The Assistive Technology Uses of Sterling Editions Software
By Journal of Special Education Technology, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 60-61Publication Date: Summer 2003
Article describes three software programs from Laureate Learning System’s Sterling Editions collection: (1) First Words, (2) First Words II, and (3) First Verbs. All of the programs can be used to help students of English as a Second Language, as well as those with moderate, severe, or profound cognitive deficits that impact language development. The software can be set up to interface with a touch screen, single switch, mouse, or keyboard, making all of the programs accessible to students with cognitive and motor disabilities. The instruction provided by First Words, First Words II, and First Verbs is based on modern theories and research in language acquisition. All of the programs act as tutorials providing explicit, systematic, and receptive vocabulary training. Drawings or photographs representing each word or action are presented along with the spoken word to promote basic semantic vocabulary development. Each program also teaches the grammatical forms of English, including how to voice plurals and how to develop an understanding of past, present, and future verb forms.
Assistive Products Discussed: FIRST WORDS CLASSIC VERSION (MODEL 101-WP)
FIRST WORDS II CLASSIC VERSION
EXPLORING VERBS
FIRST WORDS
FIRST VERBS & PRIMEROS VERBOS
FIRST WORDS II
Published by: Exceptional Innovations (Website:http://www.exinn.net)
Technology and Media Division (TAM) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.tamcec.org )
