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Two Southeast Ohio Schools Receive Grants For Special Needs Programs


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Two southeast Ohio schools have received $10,000 grants to fund mobile technologies for special needs students.

Union Local Elementary in Belmont and Ross Pike Educational Service District in Chillicothe are two of 20 Ohio schools that will share the $200,000 in funding.

The grants, provided by eTech Ohio, will fund the implementation of mobile assistive technologies, like tablets, smart phones, e-readers and braille notes for special needs learners.

"eTech Ohio is pleased to support these special needs educators in their efforts to integrate assistive technologies into classroom practices," said Greg Davidson, Interim Executive Director of eTech Ohio. "On behalf of the commission and staff, we are all eager to witness the transformative learning and communication that will take place through these projects."

The technology integration programs will take place in a variety of subjects including English, science, social studies, math and reading classes. 

The grant program was developed to expand learning opportunities for students with special needs by making more mobile assistive technologies available both in and out of the classroom. 

"Children need to have consistent reinforcement, and mobile technology can always be with a child who may need to hear a word or phrase more than 10,000 times, always in a consistent context," said Margaret Burley, Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities.

eTech Ohio says that mobile devices in special needs learning environments have proven to be excellent tools for engagement and learning for students who may struggle with conventional learning methods.