cafeteria Most cafeteria debit systems use swipe cards or PINs. Schools are now using fin- ger scanning to eliminate the expense and problems associated with these systems and to ensure accurate reporting. By implementing a biometric finger scan- ning system with the cafeteria applica- tion, accurate reporting for students enti- tled to free or reduced meals is provided anonymously with the important result of increasing participation. In addition, stu- dent accounts are secure, eliminating the time and expense for administration and parents investigating and paying for stu- dent account breaches. Attendance School administrators are being held accountable by federal and state govern- mental funding sources for accurate and auditable attendance records since certain funding is provided based on the number of students who attend the school. Biometric finger scanning technology provides administrators with irrefutable proof of student attendance for accurate and auditable reporting. In addition, administrators can be provided with peri- od-by-period attendance records in real- time, quickly identifying students who are not in the appropriate classrooms. School Access A controlled environment is critical to a school's success. Access to the school must be permitted only to authorized per- sons. Students, teachers, staff and recur- ring visitors can be accurately time- stamped and identified using biometric finger scanning technology and atten- dance or check-in software applications. Administrators will have an irrefutable record of the date and time of each person's entry into the building. Biometric finger scanning systems can assure administrators that those entering their schools actually belong there. Library School libraries store thousands of dol- lars of schools' assets such as books, periodicals, recordings and pieces of art. Librarians can use finger scanning to replace library cards eliminating the sharing of library cards with students who have overdue materials. Nurse's Office School nurses are charged with dispens- ing medication to students everyday. In many schools, nurses change duties or teachers and substitutes dispense medica- tion when the school nurse is unavail- able. Finger scanning provides an irrefutable record of medication dispens- ing and reduces the risk of potential life threatening errors. Transportation School students get lost or get off at wrong schools and bus stops every day, especially young stu- dents. School districts have implemented finger scanning on buses in order to help the driver know if the student is on the cor- rect bus, goes to the correct school and gets off at the correct stop. Parents know in real-time exactly when and where their child got off the bus. In addition, in case of an emergency, school administrators know in real-time who is still on the bus. Cost-effective biometric technology is here today with practical uses for schools. identiMetrics, the leader in bio- metric student identity management solu- tions for schools, provides powerful fin- ger scanning ID systems to schools and school districts nationwide, to make things work faster, safer, more reliably and efficiently. For more information, visit booth #438 or go to www.identimetrics.net.