inclusion times v12n1

in the Classroomwith Technology

By Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D.

I have always been intrigued and have had a keen interest inScience, ever since I can remember. While it has been more years,than I care to confess since I was in elementary school, I can stillremember some of the experiments that my teachers did in front ofthe class to highlight a scientific concept or idea. Having had theexperience of viewing the lab reinforced the idea and made learningmore fun. Now, if we had only had the opportunity to do the lab atour desks. Having the opportunity to do hands on experiments andlabs should be the cornerstone of any Science classroom. A lot haschanged since I have been in elementary school and science curricu-lums have evolved to include many more hands on opportunities for students to observe, collect data and analyze theresults. When looking at Science curriculums acrossthe United States many now include that studentswill have the opportunity to collect, gather,h y p o t h e s i z e, graph and analyze the results oftheir experiments. Not only are students asked to make sense out of the data that they h a v ecollected, but many curriculums havea l s o stressed the need to integratetechnology into the equation.

Volume Twelve • Number One • ISSN 1547-2671 • September/October 2004

Technologyfor Children & Youth withDisabilities

Changing the Face of Science Education In This Issue

Changing the Face of Science Educationin the Classroom with Technology . . . 1

Editor’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Videostreaming – A Whole New Wayto Use Video in the Classroom . . . . . . 6

Brookfield Zoo Uses Technology toHelp Chicago Public School Studentswith Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

BrainPop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Neo is New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ClozePro – Filling in All the Gaps . . . . 11

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2 September/October. 2004

It never ceases to amaze me just how fast timeseems to be going? I was just starting to preparemy schedule for the summer, and it is nearly over.This can only mean that the fall will soon be here,and with that, the start of anotherschool year. For those of us whohad the opportunity to attend theNational Educational ComputerConference in New Orleans at theend of June, we had the chanceto see first hand some new andexciting products that I am cer-tain you will want to use in yourc l a s srooms. This was the first timein a number of years that atten-dance was at an all time highwith over 17,000 participants.There was a great deal of excite-ment about the field of educa-tional technology and its impacton learning, that is taking placein classrooms throughout the United States. Therewere some very innovative new products s h o w n ,as well as some products that we have used f o ryears which have been updated. One of my favo r i t eannouncements was from Alphasmart, Inc. – whichwill shortly release their latest portable note taker called the Neo. Look for more informationabout this exciting tool in this issue. Likewise, Tom Snyder has released two new programs, whichshould be of interest, Thinking Reader andScholastic Keys, which will be reviewed in an up-coming issue of Inclusion Times. Both programswill certainly have a place for the students wework with. Lastly, Crick Software had announcedthe release of ClozePro an application that lets

teachers create exciting cloze activities on thecomputer.

With more and more special needs students spend-i n g the majority of their time in the mainstream, I

have needed to come up withassistive technology solutions inthe areas of Science, Math, andSocial Studies. In an effort tosupport students in these class-rooms, it became clear to me thatwe need to expand our toolkitand look for software tools thatcan provide teachers with newways to instruct and give stu-dents hands-on experience withthe concepts and ideas that theyare working on. Late last spring, Ibegan to explore solutions thatcould impact learning in the areaof Science. As I began to workwith these tools and show them to

Science educators it became apparent, that thesehardware and software applications make a bigimpact on the learning of students with specialneeds. In this issue I will explore Science applica-tions and share with you how they can be used inclassrooms to support students with a wide varietyof needs. I trust that you will enjoy this specialfocused issue and would be interested in yourfeedback. As always, I wish you a great schoolyear ahead and I look forward to hearing fromyou. I can be reached at [email protected].

