Key Questions to Consider When Selecting Educational Applications....

Students with disabilities can definitely benefit from computer use in the classroom. There are some significant issues that need to be considered for implementation. Educational applications refers to software programs and interactive web-based activities. There are specific characteristics of all educational applications that could benefit a broad range of students with disabilities. These characteristics include:

• simplified screens and instructions
• consistent placement of menus and control features
• graphics along with text to support non-readers and early readers
• audio output
• accessibility by a variety of methods
• ability to set pace and level of difficulty
• appropriate and unambiguous feedback
• easy error correction

When selecting educational applications there are some key questions that must be considered to meet students' goals and objectives. These questions are:

1. What is the intended outcome of the use of the educational application? This could mean specifically,  what is the exact targeted math skill? (computation, automaticity, telling time, counting coins, etc...)

2. Is the educational applications likely to fulfill its purpose? So if the application is suppose to strengthen addition and subtraction fact skills does it give students the background knowledge or prerequisite skill set necessary to complete the task and does it assess and correct student mistakes?

3. Can the educational applications be used as an alternative to traditional classroom activities to enhance students' participation? Mainly, are the online activities comparable in educational value as the classroom activities and will students still be able to learn the same as if they were in the classroom?