Community Corner
HUDSON COUNTY TEACHER OF THE YEAR USES IPAD AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE INSTRUCTION
Hoboken—Mark Mautone has been named Hudson County Teacher of the Year. The special education teacher is the first Hoboken educator to win the award. Mautone leads the district’s Applied Behavior Analysis Program for children with autism at the Wallace Elementary School. He’s been a preschool teacher at the school for the last three years but his career in education spans nearly 20 years.
Mautone uses both traditional materials and innovative technologies to help each of his students reach their full potential. Since 2010, Mautone has been finding unique and fascinating ways to enhance his instruction through the use of an iPad. He uses commercial apps and he has customized content that can easily be placed on the iPad for implementation.
There’s an app for that
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Mautone designed his first app five years ago. It included functions that would help him in the classroom such as calculators, timers, scheduling, and audio recording. It was created before these features became widely available on many devices. Recently he designed another app for the National Catholic Partnership for Disability.
Mautone was recognized for his exceptional skills and contributions by Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia (D-33). “As a passionate supporter of education and organizations that are working to address Autism, I applaud Mautone for his dedication and work on behalf of his students,” said Garcia. “His innovative methods and outside of the box thinking are benefiting his students and peers. It’s teachers like Mautone that bring new hope and opportunities to our students with special needs.”
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“To be recognized by Assemblyman Garcia and his colleagues in the state legislature is such an honor,” said Mautone. “I do the work I do for the love of teaching. Seeing the children progress … maybe say hi to mom for this first time, that’s what motivates us as teachers. But the acknowledgment means I must be doing something right. I want to use this platform to share what I’ve learned with others.”
Mautone has shared his knowledge with other educators, organizations, and private companies. When he’s not teaching, the father of three children provides technical and educational support to Hoboken Cares, P.R.A.I.S.E, and NCPD Autism Task Force, Autism Speaks, Apple Inc., and MacWorld/iWorld.
