Blog B - Technology for use in your classroom

Here are some technologies to help your struggling readers and writers. These are also a great help to teachers:

Annoyed that when your students are in the tech lab they are surfing the Web, IMing or playing games? How about a laptop system that gives you the flexibility of file uploading and saving, and keeps your students focused on their work? With an AlphaSmart NEO2 you can create quizzes, download them to the student's laptop via wireless, and upload their answers. Students can use network printers, save and copy to USB devices such as thumb drives. http://www.alphasmart.com/k12/

Need a way to give deficient readers a leg up? Kurzweil 3000 is a scaffolded reading, writing, and study skills solution for struggling learners. Simply scan in what you want the student to read, click a few buttons, and the Kurzweil software can read the material to your student. In addition, your student can interact with the software, answering popup questions, clicking on multiple-choice answers, or typing right into the document. http://www.kurzweiledu.com/

Help is on the way for those struggling writers who just can't produce the level of work you know they are capable of. Write:OutLoud is a program for all students who struggle with writing. As students type, Write:OutLoud reads their composition aloud while highlighting the word or sentence being read. Revising and editing tools include a dictionary, bibliographer, Franklin talking spell checker. http://www.donjohnston.com/