The software and hardware that has been described up to this point, can be used in many ways but it has not been designed specifically as a reading mechanism. The items described in this section have been researched by various companies and designed to aid individuals in the reading process itself or have a high degree of application to that process.
There are a number of aspects of their design of which you will want to be aware. For example, it is helpful to know whether the sounds of people speaking on the software are actual recordings of voices that have been digitalized, or totally synthetic. The latter can be very alien-sounding and at times, difficult to understand. Some terms can also be confusing. For example, 'Computer managed' is usually a more expensive program because this means that the computer program will provide you with on-going data related to the current reading level of the child, in addition to how many times he/she has attempted a certain section and been successful. 'Computer assisted' programs often require you to do the assessments, and plug the individual into the proper level yourself.
All of the software below has SOUND.
Wiggle Works (Scholastic Inc) PRIMARYThe Wiggle Works series is highly attractive to children. It is colourful, interactive and has a number of games and high interest activities such as the alphabet letter match, in addition to leveled stories which are both on the screen and provided as hardcopy books. There is also a writing board. Interesting sound prompts and rewards signal success within the various levels. Although the children can hop from one area of the program to another, the teacher also has the ability to limit the number of sites that the child can access. http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/reading1/wiggle/merge.shtml |
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Phonics TutorMinneapolis, 4:20 Communicator J. and D. Hickerman, 1999 You can download a demo of this by going to their Phonics Tutor site on line. This software is quite starkly designed - it is in black and white and there are no colourful changes or musical prompts. The program moves in a strict progression from one phonetic skill to another. However, this predictability and use of short manageable steps is quite effective for some children. The voices are recorded, however the speaker has a noticeable southern drawl. The reader is taken through a series of tasks where he/she hears the letters spoken individually and then they are put together. The screens take the child through a number of predicable levels introducing consonants, vowels, blends digraphs, sentences and so on. |
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Phonemic Awareness -- Essential Skills Software - PrimaryCanadian Address: Essential Skills Software It can be used for children who are still struggling with primary reading skills, up to and including grade 4. The child receives training in high fluency sight words by making visual and auditory letter/word matches, matches to pictures, copying (typing) words, hearing and spelling exercises, visual memory activities, flash card activities and word games. In every category, except the 'Hear and spell', the software corrects the child after the third consecutive error. Some of the games include Concentration, Word Searches and Mixed up words. The 30 lists of words correspond well with the high frequency lists currently promoted by our Primary Reading consultants in the Board. The program is very popular with the children. However you must monitor them while they use the software so that they don't jump arbitrarily from one word list to another. |
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Intellitools, Reading: Balanced Literacy<>Intellitools Inc. K-2 (Intellikeyboard may be required for some children) This is an extensive package. Levelled books are part of the software, but also come as hard copies. The approach is quite structured and includes songs to narrate some of the books, activities related to onset sounds, rimes, and rhymes. There are areas for writing, word games, word study and exploring other sounds. For example, a child can type in B,u,m,p, and the computer will say the individual sounds, then read the word. Guided reading is a component of the teacher's manual. There are many templates which come with the program, and which can also fit onto an Intellikeyboard for a child with motor or visual impairments. The voices on it are recorded, and it is an example of "Computer Managed" software. http://www.intellitools.com/Products/BalancedLiteracyt/home.php ONLINE TUTORIALS for the intellikeyboard, intellitalk and overlay maker: http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/Tutorials.php |
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Academy of ReadingBy Autoskill K-grade 10-adult The Academy of Reading 2000 focuses on the component skills of reading, including phonemic awareness, decoding, and phonics, and working to develop a student's comprehension abilities. The commercial promise is that "on average, students will achieve an average of 2.5 grade level gains in their comprehension scores after 25 hours in the program." The screen you see to the right is the 'home page' from which the students move into activities as described above. The software is computer managed and real voices are recorded. It comes with extensive auto testing to help assess the child�s current reading and comprehension levels. The program is very demanding in terms of the level of accuracy and speed expected in order for the children to master the subskills and be allowed to move on. For children who have trouble with letter inversions and reversals (visual processing) this can be a problem since their tests are all timed so closely. The software allows the individual to work at his/her own rate independently (in auto test) or within a teacher directed mode, or in auto pilot mode where he/she is placed by grade level. The Sessions are 30 minutes long and recommended 3 times weekly. There is video instruction before each task, practice opportunity, and help buttons. It has proven to be highly effective with many different types of readers. The screens are interactive, colourful, and sound prompts are given in addition to rewards. |
