When Apple released the iPad in March 2010, Stamford’s Jim McClafferty knew it was the technology of the future and wanted to work with it. A conversation with a friend about the lack of technology in special education classrooms gave McClafferty a market to hack into.

Using his software and managerial experience he started Brain Parade in November 2010. Working with parents and special education teachers McClafferty developed his first iPad application, “See. Touch. Learn,” which lets teachers run exercises with index cards on the tablet.

“I wanted to improve upon something that is tried, true, and proven,” McClafferty said of his first application.

“See.Touch.Learn.” — a free iPad application — allows a teacher to purchase libraries of different cards and then create lessons for individual students to use on the device. With a simple touch of the finger teachers can create numerous lessons for a child without lugging around all the different cards. The device will also record the child’s statistics so a teacher can evaluate their progress.

“It’s unlimited, the number of things you can do,” the creator says of the application’s use.

Although McClafferty did not intend to work with special education children and teachers, he is glad he did. The application been downloaded more than 30,000 times since being activated in March. And the parents and educators he has worked with are very honest and direct with him, both good and bad. He said that has helped him make adjustments to “See.Touch.Learn.”

“Chances are you don’t have as passionate of a customer base as I do,” McClafferty said.

McClafferty plans on expanding  Brain Parade and developing more educational tools for the iPad, but more immediately he plans to make several improvements to “See.Touch.Learn.”

What iPad Applications do you enjoy the most? Why?