Regards,Brian

Editor’s Note

With the Federal mandate for the Least RestrictiveEnvironment, many students are now being sup-ported in the mainstream in most of the academicsubject areas. Science is just one of the subjectswhere we as special educators, will need to sup-

port them. In this article, we will explore a host ofnew and innovative Science supports that canbring new life into the Science curriculum, butmore importantly will provide special educatorswith a range of science tools to support students

Changing the Face of Science Education... continued

September/October 2004 3

with special needs. As special educators and assis-tive technology specialists we are always lookingfor tools whether low, mid or high tech that canhelp to serve the students we work with. We arecertainly aware that multi-sensory opportunitiesfor the students that we work with is important andhaving the tools to do this at our disposal is key.

For the past several months, I have been explor-ing, researching and investigating and using anumber of Science tools that hold much promisefor the work that we do. Tools that help studentsvisualize data that were once difficult to concep-tualize. These Science tools engage students inmaking hypotheses, collecting data and analyzingthe results. From my vantage point, these toolsand supports have much to offer the students wework with and I wanted to share them with you.

Most of what we know in the field of Science hasbeen learned in the past 50 years. With the adventof the computer we have been able to measureand analyze data in ways that were once thoughtimpossible to do so. Scientists once they hadaccess to the tools were now able to make scientificfinds and advance our body of knowledge.Scientists after all are very dependent on the latesttechnology and tools to help guide their research.

The same could be said for students who are sit-ting in our classrooms. Many students often feelthat Science is nothing more then memorizing abunch of facts. But nothing could be further fromthe truth. Science should engage our students inquestioning, observing and analyzing. How are wegoing to change their attitudes and perceptions of Science?

One way to change the experience for our studentsis to give them more hands on opportunities intheir Science classrooms. Over the past couple ofmonths I have been working with what is oftenreferred to in the scientific literature as "probe-ware." Probeware is simply any sensor or probethat is attached to a computer, standalone device,or PDA that can record an event that is occurringin real time. For example, one could attach a temperature probe to the computer and in realtime collect and sample the temperature of a

liquid or the air. The probes come with a softwareapplication that is installed on the computer thatlets students graphically collect and record thedata, which can be saved for further analysis.Students now have the opportunity to collect,evaluate and share their information with theirclassmates using the computer as a scientific tool.The National Assessment of Educational Progress,2000, Science Assessment, found that twelfthgrade students who frequently used computers tocollect data, use probes, download data and ana-lyze data had higher scores on the Science assess-ment than those students who reported neverdoing so (NAEP, 2000, Science Assessment). Givingstudents opportunities to use these tools is impor-tant and one more way to engage and help rein-force concept development in the Sciences. In theremainder of this article I will highlight some ofthe products that can be used to get you startedusing probes in your classrooms. I am certain thatonce you and your students begin using probesyou to will sense their excitement about learningScience – in a hands on way!

One of the newest probeware solutions to bereleased is from Vernier (www.vernier.com) acompany that has a long standing tradition ofproviding educators with innovative Science solu-tions. Vernier just recently released a new probecalled Go!Temp. Go!Temp is an affordable temper-ature probe that plugs right into the USB port onyour Macintosh or Windows computer. Go!Tempcomes with a free copy of Logger Lite, a very easyto use software application that records in real


Students Using Go!Temp

time the temperature from the probe. UsingGo!Temp is as easy as plugging in the Go!Tempsensor, opening up Logger Lite software, andclicking on the Collect icon. Once you click on theCollect icon you will see the temperature beinggraphed on the screen. Students can also graphi-cally see the temperature represented as an ana-log thermometer, a digital readout, or as a num-ber on a dial. For students with visual impairmentit is easy to arrange the screen to enlarge the readout. Students with fine-motor difficulties will findholding the Go!Temp probe a lot easier to grip

without the fear ofbreaking a glass ther-mometer. After the datahas been recorded, students can review thedata table and use ahost of tools that areavailable in Logger Liteto examine the graph.

Students can examine data points on the graph,make predictions, calculate statistics and completetheir lab reports right, within Logger Lite. LoggerLite is a powerful and easy to use software applica-tion. More importantly teachers will enjoy the factthat once Go!Temp is plugged in Logger Lite willautomatically detect that a temperature probe hasbeen plugged in so that you can quickly recordyour data. Teachers on a tight budget will enjoythe fact that Go!Temp is priced at just $39 dollars.