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Kurzweil<>K-adult (many of the schools have the old version-black and white without the ability to read email or websites) This software program, used in conjunction with programs like Word Perfect, allows the student to hear any item that has been scanned. The program can scan textbooks but only 'reads' the print. There are 'read only' versions of the program. The newest colour version is the 3000. It will read both Web sites and email. There are many other aspects to this software including word prediction.. The software is extremely expensive, and scanning, especially entire books, is time-consuming. New Features on the 3000
Enhancements
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Dragon Naturally Speakingk-adult (VOICE RECOGNITION) Students who have trouble with keyboarding skills, can, with this software, speak and have the computer type what they say. As with all programs that have this capability, the student must first read and speak a certain number of words into the microphone in order for the program to become familiar with the nuances of the student�s speech. This is an on-going task. For children with speech impediments or reading difficulties, this can be problematic. A number of teachers have reported frustration in the time that it takes for the software to actually become accurate. This form of software is being improved every year. The program also has word prediction features and other items usually associated with word processing software. �The Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 family of products is the fast, easy and accurate way to turn speech into text. Users can dictate into virtually any windows-based application at speeds up to 160 words per minute and achieve higher levels of accuracy than ever before�. http://www.dragontalk.com/NATURAL.htm http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/dragon_manual.html An alternate program is Via Voice from IBM |
NOTE: this form of software requires a whole different level of cognition. For example, while the child is saying the words, he/she is also monitoring the words that �speak� in a delayed pattern, and at the same time, thinking of the next word in his/her sentence. There are also a number of voice commands that must be memorized. |
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TextHelpJunior-Adult The big advantage of this program is that the prediction window works with many other programs you don't have to import/cut/paste the words into this screen first. It also has a floating tool bar so you can stop in the middle of any passage and have it speak/read a word, sentence etc. It does not work well if the child requires a switch ( Co-writer is better) Speech Input - speak into your computer and have what you say converted to text on the screen. Digitalized voice. Word Prediction Dictionary - Speech Maker - converts selected text into speech, which can be saved as an audio file (.wav, MP3, .wma) capable of being played on any suitable device. Fact Finder - this web search tool searches the web to find relevant information associated with your research topic. Word Wizard - Word wizard assists in developing creative sentences by offering solutions for vocabulary. Pronunciation Tutor Teachers Toolkit - enables educators to specify which Read & Write GOLD features a particular student has access to and see student spelling logs and activity logs. Children Friendly: Optional animatedcharacters make using your computer an easier and more fun experience. Characters use speech balloon to highlight each |
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Wynn 3.5
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Writeaway2000 -- University of Western OntarioThis software also speaks as the child writes. It is basically a writing tool and there are opportunities within it to build four types of vocabulary lists, word prediction, have a book read back to you etc. It is a windows based version of the DOS WriteAway program. (old) One added feature is a 'tool kit' to choose additional tools needed for the tasks at hand. The teachers I spoke to said that it was complex to set up, and did not support or work well with other programs. NOTE: it is suggested that you save other documents in the Rich text format�to facilitate their compatibility with WriteAway. The word prediction box is only available in this program, it does not 'float' into other applications so you have to import/cut/paste your sentences |
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WriteOutloud (Don Johnson Co.)WriteOutloud is a word processor that gives immediate speech feedback as students type words, sentences and paragraphs. As students draft their assignment, they see and hear if their writing makes sense and if it is what they wanted to say. Students can listen for proper word usage, tense inflections, omitted words and misspellings. They get the feedback right when they need it and when it is most relevant to them. Students with disabilities can hear - as well as see - what they write so that they can compose, review, revise and correct their work independently. I have been told that this software is supposed to be coming to the board soon, but has not yet arrived, so I only have the print-out from the internet listed above with no anecdotal comments. |
