NEO2 by AlphaSmart® is a light-weight, portable, stand-alone notebook for word processing and math. Text you type can be sent to any computer or printer using USB cable or infrared. Features include file management, word-processing with spell check, thesaurus, calculator, features for special needs including sticky keys, slow keys.
NEO2 is inexpensive, at about $100, but limited when compared to a netbook or laptop, especially in screen size at about 6” X 2”. You should really consider the writing demands of the student abd the degree to which he or she will need to access templates or other documents generated by word processing applications in order to decide if the NEO2 is a tool that you might want to try.
Both Windows and Mac platforms offeraccessibility settings helpful to people with visual, hearing, and mobility needs. Some examples of these are sticky keys (the ability of one key to stay depressed so that another key can be pressed at the same time-- i. e., when you press the shift key), key repeat rate (changing the key repeat rate so that students with difficulties releasing the keys do not get multiple letters printed), magnification (the ability to change the size of the information on the screen), visual or auditory alarms (to compensate for the typical alarms that may not work for the student’s disability).
To learn about Microsoft accessibility features go to: http://www.microsoft.com/ENABLE/
Go to Apple Accessibility website for information about accessibility settings and pdf. files that describe in detail the settings and how to use them. http://www.apple.com/accessibility/
Digital voice recorders can be used by students to provide oral responses to questions or create oral reports or to record all or selective parts of a teacher lecture or presentation as digital notes. Recordings can be sorted by folder on the recorder or transferred as an MP3 file for storage or replay on an computer or other MP3 player.
Digital recorders can also be useful tools for English-language learners or students in foreign language classes or immersion programs. They can use the devices to practice pronunciation or make recordings of certain phrases or words to increase their vocabulary.
Students can record themselves reading a story they’ve written in order to critique both their story and their oral presentation skills, or submit the digital story instead of a written one.
Depending on other needs the student has, or to reduce the number of "things" a student is using, there are several apps for iPads that allow a student to create digital recordings with or without supporting graphics. Students could be presented with images from text they have read and asked to record comprehension answers or other assessment questions based on the text.
Smart, or digital, pens create digital recordings matching up the recording with the recorded writing, so that if you tap the pen on something you've already written, it will play back the audio recording, either through its built-in speaker or through headphones. Because all information, including pen strokes on the specially designed paper, is digitally captured, notes and teacher lectures can be replayed on the pen or transferred to a computer.
Students can use their pens to do an assignment then pencast it and send the link to their teacher. Teacher can listen to a "math think aloud" or other assignment from anywhere then discuss the student’s assignment with them. Students with difficulties taking accurate or legible notes can hear their teacher’s explanation over and over, hearing again exactly how the teacher taught the lesson.
Notability is an iPad app that also links audio recordings to words or drawings in notes you take. In Notability you can import pdf versions of complete or skeletal notes to add to or complete on the iPad. A screenshot is shown at right and a link to the app description is here.
Writing makes students aware of words and promotes ownership and generalized usage. Strategies like word banks make greater vocabulary choices available to students by practicing use of words in controlled contextual use. If motor issues make the contextual practice of those words difficult by placing the emphasis on the process of writing rather than the process of using words, software that use electronic word banks or answer fields can be useful.
Writing tools in IntelliTools Classroom Suite are one example of that type of software. In the Homophone worksheet example at right, all text is "locked" with the exception of the answer fields. Students can type in the answer field, or select one of the word bank buttons (with or without graphic support) on the bottom of the screen to insert that text into the answer field. The software can be preprogrammed to provide self selected feedback (is the answer right or wrong / star or red X) and can provide reports detailing which word was selected first for each answer field and what the target word was. For students with poor reading fluency the software can read the instructions and questions to the student.
Advantages to this type of software include the ability to scaffold activities that support student's needs and directly correlate to the curriculum media and materials used by other students and students with poor writing skills can turn in work that is neat and reflects their understanding of the content, not their ability to write.
One disadvantage, to all authoring software, is some time needs allocated to creating the activity for the student, but once created, it can be used by other students or in other years.
Another means to provide access for a student who is experiencing difficulties with the motor aspects of writing is to use an alternative keyboard. Alternative keyboards can be programmed to scaffold the writing process and used with any program that accepts text from a standard keyboard.
