Computer Assisted Instruction for Toddlers With Disabilities
By Grant, Debbie; Singer, H.S.; Closing the Gap, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 1, 7Publication Date: April/May 2004
Article discusses the use of assistive technology (AT) in a study evaluating the use of computer-assisted instruction for toddlers with disabilities. During the course of the study, the researchers employed a number of different software programs. Some of the programs were rejected because they did not engage the toddlers, were too noisy, or didn’t work with a touch screen. The programs were narrowed down to the following eight software applications: (1) Cause and Effect - Sights and Sounds and (2) BabyTime, both from Simtech; (3) Switch Basics, (4) Old MacDonald’s Farm, (5) Teach Me to Talk, and (6) Teach Me Phonemics - Initials, all from Soft-Touch; (7) IntelliPics Studio 3, from Intellitools, and (8) Build Ability, from Don Johnston. Cause and Effect – Sights and Sounds utilizes a touch screen to create a cause and effect training activity. When the children touch the screen, they are presented with music, color, and movement. When they remove their finger, it immediately goes blank. BabyTime is referred to as a “keyboard banger.” The program produces a shape, letter, and icon whenever a key is pressed. All of the Soft-Touch programs allow the instructor to customize them to individual students’ needs. Switch Basics offers multiple choices for play and instructions. For example, and option called Cloud Cover allows students to determine how many clouds it would take to cover up an animal. Old MacDonald’s Farm allows students to choose between photographs or line drawings of animals. Teach Me to Talk is the only program evaluated that could be used by students who speak Spanish as their primary language. The program presents photographs with accompanying stories that can be spoken in either English or Spanish. Teach Me Phonemics – Initials engaged the students because of the photographs used. Instructors can choose a specific voice, and can choose whether they would like the voice to say a word, or a word and a phoneme. IntelliPics Studio 3 allows instructors to scan books and put them into a multi-media authoring program. Build Ability produced the same effect for the students. The authors used the programs over a three-year period, and are very enthusiastic about the possibilities the applications present in educational settings.
Assistive Products Discussed: CAUSE AND EFFECT SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SWITCH BASICS BY SOFTTOUCH
TEACH ME TO TALK
INTELLIPICS
OLD MACDONALD'S FARM I
Published by: Closing the Gap, Inc. (Website:http://www.closingthegap.com)
Link to text: http://online.sfsu.edu/~nancyr/pdf/grant.pdf
