Key Questions When Selecting Educational Applications and Software

As my last post stated...I will be now talking about math and students with disabilities. I will start off by first examining the questions that need to be asked when selecting applications and software for these students to meet their IEP goals and objectives. This would be good to copy, paste and print out to keep for your convenient use!

Key Questions:

1. What is the intended outcome of the use of the educational application?

An example: Is it meant to strengthen math skills in problem solving or is it meant to build speed and accuracy with basic math facts?

2. Is the educational applications likely to fulfill its stated purpose?

An example: If the stated purpose of the activity is to build problem-solving skills, does it provide the explanatory feedback needed to do so or simply assess whether or not problems are solved correctly?

3. Can the educational applications be used as an alternative to traditional classroom activities to enhance students' participation?

An example: Will students learn as effectively using online math manipulatives as they would using traditional manipilatives?


Hopefully you can use these examples to help guide you in your quest to meet all students needs!

~ Michelle

Reference

 Dell, A., Newton, D. and Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom. Boston: Pearson.