The Bruce Grey Catholic School Board is providing iPads to 195 students — and this works out to be 15 iPads per school.
The hands on technology responds to voice commands and doesn’t require typing.
Superintendent of Education Catherine Montreuil says the technology will assist students who struggle with traditional methods of learning.
This will be particularly beneficial to those students who process information differently or require sensory aides when learning.
Each iPad runs between 550 and 700 dollars.
Bruce Power donated 5 thousand dollars towards the project and the Catholic Board is covering the rest of the cost.
If this project proves successful — than the Catholic Board will order more iPads to assist even more students with special education needs.
Montreuil says 13 per cent of the Catholic Board’s student population have some form of learning disability.
She says the Board continues to seek out new ways to help these students succeed.
So far that effort has been paying off.
Special need Catholic students in Bruce Grey are exceeding the average in the province’s standardized test results.
Montreuil adds that many of the brightest students have special education needs.
She says learning disabilities doesn’t necessarily reflect intelligence.
In many cases she says it’s more like a wiring problem in the brain affecting the way an individual processes and accesses information.
