Communities

Akron Library uses technology to engage special needs kids

Akron Program Director Jennifer Thomas

A Knight grant to the Stow-Munroe Falls public library in Ohio is helping the library use technology to teach special needs kids.

During a recent story time session, a teacher used an iPad application that “turns the tablet computer into a sort of cross between an Etch A Sketch and a Wooly Willy magnetic toy,” the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

The children traced their fingertips across their screens to make stars appear in the path they’d drawn and then shook the iPads to make the stars disappear. They experimented to draw shapes and make the stars twirl.”Those are cool, aren’t they?” Gamble asked. The kids were too engrossed to answer.

Knight Foundation is helping libraries in Akron and 27 other cities become true digital community centers that help foster informed and engaged communities.

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