For the elementary grades, Vernier has put togeth-er a curriculum guide, Let’s Go! InvestigatingTemperature for use with Go!Temp that providesteachers with 10 complete lesson plans and activi-ties for grades 2 through 5 that can be used in theclassroom. Each of the ten lessons is included withLogger Lite so that students can quickly begin tomake a hypothesis, collect and analyze their data.This is a real timesaver and the labs are well organ-ized complete with teacher guides and studenthandouts in PDF format. Some of the labs that areincluded are: why do we need thermometers?;Celsius and Fahrenheit – what’s the difference?;Cool reaction! The reaction of baking soda and

vinegar; and Keeping it Cool! Design your ownthermos. Having used Go!Temp with students inthe classroom something magical happens whenyou use this technology. Students are moreengaged, excited, and inquisitive as they activelyparticipate in the lab. It is amazing how many different ways you will find to use Go!Temp inyour curriculum. It is also a great tool for teachersto use with a projector or interactive whiteboardattached to your computer to demonstrate a concept or do a whole classroom lesson.

While using Go!Temp will get you started on theway to using probeware in the classroom, why berestricted to just collecting temperature data?Vernier is certainly aware of your needs and hasjust come out with Go!Link, an affordable USBinterface that allows you to connect one of 36Vernier sensors to your Windows or Macintoshcomputer. Simply plug your Go!Link into your USBport and then you can attach sensors to collectdata such as light, sound, pH, magnetic field,barometric pressure, and conductivity – to namejust a few. Go!Link ships with a free copy of LoggerLite which automatically detects which probe youhave attached to your computer and sets up theprogram to begin to collect data. Your studentswill quickly be able to collect and analyze the datathat they have collected with the Logger Lite soft-ware that ships with Go!Link. Logger Lite makes foran ideal environment for students to record theirobservations, since each data collection file canconsist of multiple pages that can be formatted tobe used as a word processor. Students can go fromthe graph to the word processor page by clickingon the Page icon. Keeping the data and the graphsin the same file will make it easy for students whohave difficulty shifting from one application toanother. Having access to Go!Link will allow stu-dents a way to visualize scientific phenomenonthat was jut impossible to do so without theadvent of the computer. If you have been tryingto integrate the computer into your Science lessonsthen this is a truly wonderful way to do so.

Pasco ( www.pasco.com) is another leader in thefield of probeware and they have recently released



Logger Lite software

the Xplorer datalogger whichis a handheld device about the

size of large Palm device with asmall LCD screen which operates

on four AA batteries. The Xplorer ismade from a very strong Polycarb-

onate material that can withstand theday-to-day use by students who are

using it in the field. The Xplorer can bepurchased with Multi-Measure sensors

that connect to the rugged sensor mounton the top of the Xplorer. With the Science

Sleuth Kit, students can use the Multi-Measure Sensor to measure temperature, light andsound simultaneously. It is very easy to get startedwith the Xplorer. Just plug in the Multi-MeasureSensor to the Xplorer and click on the Start buttonon the Xplorer. The Xplorer will begin to recordthe data in real time. To stop data collection, sim-ply press the Start button. It is easy to review thedata set using the 2 line LCD display. With theMultiMeasure Sensor, students willbe able to easily collect ambientt e mperature, the sound level inthe environment and the lightlevel. An optional stainless steelt e m p e rature probe can be pur-chased to take the temperature ofwater, soil, and liquids. Once thedata has been collected the funreally begins. Just plug the Xplorerinto your USB port and within sec-onds DataStudio opens and asks if you want toretrieve the data. Click yes and within seconds allof the data is graphed for you. There are lots ofways to customize the graph and annotate it.D a t aStudio is a full-featured graphing programthat works hand and hand with the Xplorer.Depending on your needs Xplorer ships with a freeversion of DataStudio Lite. If you need more fea-tures, then you can purchase the full featured ver-sion of DataStudio that runs on Windows andMacintosh OS. Xplorer is a very versatile data cap-ture tool that will allow students the flexibility torecord their observations away from the computer.There are a number of sensors that can be con-

