Speak Out OCTOBER 2019 V3 DIGITAL EDITION

Association news

And the winners are...

SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS OF THE INAUGURAL SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA INNOVATION AWARDS. There are two award categories: Innovation in Professional Practice, and Innovation in Research. Professional Practice In the professional practice category, the winning innovation, submitted by Bronwyn Sutton was titled: The Learning App Guide to Autism and Education. Research A number of high-quality and impressive research articles were submitted. When considering nominations in this category, the judging committee prioritised the innovative nature of research, as well as the quality of the research undertaken. After much deliberation, the committee awarded the prize for innovation in research to Rebecca Amery for her nomination, titled: Collaborative design and development of aided AAC system prototypes for Yolŋu living with Machado- Joseph Disease. While Rebecca was the nominee for this award, she was the member of a wider research team, including referencing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory group. The research also satisfied the requirements of the National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines for ethical conduct in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Communities. Each award is to the value of $2500 and covers one year’s membership of the Association, registration, airfares, accommodation, transfers and incidentals to attend the Association’s 2020 National Conference in Darwin. This is an ongoing award and will be awarded in subsequent years. Speech Pathology Australia congratulates both winners.

The Learning App Guide to Autism and Education is a free, online tool which provides professional evaluations of over 1000 THE LEARNING APP GUIDE TO AUTISM AND EDUCATION WINNER

iPad apps. The Learning App Guide was developed to support therapists, teachers and parents to make informed choices when purchasing apps to suit the learning needs of children aged 2 to 12. With more than 80% of educational mobile applications in the iTunes store targeting children, parents and educators of children with autism and communication disorders are faced with a multitude of decisions regarding their choice of the right app to support a child’s learning. The selection of the appropriate

app is very important for children with autism and communication disorders as it can make the difference between the “digital babysitter” and the tool to support a child’s learning and development. Specific content and design features of apps may support effective speech and language intervention. However, these features need to be carefully evaluated in terms of the underlying principles of intervention and learning. Given the absence of an industry standard or an official rating system for children’s apps, there was an urgent need to provide parents and professionals with an accessible, unbiased evaluation tool to support their decision making. The Learning App Guide is unique as the reviews utilise an evidence-based rubric developed by John Hopkins researcher, Dr Harry Walker. This rubric provides a score from 1 - 4 for each app in the areas of 1) learning connection: meaning that the app correctly supports the learning of the targeted skill, 2) authenticity: meaning that the skills are practiced in an authentic manner, 3) adaptability, 4) feedback, 5) user friendliness and 6) motivation. Each app is also reviewed for it’s potential to support learning according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. The cognitive domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy presents a hierarchy of levels of cognitive learning. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework can be applied to apps as a measure of the level of learning the child experiences when interacting with the app. That is, at lower levels the child simply remembers or recalls information presented in the app. Whereas, at the higher levels, the child needs to evaluate or create new content to support their learning. This taxonomy is popular with educators and will guide teachers to make important decisions about how apps can support learning. Identification of the salient features of an app, such as those detailed in Harry Walker’s Rubric used in the Learning App Guide, may facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the active ingredients which can be used in intervention. More discerning selection of apps by speech panguage pathologists is likely to encourage more efficient and judicious use of this technology for our young clients. The Learning App Guide to Autism and Education was developed by Dr Bronwyn Sutton, Speech Language Pathologist. Dr Sutton has over 30 years’ experience working with young children with communication disorders and autism spectrum disorders. The Learning App Guide is freely available at www. bestautismtherapy.com.au. Dr Bronwyn Sutton was the inaugural recipient of the Innovation in Professional Practice Award.

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October 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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