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View Full Version : Suggested hardware for SEN


Dave Harrington
25-09-2008, 05:29 PM
???? Not sure where to put this as there doesn't seem to be a subforum for hardware questions....
My wife works as a classroom assistant in a school for children with special needs. Those with profound difficulties struggle to use a pen and would get more out of something that was more physically interactive. They have Promethean boards in many of the classrooms but are perhaps not making the most of them because of this issue. I did suggest to her that an Activeslate might help- but is there any way of making it "touch sensitive" or the "pen" robust enough to take hitting, chewing etc. which will inevitably happen with PMLD students. Is there any other equipment that people could suggest that would make interaction with the board easy enough. They have (apparently) tried using a wand, but have had to tape the buttons down to allow the pupils to interact with the board.

Any thoughts, ideas or experiences welcome..

Dave.

scaulfield
25-09-2008, 07:03 PM
I have seem some schools modify the Activpen so it is easier for special needs students. You can cut a hole in a tennis ball, and put the Pen in that. Then the student is grabbing onto the Tennis Ball, but can interact with the board/slate.

LisaD
25-09-2008, 07:04 PM
See if any of these products would work:

Switch Hopper
http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/computer-aids/switch-interfaces/switchhopper

Hands-Free Mouse
http://enablingdevices.com/catalog/computer-aids/mouse-switches/hands-free-mouse

From what I can understand, they would attach to the computer but be able to "drive" anything on the board!

Would love to know what you think!
Lisa