Quick Notes: IPP's/IEP's: The Transitions Section || Writing Difficulties: A Computer Peripheral May Be the Answer? || Career Competencies From Kindergarten to Grade Twelve || Communicative Competence: Far More than Language Arts! Writing Difficulties: A Computer Peripheral May Be the Answer? · Matta, in Grade Four, is brain injured. She has memory difficulties and becomes frustrated with any sequence of tasks. Although working on a computer has been a godsend in terms of producing written communications, Matta often loses her documents by hitting a “wrong” key, or she forgets to save. She regularly gets her “wires crossed” when trying to operate the system. · Tony, in Grade Seven, has a problem printing and handwriting. The actual formation of the letters is neat and tidy, however, his speed is so slow it is painful to watch. For students like those above, a portable word processor, sometimes called a “peripheral”, may be the answer. The next half of this QuickNotes may sound like an ad, but what the heck. I have seen the AlphaSmart solve so many students’ difficulties, it is worth sharing. The AlphaSmart looks like a small standard computer keyboard. It has an LCD screen, runs on three AA batteries that last about 300 hours, and costs about $450 (Can) with its case and cables (Mac and/or PC). It is tough and can stand to be dropped and bumped in crowded hallways and on the bus. The little machine has eight separate function keys for different files. At our school, we have three AlphaSmarts with six kids working on them. Each pair has a pre-arranged location in the school where they leave the keyboard for the other. Each student “owns” four function keys in which to put data: F1 to F4 are Ben’s, F5 to F8 are Anne’s. Two other machines are used fulltime by two students. They use their function keys to separate subjects: F1 for biology, F2 for English, etc. The machine is so simple that students can concentrate on their writing rather than on the tool: turn it on, write, and turn it off. It saves automatically, there is nothing to read on the screen to open or close, and no memorizing multiple commands. Students do their work, then plug into a Mac or PC to finish or print. They can send their latest work back to the AlphaSmart to continue later. Three other bonuses: it’s quiet, has a spell checker and allows students to work anywhere, any time. I have had students who hate written expression and the very act of writing. With the AlphaSmart—I insist they learn keyboarding—they begin to write a greater volume of material. One student apologized for only writing two line answers. He hadn’t figured out yet that two lines of type were worth four or five in handwriting! Some of the students start handing in work that is pretty fancy. When they download to their computer at home or in the lab, they take the time to make things look really good. They finally have reason to take pride in their written productions. What a switch! For more information on the AlphaSmart, go to: www.alphasmart.com |
