Instructional Software
When instructional technology is appropriately integrated into the curriculum, relative advantages are noted. These advantages include such aspects as increased student engagement, increased student motivation, a more effective use of teacher time (less time spent assembling materials and correcting student work), and a more systematic presentation of targeted learning objectives.
Following are examples of instructional software for a life skills program for older adolescents with moderate to severe special needs:
Following are examples of instructional software for a life skills program for older adolescents with moderate to severe special needs:
Drill and Practice (students practice targeted skills and receive immediate feedback)
Attainment's Time Scales helps students learn to tell time and compute elapsed time. There are three levels of challenge: hours, minutes, and duration. Stimulus presentation can be varied with different clock faces, text-based times, or audio cues.
What is the relative advantage of using Time Scales?
What is the relative advantage of using Time Scales?
- interactive
- teacher can easily set student's individual starting level
- offers variety of stimulus presentation formats
- collects data
- automatically adjusts challenge level
- gives immediate feedback
- gives the student many opportunities to practice targeted skill.
- saves teacher time in correcting student work
Tutorials (an entire instructional unit on a topic, with immediate feedback)
Conover's Functional Skills System includes 35 titles, including such topics as "Information Labels", "Survival Signs", and "Personal Social Skills". Targeted words and concepts are introduced to student with a picture of the word/text, accompanied by a voice-over. A short video clip is then shown for each word/concept, demonstrating its use in the real world. Students then practice identifying the word and matching the word to its meaning. In the social skills series, students identify appropriate responses to a variety of workplace scenarios. Individual student data is collected and stored. When the student has attained mastery, new vocabulary is introduced.
An iOS app supplement, which contains the tutorial sequence, but not the practice questions, is also available. For more information, search "conover" in the app store or click here.
What is the relative advantage of using the Functional Skills System ?
An iOS app supplement, which contains the tutorial sequence, but not the practice questions, is also available. For more information, search "conover" in the app store or click here.
What is the relative advantage of using the Functional Skills System ?
- systematic presentation of targeted words/concepts
- saves teacher time in creating such comprehensive programming and in correcting student work
- each CD is a complete instructional unit
- interactive with meaningful multimedia
- gives immediate feedback
- collects data
Simulations (computer-based generators of real or imagined situations)
On Your Own from Coast to Coast from C.W. Publications is an independent living simulation where students choose a community, a job, and an apartment. They then make decisions on how to spend their money and their time. Students learn about the job search process and how to set up a monthly budget. A program demo is available for download from the product's webpage.
What is the relative advantage of On Your Own?
What is the relative advantage of On Your Own?
- gives students the opportunity to safely explore some of the decisions that they will need to make in their adult lives
- allows the student to repeat the program, making different choices, so that student can better appreciate the effect of the decisions
- helps students to make the connection between classroom content and the real-world
- motivates students to acquire the money management skills they need to live independently
- is realistic and keeps students' interest
Educational Games (add elements of play and competition to instructional activity)
PCI's Grocery Store game is a software version of their board game by the same name. It is designed for 1-4 players, and is especially effective on an interactive whiteboard. Skills addressed include identifying the likely aisle/department in which an item will be located, grocery word and picture matching, identifying prices (regular price, sales price, and price with coupon), and combining prices to get total amount due. Other games in this series include Discount Store and Drug Store.
What is the relative advantage of PCI's Grocery Store game?
What is the relative advantage of PCI's Grocery Store game?
- provides opportunity to practice community-based life skills in class
- is an entertaining format that students want to use so they get extra practice
- students can work on multiple skills within the activity
Problem Solving Software ( incorporate problem solving skills/higher level thinking)
LinguiSystems' No-Glamour Language & Reasoning Software helps students with developmental delays and/or language-processing issues to develop higher-level thinking by systematically building reasoning skills, such as classifying, deducting, inferring, and criticizing through the presentation of very short scenarios which the students then interpret to answer questions. (A short video demo of the product is available on its website. Click on "demo" at the bottom of the left column).
What is the relative advantage of LinguiSystems' No-Glamour Language & Reasoning software?
What is the relative advantage of LinguiSystems' No-Glamour Language & Reasoning software?
- directly teaches the components of problem-solving
- systematically builds complexity level
- allows the teacher to select targeted reasoning skill
- builds student's awareness of problem-solving and interpreting language
- interactive and motivating
Applications (software which allows users to create their own products)
Smart Notebook from Smart Technologies is a powerful set of free tools that can be used on your Smart Interactive Whiteboard or any computer. With Smart Notebook, teachers can easily create flash-based games, lessons, and review activities using the included Lesson Activity Toolkit. Sounds, images, and videos can be embedded in the Smart Notebook files to jazz up presentations, increase interest, and to help students with different learning styles & needs more effectively process the information. Teachers can share activities with other teachers using the Smart Exchange and can adapt other teachers' Notebook files to better meet the needs of their particular students. Students can use the product not only to participate in the activities created by the teacher, but also to create their own presentations/activities.
What is the relative advantage of Smart Notebook?
What is the relative advantage of Smart Notebook?
- allows teachers to create customized, interactive lessons
- creates opportunities for more active student engagement
- teacher can create multi-modal learning activities
- allows for professional collaboration as Smart Notebook files can be shared with other teachers using the Smart Exchange