California District Adopts Tablets for Special Education

California's Mountain View Whisman School District has deployed 80 tablets to its special education classrooms.

The Silicon Valley-based district, serving approximately 5,000 students, decided to adopt SpEd K12's Android-based SmartEdPad, a tablet designed specifically for special ed classes.

"We have stories of school districts that haven't achieved measurable benefits by rushing to buy tablet devices," said Cynthia Loleng-Perez, director of special education at MVWSD, in a prepared statement. "We knew from the beginning buying a few tablets and loading it with a few dozen apps doesn't solve the problem. This is just because we wanted our mobility device strategy to align with our educational ecosystem. It must align with Common Core State Standards, align with IEP goals for a student, align with RTI process and most importantly be a dedicated educational solution that changes the way teachers teach and students learn. SmartEdPad met all our needs."

"We designed the SmartEdPad as a therapy resource and educational tool," said Pradeesh Thomas, CEO at SpEd K12, in a news release. "Screens and content on tablets and mobile devices often distract students, especially if used by districts for work and personal use and the SmartEdPad eliminates these distractions. SmartEdPad has a unique advantage over other tablets or mobile devices offering schools and districts the ability to customize so students only have access to relevant apps. SmartEdPad brings together the benefits of the computer, therapy materials, and tablet all in one and is off-the-shelf and ready to use."

"The traditional method of classroom education isn't enough and modern technology like the tablets address only part of the problem," added Loleng-Perez. "We wanted a solution that results in measurable, predicable, scalable and sustainable educational outcomes. There wasn't a single solution that met all our needs until we found SmartEdPad."

More information about the SmartEdPad is available at smartedpad.com.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

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