nected to the Xplorer that will extend the useful-ness of this tool. The Xplorer is unique in that itsupports a wide range of sensors as well as Multi-Measure probes that can record several differentevents at one time. The Weather Sensor is just thetool to help students collect data about the weather.Students can conduct weather station experimentsand take readings or collect data over days orweeks. With the sensor students can record baro-metric pressure, humidity, temperature, and dew point.

If you have access to a computer and want to col-lect data with the Xplorer all you need to do isplug it into the USB port, attach a sensor and clickthe Start button on DataStudio. This begins thedata collection and you will see your data graphed.For schools on a tight budget who are interested inworking with probeware you may want to take alook at USB Link from Pasco. USB Link is an afford-able interface that plugs into your USB port, on

your Mac or PC, and allows you to connect all of the various sensors. USB Link is an ideal toolwhen you have access to a com-puter and when you don’t needthe portability of collecting datain the field.

The last tool that I will discuss isfrom the Onset ComputerCorporation which manufacturesthe HOBO datalogger. The HOBO

datalogger is the size of a matchbox and is a bat-tery powered datalogger that students can use torecord and time stamp conditions such as temper-ature, humidity, and light intensity. The HOBOdatalogger works a little differently then the otherprobes that have been discussed. With the HOBOdatalogger you initially attach it to your computerand using the software that comes with it youdetermine how you would like to sample the data.For example, you may want to sample the temper-ature for a 24 hour period starting on a certaindate and time, taking one sample every hour, oryou may decide that you want to collect the

continued on page 7



EZScreen Software (PASCO): Measuring

Sound Level


It wasn’t too long ago that if you wanted to usean instructional video in your classroom that youhad to go to the main office and fill out a requisi-tion form and submit it to the Audio VisualServices Department. But even before you did that,you had to search through the large unwieldy AVADirectory, complete the Requisition Form andmake sure that it arrived in the office before thecourier came to pick them up. After completingthese steps you would hold your breath that every-thing worked like clock work so that it arrived for the lesson that you had faithfully planned touse it with.

Well a lot has changed in the arena of educationaland instructional videos over the last two yearswith the advent of the Internet and high speedconnections. For the past year I have been workingwith schools showing them how they can integrateinstructional videos into their classroom using aninnovative service from United Learning calledvideo streaming. With high speed connection tothe Internet and a subscription to United Learningit is now possible for teachers to search their repos-itory of videos and then stream the video over theInternet for the class to view. United Learningrealizes that you may not want to view the fullfeatured video from start to finish and so theyhave broken up the video into small sections thatyou can use for your lesson. Being able to videostream a short section of a video is a wonderfulway to engage students in the lesson or to stimu-late a classroom discussion. United Learning isaware of the demands of educators and so everyvideo is correlated with your State’s Core Curricu-lum Standards should you need to cross reference

them. For some of the videos, there are blacklinemasters for teachers as well as video quizzes forstudents to take. Teachers will find this a wonder-ful tool to have at your disposal to support yourcurriculum. With a subscription, teachers candownload the entire video to their computer orcan download a small section of the movie. This isa great feature and one that I recommend using,just in case you have planned a great lesson toinclude the video streaming and your networkgoes down. Videos that you download can also be inserted into your Powerpoint presentations orMicrosoft Word documents as well.

United Learning’s library of videos keeps growingand last year the company was purchased by theDiscovery Learning Company – so expect to seemore high quality educational videos added tothe service. United Learning estimates that thereare over 2,000 videos in their collection. UnitedLearning just purchased AIMS Digital Curriculum –which was one of their competitors in the videostreaming industry. So expect to see more mediaavailable as time goes on. United Learning alsohas a digital picture library as well that educatorscan search for pictures that they want to includein their presentation.

