Day+4

What do you think are the most important software features for your students?

Melissa - Personally, I work with students with autism, so I have to be particularly careful about the materials I choose. By diagnosis, people with autism have skill deficits involving social situations, communication, and being able to behave appropriately. In addition, they typically have difficulty with abstract concepts, attention, and various motor difficulties. On top of all this, mental retardation and seizures are highly correlated as well. Therefore, I would have to consider all these and many more possible challenges when choosing a software package. For example, if the focus of the software were mathematics, I would have to be aware of math problems that might involve situations that the students may not understand (e.g., requiring knowledge of social norms, too abstract), or in other words, I would want my math problems to deal with math. What I am trying to get at is similar to the SETT framework. First, I would choose software that takes into consideration the needs of the student, in my case autism and anything else that may come with it. Then I would consider the environment in which the software is used. In my classroom, my ratio is very low, so I may be able to consider software that requires much teacher assistance. Third, a teacher needs to consider what tasks she wants her students to do with the software. Is it for fun or educational? Is it a reward for good work or reinforcing work already done? Finally, the tools available would mean that as a teacher, we get to search though the many software programs.

There are many sites that recommend software for students with autism. Most of what I have seen for teaching students with autism has been dealing with the primary diagnosis issues (e.g., teaching students social skills) Here are two sites that seem to vary their products: http://www.difflearn.com/products.asp?dept=27&gclid=CPP686e3nJsCFcZM5QodFzYsqQ http://www.slatersoftware.com/autism.html

Jamie Taggart: This past year I worked in a first grade classroom. During the children's centers time they were permitted use of computer programs that pertained to the activity that was being addressed. When addressing the topic of important software features for young children it is a good idea to consider a few things: first is the content accurate to what the students are learning, and is it appropriate for their age? It's important to consider whether the presentation of the chosen programs is organized and that it gives students feedback for both incorrect and correct responses. Another thing to think about is record keeping. Does the program record performances to both the teacher and the students? Finally, its important to keep in mind the concept we discussed yesterday, UDL. Does the program allow each student to benefit and allow each one to learn? These are all important considerations to keep in mind when determining if the software you are choosing for the classroom is appropriate.

Jessica - In order for students I work with (mild to moderate disabilities) to make use of assistive technology as an “enabler”, students must be able to find success and want to persist at the activity. Some important features to look for in a software package for students with mild to moderate disabilities include authentic situations that allow use of existing background knowledge, feedback from the program, and present the information in variety of formats to ensure learning through repeated exposure. The students I have worked with in the past would definitely need motivation in the form of success. Altering the difficulty intervals to allow for smaller increments would help improve students' motivation and self-efficacy.

Being that I work with very young students who have moderate to severe disabilities software features can be very important in my classroom. The features can make it or break it for my students who need less complex features. The features my students would need would be to have record keeping so I can keep track of their progress because data in our school is how we gauge whether or not the student is successful, and also to have lots of verbal prompts and visual directions to help guide them through the software. If the software had visual and verbal cues the students would need less help from the staff in the classroom. Kristin

 Brian The most important features would include: how flexible; how modifiable; what type of feedback it provides; does it integrate with other programs and operating systems; type of screen layout or distractions; are there options for teachers; does it have real world problems and situations; built in struction; and finally do procedures and curriculum match the class or school. These should all be taking into consideration whether the lesson involves math, reading, writing or any other task at hand. Software evaluation is crucial in chosing the most reliable and most appropriate tools available.

Katie: The most important tools I need on software are: 1. that you can adjust the settings according to the students needs. In Kindergarten there are students who have never been in a school setting and students who have been in a pre-school so they are really advanced. Being able to change the settings, helps differentiate instruction. 2. That you can get a report that details your students strengths and weaknesses. This is equally important because this information will tell you what each student needs.

Bill: For the three students of mine who are somewhat computer literate, the most important software features include constructive feedback, limited written and spoken directions, and small increments between the levels of difficulty. For example, one student who is familiar with some of the Edmark reading programs needs frequent feedback and reinforcement (not constant), but also needs new and interesting visual stimulation to keep things interesting, which these programs sometimes fail to provide, particularly when presenting material new to the student. Because my students have various language deficits, programs that use fewer written instructions, or where the goal of the lesson is implicit are preferred. Additionally, my students generally require explicit, direct instruction and tangible reinforcement when learning new skills through a computer software program. Therefore, in te initial stages, they need a lot of outside support before they can idependently use the program. Lastly, for recording IEP data, good record keeping by the software in essential, particularly if the software program is written into the student's IEP. I need to be able to show the progress that has been made, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness or lack thereof of the software's lessons.

Rob I have 35 students in my class and not one of them is a special needs student. But that doesn't mean that I search for software that is strictly at a middle/high school level. I would still investigate for software that is made for high middle/low high school students, but has lower and higher level skills/tasks. With 35 students at various instructional levels, I still can use software that is a little below grade level. A large majority of my students still don't know how to create a circle graph. A large portion of my students still have very poor grammar skills and could possibly benefit from more grammar practice. However, some of my students finish tasks really early and I always have to find things for them to do...so software that has a higher more challenging level would also come in handy. As I look at software that is available out there, it appears as though most of it is designed for elementary students and the tools available to middle and up are more web 2.0 tools. This may be due to the fact that middle school students and up have more technology at their fingertips...phones, ipods, and cameras. So the tools that are in the market for these aged students usually deal with them having the ability to input media and express themselves through creative means. Bill stated in his paragraph that his students require very explicit and direct instruction. My students still need some structure, but I can give them a little leash in terms of choosing software or tools to complete a product. I still feel very ignorant in terms of special needs students and often feel that I am missing the big ideas and that I am off base with my responses to the daily questions. I just have no experience in accommodating special needs students which is why I continue to respond with my regular ed experience....sorry.

Kristin My students this past year where pre-kindergarten which all different ability levels and ranged from 3 to 5 yrs old. All of the students enjoyed the computer regardless of ability level but I found that they were no able to function independently on the computer because even many of the programs designed for preschool were too confusing or difficult to navigate for them. The most important software features for my students are: Can the students use the program on their own? There are simply not enough hands available to devote to this, so a software program where the students can be independent is key. Another feature I think is most important is that the tasks are not complex. The preschool programs are designed for average functioning preschoolers and I do not have much access to anything else. A simple, complex software program would make my students more successful.