Consequently, this need has led to incorporation of technology in classrooms settings, as technologies aim to increase students' intensity of wisdom, cooperation and text assessment. Today, literacy reading skills prove to be vital for both normal and special-needs students, as exposure to literacy encompasses more than books. In fact, the range of information is more fast and varied in accordance with contemporary technical improvements. A book review, using software programs such as Kidspiration and Timeliner, provides one pertinent illustration of incorporating technology in a classroom setting to better comprehend. Using software programs such as these could help students, in individual tasks or as they work in a group exercise, visualize their thoughts and opinions, as well as communicate them more effectively. (May, 2003)
To improve their reading skills of special-needs students, teachers use technology in following realms help students:
hear word tones, decipher and interpret words, understand overall expressions, become more knowledgeable and confident with their reading style. (May, 2003)
Gwinn, Horn, Johnson, and Watts-Taffe (2003) found that use of technology in education gives students access to tools which allow them to interpret, compare and contrast, integrate and communicate ideas electronically. May (2003) notes that one of the most successful ways reading among special-needs students has been enhanced is by using technology in group a book reviews. After one class of students was initially given a list of books to choose a title from, they were then divided into groups based on their choice of book. Prior to students meeting in groups, pages to be read during group meetings are determined. When students meet in groups to review their books, they engage in certain learning tasks that involve the interpretation of the story. They also discuss the characters, along with choices the characters make, plots, twists, the story's climax, along with main incidents and experiences. The core idea is help students focus on what the story purports and how the story evolves through events and various interpretations.
May (2003) discovered that the Alpha Smart constitutes one of the most commonly used applications in this group book review task, primarily due to its simplicity and popularity among special needs students. The most important tasks involved include the interpretation and rewriting of the story. These tasks help the teacher become aware of how well the student understands the plot and how much work the student accomplished. It also helps teachers analyze the influence the group's opinions might have on individual members within the group. At times, students with exceptional learning needs must "participate in the general curriculum and show performance in terms of grades and results on high-stakes testing programs." (Rieck & Wadsworth, 2005) During these "testing" times, a range of assessment approaches, along with appropriate accommodations, must be used. These are to enhance, not reduce the student's chance of academic success, nor to give him/her a scoring advantage. The point is to measure what the student really knows.
A good rule of thumb purports that almost every assignment which requires writing may also be completed orally. Available assistive technology, such as word processing and PowerPoint, are readily available. Using artistic ability or tactile construction of models also constitute options for teachers to use to test special-needs students. (Rieck & Wadsworth, 2005)
May (2003) also notes that Kidspiration and Timeliner are among a number of applications rapidly becoming part of the curriculum for improving reading and understanding of special needs students. The Kidspiration software program helps students recall the main events and characters of this story and their influence on the overall plot while the Timeliner software program assist students in analyzing the time in which the main incidents in the story take place and the aftermath of the ensuring timelines.
May (2003) states that another technique currently being used in working with special-needs students includes the teacher reading the story aloud to students and then permitting students to roam around their environment and take pictures they feel relate to the story they heard. After taking pictures, the students use AlphaSmart software to paste their selected features and explain in a paragraph why, how and where in the plot they think their pictures relate to the story. This particular project tests three areas:
students' concentration students' levels of understanding of the general plot, and students' imagination.
This process proves to be an important component of implementing this particular technology as it opens students' horizons and allows them to see the general links and relations their own lives might have with the stories they read. The implementation of taking pictures reflects one way this project has been successfully implemented. The use of the camera, inflexible application, is being used in different ways for various special-needs...
Recent reviews of research on summer school show that high quality programs can make a difference in student learning (Harrington-Lueker, 2000). Results of the research point to programs that focus on corrective or accelerated learning have a positive consequence on student learning. There is significant evidence that summer school can help bring many struggling students up to grade level and prevents loss of learning with many others (Denton, 2001;
But with the increased importance of state standards in measuring student and school performance, it is crucial that the student's educators be mindful of the most appropriate methods of measuring the child's compliance and that the general educators and special educators increase their collaboration to meet these new challenges. For some special needs students, "alternate assessments were developed and implemented...In 2003, most...states used a portfolio or body of evidence
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