Why are these services important for the studentswe work with? Many of the students that we workwith special needs tend to learn best when we canprovide them with multi-sensory learning oppor-tunities and having access to high quality educa-tional videos can help you meet their goals andobjectives. Giving students access to informationvia an alternative method other that text is cer-

Videostreaming – A Whole New Way to UseVideo in the Classroom

By Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D.


tainly consistent with universal design for learningand helps promote learning for students that maypresent with reading disabilities. Additionally,United Learning has a number of videos in theirlibrary that are Closed Captioned for students withauditory impairment. There is a lot to like aboutUnited Learning services and for students withbehavioral disabilities video is another means toengage them in the learning process.

United Learning offers 30 day trial subscriptions to educators and has a special offer this year to

give away a free, one year subscription to UnitedLearning to one school building in each district inthe United States. For more information go towww.unitedstreaming.com. Once you have triedthe service you will see that there is no going backto the way you used to use video in the classroom.Having access to Smartboards, mimio Xi’s, orcomputer projectors really maximizes the experi-ence of using streaming video service. Give it a tryand let me know what you think.

Videostreaming – Video in the Classroom... Continued

humidity, and lightintensity for a weekcollecting samplesevery 15 minutes. Onceyou have set the para-meters with the soft-ware, you can unplugthe USB cable and placethe HOBO datalogger inthe spot where youwant it to start collect-ing the data. Once thedata-logging session isover, open up the datalogging software onyour Mac or PC andplug HOBO into the USBport to retrieve andgraph the data. Using

these handy little device students can performsome rather interesting experiments much like sci-entist do when they use probes. The HOBO data-logger comes with a handy manual that will getyou up and running in no time with some greatideas for getting started with data collection. Ifyou need more information about HOBO datalog-gers you can go to www.iScienceProject.com. The

company is loaning out HOBO datalogger so thatteachers can have the chance to use them in theircurriculum.

I hope that you have enjoyed this article, but moreimportantly, learned about some new tools thatcan be used with the students with special needs.Giving students the hands on experience to collectand see first hand the data is key for engagingthem and raising the bar for their achievement.The combination of hands on activity and thegraphical representation of the data can help students understand Science concepts in a waythat was once not possible. For students withmotor difficulties, having access to these tools willenable them to handle scientific instruments with-out the fear of breakage or injury to themselves.Having the graphical representation of the datacan support students learning and give teacherswho work with students with visual impairmentthe opportunity to enlarge the output so that theycan more fully participate in Science class. Onceteachers start using probeware you will begin to think of new ways to raise the bar for Scienceachievement in your classroom. The Science probesc a p t u r e the imagination of students and provide a platform for integrating computers into theScience classroom.

Changing the Face of Science Education... continued from page 5

HOBO RH Temp Light External


Brookfield Zoo's Every Student is a Scientist: UsingTechnology to Foster Inclusive Learning (ESS) pilotprogram partnership with Chicago Public Schools(CPS) was recently named to the prestigiousInfoWorld 100---a list of the most innovative tech-nology programs in the nation. ESS uses tabletpersonal computers with wireless connections toallow CPS students with visual, hearing, or physi-cal impairments to actively explore conservationconcepts and work alongside classmates who arenot disabled.

The project strives to give students with disabilitiesincreased access to the same experiences that theirgeneral education counterparts have at the zoo,and technology helps fill that gap. Beta testing forthe first ESS offering titled "Primate Populations"has concluded with rousing success. The curriculumunit focuses on primate behavioral research andallows all students to use the same techniques thatBrookfield Zoo's animal keepers and field scientistsuse to track the activities of baboons, monkeys, andgibbons at the zoo's Baboon Island and TropicWorld exhibits. Students record their observationson tablet PCs, which transfer the information to thezoo's wireless network servers. It is then availablevia the Web for classroom activities after the zoovisit. Several of Brookfield Zoo's educational award-winning Connections curricula will be modified forfuture phases of this project. The Every Student isa Scientist leadership program is supported by theChicago Zoological Society, an Institute of Museumand Library Services National Leadership Grant,

Polk Bros. Foundation, and Microsoft Corporation.