IntelliKeys® USB from IntelliTools is an alternative keyboard that enables students with physical, visual, or cognitive disabilities who can press and release a part of the keyboard to type, enter numbers, navigate onscreen displays, and execute menu commands. The IntelliKeys® keyboard comes with six standard overlays (plus a setup overlay) that are ready to use with any word processing program or software that requires keyboard input. These overlays include an alphabetical overlay which is very useful for early writers. The IntelliKeys® is a programmable alternative keyboard which can be configured to almost any layout based on student need.
Beyond traditional alphabetic overlays, IntelliKeys can be programmed to perform any keyboard or mouse command, type strings of text with one key selection, and present information to the user in text or picture mode. Again, one disadvantage, to all authoring software, is some time needs allocated to creating the activity - in this case a keyboard overlay and setup - for the student, but once created, it can be used by other students or in other years. The images below are samples of keyboard layouts that have been developed and used with students locally.
Onscreen keyboards provide the various keyboard layouts on the computer screen. Depending on the software, selections on the keyboards may be made by mouse click, mouse dwell, or scanning. Use of the onscreen keyboard decreases the physical space between the keyboard and the monitor, thus eliminating some distracters. Onscreen keyboards are now available through the latest versions of both Windows and Mac and are available on tablets like the iPad.
A scanner connected to the computer may be used to assist writing by scanning worksheets or chapter questions that the student may then access digitally on the computer or tablet. Worksheets may be designed with text boxes for short answer, fill in the blank, multiple choice or true/false. A student using other software to assist writing, such as word prediction or voice recognition, would then be able to complete worksheets using these types of programs.
Many of today’s light portable scanners come with a scanning program and many are compatible with various scan and read software frequently used, e.g. Kurzweil 3000. Many of the multifunction copy machines in our schools have the capability to scan documents and email pdf files which can be used digitally.
OCR (optical character recognition) scanning software is required if you intend to have the scanned documents used with text-to-speech software, or if you want to type on them. OCR software analyzes the picture taken to determine if the shapes match known variations of letters, numerals, punctuation, or other elements of writing that can be converted into text.
Word prediction is most frequently considered for the student with spelling difficulties but should not be overlooked for the student with mechanical difficulties. The use of word prediction software can decrease the number of keystrokes and increase quantity and efficiency; for the student with physical limitations, using fewer keystrokes to complete words and phrases will increase the quantity and quality of writing, while reducing fatigue. Word prediction software is fairly easy to use, and requires minimal instruction. Co:Writer, with or without the SOLO suite is available to try.
Word prediction and cueing use the logic of linguistics to predict the most reasonable next words to a typed beginning. The words can then be selected from a list, thus minimizing spelling effort and keystrokes. These programs work simultaneously with word processors, often functioning instead of the built-in spell checker. Consider using word prediction with text-to-speech output for students with persistent spelling difficulties or with physical impairments that limit typing.
Topic dictionaries in word prediction applicatinos allow you to front load specific vocabulary that may not typically be presented when pulled from a general dictionary. For example, if you were writing a report about Harry Potter, you could load a topic dictionary containing words like; Azkaban, auror, Dumbledore, Gryffindor, or quidditch. Likewise a Grade 5 science topic dictionary might include words like; chlorophyll, colloid, or hydrosphere.
Link to article, "Transforming Non-Writers into Writers with Word Prediction".
THE ROLE OF A WORD PROCESSOR
Researchers have shown word processing software to be a valuable tool for assisting students with learning disabilities, especially when compensating for written language problems.
Word processing applications allow a student to produce clear, legible typed information on the screen that offers encouragement and motivation for the individual to write extra information. Word processors allow students to concentrate on the meaning of their typed information rather than being preoccupied with the mechanical aspects of writing. This is an important feature for students with writing difficulties since they can often develop a fear of translating their thoughts into written language due to their writing problems. Knowing that they can produce language at ease and correct errors at a later stage is often found to unshackle their writing abilities. For example, omitted text can be added; unsuitable words or blocks of text can be deleted; sentences and paragraphs can be moved with ease; and text can be easily formatted.
Since writing can be a difficult physical task for some students, the process of typing may be easier, neater and more rewarding for a student with fine motor problems. The editing tool is an important function for any student to use in any word processing program. It can ease the physical burden of revising, making it more manageable to correct, revise and rewrite material. Secondly, student can insert, delete, edit and change the content on the screen until the correct information has been displayed, all by the click of a button. Thirdly, after the necessary changes have been made, an individual can print off the draft, make additional changes on the page and then make the necessary corrections on the computer screen. The word processor can eliminate the need for physically re-writing and allows the student to apply more time and energy to the most important aspect of the writing process, i.e. thinking about the content, editing and revising.
