I was really interested in Rachel's presentation on Kidspiration and, in my head, I quickly compiled a list of students who would benefit from the program. I downloaded the 30 day trial (which is quick and easy to do). I am especially interested in phonemic awareness and I found several exercises that would be appropriate.
On Friday our school had an inservice on adaptations and many of the programs we looked at were mentioned. People were excited to hear about Premier Tools and couldn't believe all the computers had them. What we need now is another day to play with the program.
3 comments:
It really would be beneficial to have PD time alotted for working with these programs to implement activities for our students. I guess it's hard to find time to fit even more onto full plates, but it'd be time well spent if teachers and EPA's learned which programs can support their students and why. If students can make improvements and become more independent, everyone's happy; teachers, students and parents. If the fit isn't right, only more frustrations occur, or time is wasted. Training time will help teachers save time in figuring it out for themselves, and provide an opportunity to share and coordinate their efforts. I guess teachers need to spread the word, show each other some of the possibilities and hope the staffs and administrations see the benefits of finding ways to arrange PD sessions.
Barbara,
I agree that we need more time to investigate computer programs in our schools. As educators, we really need to explore the features of these programs before attempting to match them with specific students for specific tasks. I have been guilty of introducing students to programs too quickly, without taking the time to work out all the advantages and shortcomings first. This has resulted in some frustrating experiences for both the students and myself as we struggled to troubleshoot problems that I didn't anticipate due to lack of experience and knowledge of the program.
Barb,
I agree that we need time to play with the programs we already have in our schools. I have been exposed to Kurzweil for several years and never had any idea of all its capabilites!!! What a tremendous tool it is and the possibilities...... At our last PD day, we were offered 1 two hour session on some of the different programs we have available to us. While it was only a brief overview, it would certainly give teachers an idea whether the fit would be right or not.
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