When students from participating CPS inclusionclassrooms visit Brookfield Zoo for the field tripportion of the zoo curricula, they are divided intogroups. Each group is outfitted with a stopwatchand a tablet PC. Tablets include harness cases foreasy handling, and can be mounted to wheelchairs,if necessary. Each student team then works togetherto collect data on primate activity. The tablet PCsare outfitted with software that adjusts for a varietyof visual, hearing, and physical disabilities. Forinstance, students with visual disabilities canchoose to enlarge type fonts, view high contrastimages, listen to descriptive narrations of videoclips, or engage a screen reader to "read" text onthe screen. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students areable to convert all audio to text or increase thevolume of audio clips. Students who have difficultyholding the tablet's stylus can make choices usinga scanning software and a common access instru-ment referred to as a switch.

“It is really exciting to watch the kids worktogether as a team,” said Ann Roth, Brookfield Zooaccess coordinator. “On a tablet PC, students canchoose how they access information. No matterwhat happens, the student is right in the middleof the action.”

Though still in the pilot phase, more than 400 stu-dents and nearly 20 teachers have already usedEvery Student Is a Scientist and gave it rave reviews.The prospects for the project are enormous.

Brookfield Zoo Uses Technologyto Help Chicago Public SchoolStudents with Disabilities... Access Technology Partnership Named One ofthe Nation's Most Innovative

by Josh Mogerman,

Web Projects Manager, Brookfield Zoo


Wireless technology allows students to upload theircollected data, analyze it at their schools, and evencompare their findings with those of other studentsin their class, other schools, or Brookfield Zoo researchers. As the technology is incorporatedinto more Brookfield Zoo exhibits, student datacollection and animal observation opportunitieswill increase.

ESS was listed among the most innovative informa-tion technology programs in America by InfoWorldmagazine for the novel use of three new technolo-gies – Wi-Fi, the tablet PC, and the .NET platform– to vault over a variety of accessibility barriers.

This first phase of Brookfield Zoo's ESS program isthe result of a broad and unique partnership, attimes involving zoo staff, CPS instructors andSubject Matter Experts, assistive technologyexperts at University of Illinois Chicago, evaluatorsfrom the Illinois Institute of Technology, and o n -going project management and solution consulta-tion from Quilogy. The result is a groundbreakingproject. "It really is a remarkable program," saidKambri Hauser-Zielinski, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher at Bell School whose students wereamong the 400 who helped pilot the program."Not only did my students enjoy observing andrecording animal behaviors, ESS allowed them totruly work as a team."

Brookfield Zoo is known throughout the world for its innovative, naturalistic, multi-speciesexhibits, its international role in animal populationm a n a g ement and wildlife conservation and itsdevotion to helping people develop a sustainableand harmonious relationship with nature. Formore information about Brookfield Zoo, visitwww.brookfieldzoo.org.

Brookfield Zoo... Continued

What do you get when mix Moby, Tim and Flashanimation? Of course I am referring to BrainPop,a unique subscription service that is a wonder-ful way for students to learn about a host of

different subjects. Tim, a student who along withMoby, a robot act as your guides as they discussvarious subjects. BrainPop for those who are notfamiliar with the service can be found on the webat www.BrainPop.com. With a subscription youcan view short four to five minute Flash animatedmovies which highlight and encapsulate a subject.You will find short movies in the area of Science,Language arts, History, Technology, Math, andHealth. Students, after viewing the animatedmovie can take quizzes and there are t e a c h e rresources available for further class discussions.Students with learning or behavioral difficultieswill enjoy the short animated movies which do awonderful job of condensing and summarizingthe material. The animated movies really get to thegist of the topic and are often done in a humorousway that students will enjoy. The number of moviesin their library has grown and teachers will find ita rich resource for the classroom. Teachers can tryout BrainPop at the website to see if it meets yourneeds. There are home, school, and teacher sub-scriptions – that should meet a host of needs.

