Software for Students with Special Needs

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Project One Example
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General Information

• Orla is a 14 year old in second year with
  learning difficulties. She receives assistance
  from the learning support teacher.
• She is a hard-worker and very motivated but is
  finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with
  her studies which has had a negative effect on
  her self-esteem.
• Her parents are very supportive and assist Orla
  with her studies at home.

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Strengths

• Good oral language skills
• Good mathematical computational ability (_ X /)
• Very hardworking and motivated to learn
• Excels at drawing

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Weaknesses

• Poor word recognition with associated reading
  fluency difficulties.
• Poor handwriting
• Poor speller
• Difficulty constructing sentences
• Difficulty organising thoughts and recalling
  information

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Specific Curriculum Tasksto be Addressed by ICT

• Task Reading a passage and answering
• comprehension questions
• Critical Elements
• Use three cueing strategies to make sense of text
• Deriving meaning from text (semantics)
• Structures and patterns of the language (Syntax)
• Relationship between the sounds of language and
  the written form of language (Graphophonics)
• Formulating and writing a response

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Specific Curriculum Tasksto be Addressed by ICT

• Task Writing an essay
• Critical Elements
• Writing process
• Planning (organising ideas)
• Drafting (putting thoughts on paper)
• Revising Editing (reading what is already
  written, correct spelling, grammar, etc.)
• Publishing ( producing in readable, professional
  format)

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Specific Curriculum Tasksto be Addressed by ICT

• Tasks Organise and recall information
• Critical Elements
• Store information in long and short term memory
  efficiently
• Retrieve information from memory

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Environmental Factors

• School Setting Mainstream Classroom, learning
  support room
• Class Setting Group, Paired (with another peer),
  individual
• Support- classroom teacher, learning support
  teacher, parent

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Environmental Factors

• Expectations for ICT
• Teacher
• Student can participate more fully in an
  inclusive environment
• Assist student with classwork
• Improve self-esteem
• Student
• Personal support tool to facilitate learning and
  assist in achieving greater independence

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Assistive Technology

• Laptop- as a personal support tool
• Scan/read software- to read text aloud and to
  modify text to suit individual needs

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Appropriate Software(Category)

• Literacy
• Reinforcement software- to promote word
  recognition, improve spelling and keyboarding
  skills
• Talking word processor -to assist in drafting,
  editing/revising, and publishing (auditory
  feedback, spell checker)
• Word prediction- to assist in constructing
  sentences (drafting)

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Appropriate Software(Category)

• Literacy (cont.)
• Writing frames- to structure and complete a piece
  of writing
• Interactive Book- to practice three cueing
  strategies and strengthen word recognition
• Multimedia Authoring- to apply artistic abilities
  to produce professional looking products thereby
  raising self esteem

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Appropriate Software (Titles)

• Write Outloud (Talking Word Processor)
• Co-Writer (Word Prediction)
• Frameworks (Writing Frames)
• Starspell 2001(Reinforcement)
• Wordshark (Reinforcement)
• Start to Finish (Interactive Book)
• Powerpoint (Multimedia)

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Appropriate Software(Category / Title)

• Planning and Organising Software
• Title Chosen Inspiration
• Visually organise ideas and information
• Assist in the planning stage of the writing
  process
• Summarise text chapters/ units
• Locate remember key facts and ideas
• View information as a meaningful whole

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Hardware (Peripherals)

• Digital Camera
• To produce personalised resources which can
  motivate student
• Scanner
• To scan in text for use with scan/read software

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Teaching / Learning Strategies

• Collaborative Learning
• Multiple Intelligences
• Whole class use of ICT
• One to One learning support teacher

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Useful Websites

• ScoilNet (www.scoilnet.ie)
• LD Online (www.Idonline.org)
• BECTa (www.becta.org)
• National Centre for Learning Disabilities
  (www.ncld.org)