DQ 1 reponse
Sherri is having some issues in class that are stemming from her overall frustration with her writing difficulty. With each writing project that is assigned, her frustrations and behavior heighten and are now becoming an issue for her success. Sherri's initial writing frustration originates in the creative phase of the process, discovering what to write about and how to get started. After some research, I discovered two programs that not only would help Sherri but could also be incorporated into the curriculum for her classmates too. The program is called Kidspiration; it is an outlining program that assists students in a fun way towards creating a writing plan. An individual program is $39.95 and a volume plan that can be used on 20 different systems is $640. If Sherri's parents have access to a computer at home, they would be able to purchase this same program (single user) for home use, while the school itself can purchase the volume sale for the whole schools use. In addition to the Kidspiration program, I found webspiration too. It is $6 a month and helps teach and reinforce writing and critical thinking skills & engages students and extends learning time through collaboration and student-teacher interaction.
I also ran across the Dragon Natural Speaking (voice activated program). I am not entirely sold on this product because I do not think it allows the student to practice writing and we all know, practice makes perfect. Sherri is having issues with writing and spelling but for her to depend solely on this product, she would never learn how to write on her own.
Pro's of Kidspiration: This product is an excellent way for students to learn to form a main idea. Students generally learn in 2nd or 3rd grade how to map or outline their writing assignments. This program helps them create in a fun and stress-free manner. It is priced right for both home use and for school wide use. All students can benefit from this program.
Cons of Kidspiration: I don't see any
Pro's of Dragon: Makes writing fun because students generally just need to speak and it types. I believe this program would be much better suited for a student who has visual or physical impairments that limit their ability to actually type.
Con's of Dragon: Doesn't teach the kids to write, just lets them dictate, therefore the students will never get the practice they need to get better. Costly at $199
The advice I would give Sherri's mom is to be as "hands on" as she possibly can at home (in regard to school work). Kids who have learning disabilities get frustrated very easily but if an adult is on hand to help whenever a problem arises, those frustrations can become less eventful. Purchasing programs such as the kidspiration for home use can be extremely valuable to Sherri and I would encourage that. As the mother of a child with SLD (reading and writing), practice was the key to getting better. yes, there were times where he would want to pull his hair out and quit but he learned through ongoing practice and he succeeded in a mainstream classroom and graduated. I am a firm believer in facing your fears, not running from them and that is what I taught him.
DQ 2 responses
The way I would evaluate the effectiveness of the iPad, or tablet, and the associated apps would be through documentation. I would document four things;
1. Is Sherri completing more work than she did prior to the assistive technology intervention?
2. Has the quality of Sherri's work improved since the assistive technology intervention?
3. Has there been a change in Sherri's behavior since the assistive technology intervention?
4. If so, are those changes positive or negative?
The proof is found in knowing whether or not Sherri has made positive gains from the intervention.
Assuming the results from my documentation on Sherri's academic and behaviors have moved in a positive direction I would not begin to "fade" out the use of this tool for Sherri for writing until she was consistently completing her writing work without behaviors. In Sherri's case I see no reason to remove it because it allows her to do her work independently with the use of this device, it has decreased her behaviors, boosted her confidence, and helped rebuild her relationships with her peers. I would however, only allow her to use this device when doing an essay or a longer writing project once she got on a positive roll with everything. Allowing her to continue to use the device for larger projects will most likely keep her from regressing. It should also help to make sure she doesn't become dependent on it throughout her schooling.
I would suggest her mother use the same strategy at home. Have Sherri write for very small assignments independently, moving on to a little bit larger assignments. I would suggest that her mother still scribe for her during large assignments. The goal is for Sherri to learn and be successful. She is meeting that goal even if an iPad and her mother have to do the writing for her as long as Sherri is the one telling them what to write.
DQ 2 # 2 respones
1. How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the selected device(s)? Throughout Sherri's use of the devices I will analyze and compare Sherri's work after, during, and before her use of the assistive technological devices.
2. How you will begin to "fade" out the use of this tool, without her regressing, so she doesn't become dependent on it throughout her schooling? By applying the use of the technological devices at a limited time rate so that you can fade the use of it in and out of Sherri's this will cause a lesser chance for dependence on the devices.
3. What fading suggestions would you also include for her mother to implement at home? The same as suggested in Question 2. If she doesn't then it may cause the overuse of the device which will lead to dependence.