BrainPop has recently teamed up with PopularScience to publish a wonderful resource book onScience and technology. The book is visually veryappealing and the material is presented in a man-ner that will have your students keep picking it upto look at – time and time again. Tim and Mobyare featured in the book and the book includesideas and labs that you can you do with your stu-dents to highlight a Science concept. The bookcovers a wide array of Science topics i n c l u d i n geverything from the weather, erosion, to c o m p u t e rtechnology. Everyone will find something in thebook that will be of interest to them. The bookalso has links to the BrainPop movies on the Web.This is a wonderful book and one which your stu-dents will pick up time and time again. For moreinformation about BrainPop, subscriptions or the book go to w w w . B r a i n P o p . c o m.

B r a i n P o p


One of the hottest products to be announced atthis year’s National Educational Computer Confer-ence was the Neo from the Alphasmart Company.The Neo has a whole new form factor and sports awhole new color. The Neo is sage green, and whileit was at first hard to get used to, the color growson you as you use it. The form factor and style isvery different from its predecessor, theAlphasmart 3000. Neo has the same chassis as theDana with the same keyboard, giving it a quieterand smoother touch. The screen is noticeably largerthan the Alphasmart 3000, but smaller than theDana. For me one of the key features of theAlphasmart has been ease of use and long batterylife. The Neo holds to the same tradition and userscan expect to get at least 700 hours of battery lifefrom 3 AA Alkaline batteries. When using the Neo,you will quickly notice that the screen is muchbrighter than the Alphasmart 3000. One of thenicest features to be added to the Neo is the abilityto change the size of the font on the screen.Younger students and students with visual impair-ment will find this to be an invaluable feature.One of the features that we have requested fromthe Alphasmart Company has finally found its wayinto the Neo-a much improved spell checker withthe ability to add words to the dictionary. This is awelcome addition. Likewise students will haveaccess to a set of writers tools which was originallypart of the WritersTools Smart applet that wasmarketed for a time when the Alphasmart 3000was released. With the built in writers tools, stu-dents will have access to a thesaurus and wordcount tools at their disposal. There is also aSpanish dictionary built in which writers can use.

One of the newest applets to be included with theNeo is the Beamer Smart applet. All Neo’s willcome standard with the infrared (IrdA) built in sothat students with the assistance of the BeamerSmart applet can beam text from one Neo toanother. Think of all the possibilities! For thatmatter, Neo users will be able to beam text to aDana, Palm, or IrdA compliant device. Beamershould also be available as a Smart applet for the Alphasmart 3000 IR model. One of the newest

features which teachers will enjoy using is theability to link a document with a student file.Imagine being able to have a File linked to a writ-ing rubric that students can toggle between asthey write. The Alphasmart Company for the firsttime will also allow students to name their filesinstead of just being stored in a workspace. Asmuch as things have changed users should feelright at home with the Neo. The AlphasmartCompany will have Beamer, Inspiration, Keywords,and AlphaQuiz Smart applets available when theNeo starts shipping. Don Johnston, Inc is commit-ted to developing the Co:Writer Smart applet forthe Neo, but at this time, no official release datehas been announced. As part of their announce-ment, the Alphasmart Company will shortly bereleasing the Alphasmart Manager 2.0. AlphasmartManager 2.0 will allow teachers to manage awhole cart or set of Alphasmarts. Teachers will beable to send text to an entire cart of Alphasmarts,clear files and set features with AlphasmartManager 2.0. While the Neo is new, all of the acces-sibility features that we have come to love are allavailable from this new portable notetaker. Withthe mix of a brighter screen, choice of six differentsized text fonts, improved spell checker, improvedk e y b o a r d , larger LCD screen, and writer tools thisAlphasmart should be a hands down winner in theeducational marketplace. The AlphasmartCompany has heard our recommendations andproduced what I consider to be the best portablewriting tool for the money. By the time you readthis, the Neo should be shipping. For more infor-mation go to www.alphasmart.com.