Word processors allow students to express themselves at a point that is equal to their intelligence level. Since a word processor detects errors on the computer screen before the document is printed, the student can end up with a neat and organized document that helps them develop a sense of pride in their written work, as well as enhancing their image as writers. Consequently, this can result in a more positive approach to writing.
Information sourced from: Using Technology to Enhance the Writing Process of Students with Learning Disabilities, by Charles MacArthur. Online at http://www.edtechpolicy.org/MHEC/WebCT/UsingTechnologytoEnhance.pdf
and
Assistive technology and adults with learning disabilities: A blueprint for exploration and advancement, by Marshall Raskind. Learning Disability Quarterly, Summer, 1993. Available through library services.
With every new version of Microsoft Word, there are more and more accessibility options available. There are a variety of tools and utilities woven into Microsoft Word that may assist students who have writing challenges. Most students are familiar with Microsoft Word since it is available in all our schools; however, not everyone is aware of the powerful writing tools built into the program that will provide various form of assistance. There are many formatting tools, such as centering text, generating columns and tables, and altering font size and color. In addition, there are also valuable tools to help students facilitate and improve their writing. An article on using Microsoft Word to support students with dyslexia can be found here.
MS Word - Auto Correct
Located in the “tools” menu is autocorrect. There is an extensive data base of commonly misspelled and mistyped words that will be replace with the correct one when typed. You can add or delete from this list. You can use this tool for abbreviation expansion. Enter a brief abbreviation that is not a word (consider using a naming convention such as x(expand) in front of the abbreviation). For example, you can use xUS to stand for United States. The abbreviation expansion can be used for phrases, sentences, or paragraphs. Use this feature to reduce keystrokes or type frequently used words or phrases. Our email addresses are long - richard.metheny@acps.k12.md.us - I abbreviate that by typing rme and Word replaces rme with my entire address. When a word is mistyped or misspelled, the auto correct feature can automatically correct certain errors. If the first two initial letters are capitalized, auto correct will capitalize only the first letter, as well as the first letter of a sentence. A correction can replace the error as the student types, if desired. Consider adding those words that you always have difficulty spelling.Within the auto correct feature, a list of common mistakes can be added by typing in “replace ____” “with ____” in the table.
MS Word - Auto Summarize
Auto Summarize is a tool that looks for keywords within your document and those sentences that contain keywords get put into a summary. In general it does fairly good job on reports, articles, scientific papers and Theses. It does not do well on fiction, most typical correspondence, and How-to instructions. With the document open go to “Tools” menu, then to “Auto Summarize”. Auto summarize will do exactly that- summarize a document. (Example: If the text from a textbook chapter is scanned into the computer as a Word document, then the chapter can be summarized for the student.) When enabled, a window opens to question what kind of summary is needed, such as highlight key words in the document, create a new document with the summary, insert an abstract at the top of the document, or hide the document except for the summary. The student can also specify, with a percent, the length of the summary.
MS Word - Auto Text
You can reduce typing by adding phrases, tables, or graphics to AutoText. Select the text you want to add. Go to “Insert” Menu down to “AutoText” then to new. Type in the name you want to give this item. This is a great tool to use to minimize keystrokes. Frequently typed or long words and phrases can be reduced to a few letters. For example, I write Allegany County Public Schools frequently. I use auto text to reduce that to acps and my email address (richard.metheny@acps.k12.md.us) to rme.
MS Word - Creating Custom Ruled or Headed Paper
You can use the Tables and Borders toolbar in Word to make ruled paper customized to the needs of specific students. The lines can be drawn in different colors and thicknesses, grids can be created to help with lining up numbers for math activities, and enlarged graph paper can be easily produced for students who need it. Templates can also be created with headings specific to individual students or classes for students who struggle with motor aspects of writing and find the process of daily heading a paper difficult. On the left below is an example of adapted paper with contrasting yellow and white lines created in Word. A docx version of that file can be downloaded here. On the right below is an example of using Word to create a space to add three two-digit numbers with room for carrying numbers and the answer space in contrasting color. The page has this table recreated nine times. It allows students to visualize the addition process and provide controlled space in which to keep their numbers in line. Download a docx copy of that file here.
