Students with Cognitive Difficulties: Students with these difficulties typically need assistance in developing abilities, not necessarily the need to physically use devices or technology. Most technologies to aid with these difficulties focus around reading comprehension, writing, retention, and memorization (Roblyer and Hughes, 2019).
- Bookshare Bookshare is an online resource of Ebooks for students with cognitive reading difficulties. Bookshare is a customizable service that will create ebooks with highlighted texts, audio, among other accommodations. This service is excellent to help students be successful by giving them access to the same text as other students in a way that is most beneficial to them.
- Dragon by Nuance Some students have difficulty writing, have poor writing skills, or the act can lead to anxiety. This is not something that educators want students to experience, as writing is an important, cross-curricular skill. Dictation tools have been developed to aid in this difficulty Dragon is one example of these tools. Dragon allows for students to speak and it will automatically create text on their device. Not only will this tool help students finish assignments, papers, or projects but it will make Internet searches easier and faster.
Students with Physical Difficulties: Physical disabilities typically affect a student’s mobility and agility. The goal for these students is finding ways of making technology, like the keyboard or mouse, more easily accessible to them. Doing this will allow students to have the same access as other students to succeed.
- Tobii DynaVox For the students with communication and mobility difficulties, Tobii DynaVox allows for students to navigate hardware. This tool uses touch and eye tracking technology to allow students to succeed in the classroom by allowing them to effectively communicate and engage with the material more efficiently.
- MathTalk MathTalk allows students with low motor skills to use their voice to succeed in the math curriculum. That means no need for a physical tool that a student with low motor skills could have difficulty using. MathTalk works with levels of math up to Ph.D. This tool helps students succeed in math without being restrained by their physical difficulty, like using a writing utencil.
Students with Sensory Difficulties
- Dolphin ScreenReader This screen reader helps blind students interact with text on the digital page. It works with Windows computers and various software, including Microsoft Office suite and web browsers. This screenreader also allows for a braille display to be connected. This tool will help students with vision difficulty succeed by allowing them to still access both offline and online digital materials.
- CaptionSync CaptionSync is a transcription tool used for creating transcripts to attach to videos. Educators should use tools like CaptionSync to transcribe their lectures to allow access for students with hearing difficulty. Captioned videos already exist on YouTube, Vimeo, and other online sources. It is wise for educators to record their lectures and use CaptionSync to help hearing-impaired students have full access to their lectures and lessons.
At-Risk Students One of the big factors for getting at-risk students invested in the classroom is motivation. If students find motivation in what they are doing, they will want to give effort. Finding tools that help “light the fire” under an at-risk student is crucial. One way of motivating students is through gamification, and these two tools can help build that culture in the classroom.
- Classcraft Classcraft is a fantasy-based game that allows students to pick a style of character (mage, warrior, etc). Students gain “points” by being a positive contributor to the classroom, doing work, finishing tasks in a timely manner, etc. Students can also have points taken away for negative behavior. Students engage with the curriculum in a different way than in a traditional classroom, lecture-based style. This can have a positive impact on the at-risk students, as turning the classroom into a “game” with achievements can motivate them to succeed.
- Gimkit Gimkit is another gamification app where students can earn “currency” by answering questions correctly. After gaining enough currency, students can purchase in-game powerups to help them move further in the game. Educators can use this as a tool for collaboration, reinforcement, review, and homework. The app is also self-paced, so students can finish at their own speed. This tool allows at-risk students various opportunities to motivate themselves and succeed while at the same time being led and pushed by the educator to learn more.
Gifted and Talented Students
- Newsela Newsela is an online reading tool with text sets that adaptcontent to five different reading levels while still on the topic of the educator’s choosing. This means that gifted students can still access the content and read content adapted to their reading level. This keeps gifted students motivated and challenged while still interacting in the same context as other students.
- Tynker Much like Codecademy, Tynker helps users learn how to code, only Tynker is geared specifically for children ages 5+. This is great tool for gifted students as it teaches logic and gives them a challenge in the classroom. Tynker boasts of having 3,700 learning modules, which gives gifted students plenty of options as they explore coding on their own.
References
Roblyer, M. D., and Joan E. Hughes. Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching: Transforming Learning across Disciplines. Pearson Education, Inc., 2019.
Jared Pyles 