Big Country Ford donated 5 brand new iPads to Woodland Heights Elementary teachers on Thursday, February 2nd. Accompanied by two iTunes gift cards totaling $75, the iPads were donated to classes that have special needs students.
“The idea really came about as a result of a 60 Minutes special on how the technology connects with autistic students,” said Diane Winn, Owner of Big Country Ford.
An employee at the dealership has an autistic student currently attending Woodland Heights, and to offer support for both the employee and the community, Big Country Ford embraced the idea of donating iPads.
Winn joined general manager Thomas Scull, and Kurt Newton, a sales representative for the dealership to present the iPads in the Woodland Heights digital media center. The group stayed briefly to discuss with teachers Dee Wise, Jimmy Henry, Kathy Blake, Amber Moore, and Stephanie Morton, the many uses of the iPad in education.
“If she can see herself doing it she does all the movements, sings with the songs and everything else, and without that [iPad] she won’t do it. It’s pretty amazing,” said Jimmy Henry referring to one of his students and how she responds using the front-facing camera on the iPad.
The touch-sensitive device has become very useful for education and is also becoming increasingly popular as a teaching tool for autistic children.
“Autism is a disability that involves both verbal and social communication,” said Alice Cox, Director of Special Education for Brownwood ISD. “All kids respond to technology, and it’s being discovered that many autistic students respond to the intuitive interface and predictability of the iPad. It really becomes a tool that facilitates learning and communication.”
Cox, who was recently named Special Education Director of the Year for the state of Texas, was contacted by the dealership and helped to coordinate the meeting.
The brief presentation included the donation of the iPads and iTunes cards as well as the announcement of an unexpected addition to the already generous donation.
“Big Country Ford would like to challenge other area businesses to donate as well,” said Scull. “We are offering to match any subsequent iPad donations up to 10 units.”
The proposal could bring in as many as 20 additional iPads.
With the growing demand for the high-tech tablet at all the Brownwood ISD campuses and the district looking heavily into the new media-rich digital textbook features recently announced by Apple, the more iPads the schools have on hand, the better it is for the kids.
“The teachers involved with special education at Woodland Heights are very grateful to have an iPad dedicated to their classroom, and have already shown me some of the wonderful apps they plan to use with the students,” said Cox. “We are so thankful for the donation and for Big Country Ford’s continued support for education in the community.”
Pictured above are (Left to Right): Thomas Scull, Alice Cox, Jimmy Henry, Dee Wise, Diane Winn, Kathy Blake, Amber Moore, Stephanie Morton, and Kurt Newton. Below: Stephanie Morton shows an iPad app that she has found useful for a special education student in her class.