The text must be cut and pasted into this screen. |
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Speaking Dynamically Pro - (Mayer-Johnson software)The software can be installed on many hardware devices, including a laptop. The symbols and words can be accessed by joystick, touch screen, mouse, an alternate keyboard and a switch/scanning device. The software itself is highly versatile and can be formatted into a variety of screens �templates are also included. (see picture on right) Among other things you can have a word broken down into separate sounds, 'b-u-m-p' on the screen. Some parents found that the program crashed a great deal of the time, while other teachers raved about it. Enhancements, like a touch screen, could be added. Touch screens do not work well on laptops - the fit is often awkward
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NOTE: If an individual is using this program solely as a replacement for a voice, then it is not an ideal situation to have it on a computer. It would be better to have it on a voice output device like a Dynavox which is dedicated to the communication process, and portable so that speech can be incorporated into all environments. |
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JawsSoftware for individuals with visual impairments but have little vision. It will highlight words as it speaks. This software reads aloud absolutely everything on a computer screen for a child, including web sites. The problem that some individuals are finding is that it reads all links too, although the voice can be sped up in order to �skip� over unwanted material. The software also freezes at times. JAWS is a well known "screen reading" software program designed to give blind computer users the ability to control their computer via audio feedback. Note that text needs to be saved as RICH TEXT FORMAT if you have a child that is importing it into a computer Braille application. More information about technology for visually impaired individuals can be found in the Appendix. |
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AlphaSmart (hardware)<>The AlphaSmart 3000 keyboard is designed to let students take notes, write essays or practice keyboarding without having to use a computer. The text can later be transferred into virtually any application, or directly to a printer. The viewing window is very small - only a few lines at a time - and there is no choice of fonts other than the usual bolding and italics options. However, it is helpful when you need something reasonably priced. A cable must be purchased to interface with the computer or printer, if you wish, and it can run on an adapter cable as well as stored power. By using the cable the student's notes can be easily hooked into a printer, or regular computer screen. However, the words appear in a big block, any formatting (i.e. for a letter) is lost. Further editing is required. Simple spell checker and thesaurus included. Ideas for teachers using this device can be found at: http://www.irvingisd.net/alphasmart/ <>Product Information: A newer version, the DANA alphasmart, includes a bigger TOUCH screen, an internal harddrive, the ability to change fonts and save much more material as well as use any form of PILOT O.S software. It has a wireless USB port and you can send material to an infra red printer if one is available. (about $225 more than original version) |
NOTE: teachers have told me that this device is NOT ideal for individuals with memory problems since the small screen only displays a few sentences at a time. |
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Dynavox (hardware)The Dynavox is an extremely versatile tool which takes the place of a traditional keyboard. It is one of the best forms of hardware that I�ve found for individuals with severe needs. Within the mechanism there are a number of voices (digitalized) that can be used. It is helpful to have more than one voice, if you are using one sound to cue an individual (question) and another to answer on behalf of a non-verbal child or adult. Various symbols are animated. The screen can be in black or white, or colour. A wide variety of symbols and templates are housed inside the machine. It has a touch screen and you can record and store additional sounds. A table top version or a smaller portable item are available. The screens can be programmed in almost any way from a single screen to ones as complicated as you see in the diagram. One of the best features of this device is that the screens can be automatically linked to other premade screens. For example, if an individual answers 'yes' to the question 'Is the 'd' sound at the end of the word?' , then the act of merely touching the 'yes' screen will bring up an entirely different screen that displays further choices. This 'branching' feature can go on indefinitely, and it is highly desirable for individuals who have limited movement. The device stores a huge amount of vocabulary and the sentences can be set up to develop from single words to full sentences, as well as stored and retrieved as categories. However, you are looking at about $8000-10,000CDN , so only individuals who have been approved to received this device through the Assistive Devices Program, as well as an AC or augmentative communication specialist, will qualify. |
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