It had been my intention to move forward this week in the blogging, to focus on another of the classes that I teach. Last week I covered reading and this week I was going to try to cover writing but I don’t feel finished with Reading. In doing my research, I found so many promising programs and interesting articles that I want to continue with Reading for now and see where that takes me. Maybe I’ll move to writing next week, we shall see! For now I’m thinking of readjusting my topic (yet again) to focus not just on technology for students with learning disabilities but also on how different programs can be integrated into the daily curriculum. I teach reading and language. While I don’t teach Math this year, it is something I’d like to cover as well. Finally, I’d like to see what I can find that has to do with social skills training. I’m hoping that if I cover all these concepts, I’ll be able to have a really good grasp on how to use technology to benefit achievement for students with learning disabilities.
So for my first link of the week:
http://www2.edc.org/ncip/library/ec/storybks.htm
This article is called Storybooks on Computers: An Overview. It outlines the many benefits of having children listen to stories. What is neat about this program is that it’s not a simple recorded book. This program actually allows kids to “turn” the pages on the computer. As the article point out, this is helpful for kids with fine motor difficulties because it allows them to experience reading like a peer would. It also allows a visually impaired child to enlarge the text. One of the best features in my opinion is that the stories are illustrated with interactive graphics. The example given in the article states that a child can click on a dog in the story and it will wag its tail. There are several other variations that can be selected (changing the speed of the reading, gender of the reader, and whether syllables, words or whole sentences are highlighted, etc). I was thinking about how this sort of thing would be great in the classroom as a center in the younger grades, especially in a mainstream classroom because “normal” (I hate that term) children and children with disabilities could work together. Both children could benefit from the activity without one feeling as though they were different because of the accommodations. Another great place to use this would be at home although my fear would be of parents using the program as a replacement for actually reading to their child. I’m sure in some cases however, this program would be better than not being read to at all. The article starts by saying “All children can benefit from having story books read aloud to them.” I couldn’t agree more. With or without disabilities, all children could enjoy a program like this.
3 comments:
I think even my middle schoolers would like this program. Sometimes simply making the text larger makes the story less intimidating. My students see something in tiny print and freak out. I think all students would love the interaction they would have with the computer, and like you said, this would help special needs kids not feel "different."
When I taught kindergarten ten years ago, one of the favorite student computer activities was "Living Books", CD's of popular stories very similar to the site you highlighted in your blog this week. Unfortunately, Living Books have not kept up with the times and no long work on the newest machines. Maybe this website will be a great replacement for them. I plan on checking it out further.
Many children are not read to enough. Using Storybooks on computers is an effective way to get this done. Of course there are books on tape, which is less expensive, but the interactivity available and the adjustments to speed and size of text to help those with physical challenges makes the computer versions more versatile. I also see the advantage to ESOL students. Especially if their parents are none English speakers, which make the read to your child at home issue a real challenge. Our school at one time used a program called Wiggle Works and it was quite interactive. I'm going to see if we still have it and revisit . I also wonder about this use on the SMARTboard. Did the article give any specific sites for these programs?
Post a Comment