MS Word - Thesarus and Dictionary
In a first draft, students are encouraged to write their thoughts down regardless of errors before returning to edit and refine the draft. The thesaurus helps to refine writing as well as expose students to a multitude of new vocabulary words. graphic of thesarus use in MS WordStudents often have great difficulty finding a word in a dictionary since they cannot spell the word. The dictionary provides an instant definition for a highlighted word, thereby eliminating the arduous task of using a traditional dictionary.
MS Word - Text boxes
Go to the “Insert” down to “Text box” This text box will float over top of the existing text and also pictures. Use it to label a graphic/picture. Multiple boxes could be set up ahead of time with the words already entered. The student can drag the text box to the correct answer, save the document and turn in work representative of course content, not writing skill.
MS Word - Visual Changes
We all learn differently. Students may need to adjust the way a document looks for various reasons. It is important that students know the possibilities so that they can make the changes to the appearance that best fits their needs.
Zoom – The zoom does not affect the printing of a document.
Background Color – Go to “Format” menu, down to “background”, select color to make the change.
Highlight Tools – Located on the Format toolbar, this tool is located next to the font color. Select a highlight color and drag over the text you want to highlight
Changing Font Color – Allows for more control over preferred color combination. Colored font and a colored background. You can also be used to emphasize test, nouns in one color vowels in another.
Line Spacing – increase visual white space between lines to assist in tracking. You can also increase the page margins to reduce line length. Many people find it easier to use keyboard commands that to constantly stop and use the mouse. Word for Windows accommodates these people by providing several shortcuts you can use to format paragraphs.
MS Word - Writing Templates
For those students who need additional writing support, a teacher can provide structured writing opportunities by creating writing templates that may or may not include specific prompt questions for the student to answer. New templates can be created and stored in the template folder. For example, a teacher can create a template for a science or book report, a compare/contrast writing assignment, or a topic report.
The Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System (FDLRS) has a self paced online course called "The Wonders of Word", described as a, "course is intended to help participants learn of the power of Microsoft Word for creating documents and layouts. Participants must have working knowledge of Word and be comfortable using technology before beginning this course. Link to The Wonders of Word.
Speech to text, or voice recognition is a computer application that lets people control a computer by using speech. Students can write using voice recognition in conjunction with a standard word processing program. When users speak into the microphone their words appear on a computer screen in a word processing format, ready for revision and editing. Not only can voice recognition software benefit students with learning disabilities but also the student with physical access challenges. While many such students benefit from standard word processing, the visual-motor demands of keyboarding can be a major stumbling block that compounds the writing process. Similarly, students who are the poorest spellers are frequently unable to effectively use standard spell checkers.
If a student's oral language skills far exceed their ability to generate text with pencil and paper or standard word processing, voice recognition may enable them to become successful writers. One caution, rather than reducing the need for prewriting, voice recognition emphasizes the need to know exactly what you want to say and where you’re headed in writing. “Stream of consciousness” style writing is often not appropriate for production of academic work. In addition, using voice recognition requires the user to speak all punctuation and keyboard commands, e.g. “new line”, or use a combination of speaking text and typing punctuation.
Microsoft Windows operating system now has voice recognition built into the operating system. In most cases of recent use by students of voice recognition, we are using the built in feature in the operating system.
Technology has great potential in providing access for all learners. Through the use of a variety of assistive, inclusive, or instructional technologies, students with wide ranging abilities and learning styles can access the general curriculum. When technology is appropriately integrated into the regular classroom, based on a thoughtful match of student skills and curricular tasks, students are provided with multiple means to complete their work. When considered after the curriculum media, materials, and tasks are developed it is assistive technology; when considered and integrated into the development of curriculum media, materials, and tasks it becomes universal design for learning (UDL). For additional information on matching technology, select the Consideration Process link above.
This site is designed to provide access to information and resources found in Allegany County Public Schools, not to be an exhaustive reference to the wide world of technology. By linking a reference of tools spanning the spectrum from low to high tech to common classroom needs we hope to create something that is useful and easy to navigate. By providing a way for you to contribute to the site we hope to create a tool that reflects use of practical and replicable strategies and tools that you’ve found to be of value. Select the contribute link above to submit strategies, web sites, files or other supports for addition to this site.