Neo is New

Having recently attended the National EducationalComputer Conference this past June, I stopped bythe Crick Software booth to see what all the com-motion was about.Their theatre presentation waspacked and educators were lined up knee deep topreview their new software application ClozePro.There was certainly a lot of excitement about theirnew product and Crick Software, was generousenough to give each edu-cator a free copy ofClozePro, who attendedthe demonstration.

In a nut shell ClozePro,allows teachers to createcloze activities from textthat is typed or copiedinto the application.Cloze techniques have along tradition in educa-tion of being used toassess a student’s com-prehension of materialthat they have read. ClozePro makes the task ofmaking cloze activities a real cinch. Type or copytext into the top part of the ClozePro window, clickon the Remove Words icon, determine how wordsare removed, click OK and your cloze activity iscreated. The words that were pulled out nowappear on the bottom of the screen, ready to beused. Click on the Run icon and your students areready to use the activity. There are lots of ways tocustomize the activity and teachers can also pro-vide picture supports for students who need them.Teachers can use their own clip art, or if you haveaccess to the Picture Communication Symbols(metafiles) or Crick’s Animated picture library,they can be easily used with ClozePro.

Student can use the cloze activity with a host ofsupports that are provided by the program.Students who need reading support will be able to

click on the Speak button to have the programread the sentence. For students who may have dif-ficulty reading the words that were pulled out,they can right click on the word to have ClozeProread it. Teachers can set up multiple activities thatare linked so that students can work on severalcloze activities in succession. Students who needhints or prompts as they are referred to in ClozePro

can click on the Light bulbicon to display a letterprompt. Multiple clicks onthe Light bulb icon willreveal all but the last letterof the word. Teachers candisable this feature for stu-dents that don’t need thislevel of support. Teachersworking with students whouse switches will be gladto learn that the applica-tion is switch accessible.ClozePro gives teachers a

wide array of features to customize the clozeactivities and teachers will find it a very intuitiveapplication to use.

For teachers that are looking for new ways toassess their students, ClozePro may be the righttool for the job. After students take a cloze activity,teachers can review the child’s progress and printout their score and report. ClozePro will also allowyou to print a report complete with whether thestudent used prompts to accomplish the task.ClozePro can certainly be used for alternativeassessment and its reporting tools are certainlywelcome in this era of accountability. Teachers will certainly enjoy the programs flexibility andreporting features and find it a welcome additionto their toolkit. For more information go to:www.cricksoft.com/us.


ClozePro – Filling in All the Gaps

Activity Created with ClozePro


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With the reauthorization of IDEA, all school districts are required to considerassistive technology for each and every student as part of the evaluation process.Find out how you can meet this requirement and learn about the commonlyused assistive technology tools that are available for student use. This videodiscusses and demonstrates ways In which low to high tech solutions can enablestudents to function to their highest potential and to meet their IEP goals, result-ing in improved levels of academic performance.

Educators, students and parents are invited to join Dr. Friedlander as he worksdirectly with students; selects appropriate solutions to their special educationchallenges; and oversees their progress. See first hand how students becomemore empowered, successful, and less frustrated.

Dr. Friedlander is an adjunct faculty member at the College of St. Elizabeth andat Lesley University. He is the editor of Inclusion Times, a nationally distributedspecial education and technology newsletter published by AssistiveTek, LLC(www.assistivetek.com), and he is a moderator and presenter on assistive tech-nology at national and state conferences.

VHS, approx. 40 minutes • Order # VAST • Retail Price: $ 139.00 plus $ 7.00 S/HAvailable from AssistiveTek, LLC, 174 Stephensburg Road, Port Murray, NJ 07865School Purchase Orders, Checks and VISA Accepted

Assistive TechnologyA Way to Differentiate Instruction for Students with Disabilitiesfeaturing Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D.