Assistive Technology: Reflections of EDUC 569.69: Reading Remediation: Improving the reading of our students

Websites:

1. Raz Kids (www.raz-kids.com)

"Raz-Kids delivers hundreds of interactive, leveled eBooks spanning 27 levels.

400+ eBooks and open-book eQuizzes, with new books added every month, even in Spanish!

Corresponding eQuizzes test comprehension, providing teachers with skill reports for data-driven instruction

Online running records let teachers digitally assess each student, saving valuable classroom time

The motivational "Raz Rocket" gets students excited about reading and strengthens the school-to-home connection

A winner of numerous awards, including CODiE and EDDIE Awards and a Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom"

The following video is a mini-tutorial on both the website and app version of Raz-Kids.

2. StarFall (www.starfall.com)

"Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children."

3. FastForWord (www.scilearn.com)

"Neuroscience research has shown that with the right input, the brain can change and reconfigure itself throughout life, proving that student potential is endless. Fast ForWord is an online reading

intervention that uses the principles of neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to rewire and improve – to treat the underlying cause of language and reading difficulties, once and for all."

4. Reading Assistant (www.scilearn.com)

"Every educator knows that students benefit from extra reading practice, especially when it is combined with immediate feedback and support from a teacher. With Reading Assistant students receive individualized reading coaching every time they use the software, making the most of each instructional minute."

5. Compass Learning Odyssey Reading/Language Arts (www.compasslearning.com)

"CompassLearning’s Odyssey Reading provides a research-based literacy program that interweaves listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking skills with a sound phonics-based program. Odyssey Reading provides curriculum based on the essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, vocabulary and background knowledge, text comprehension strategies and building reading fluency. Odyssey Reading/Language Arts meets the standards of national organizations such as the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as well as the qualifications for Reading First and Early Reading First funding."

For more information click here.

Software:

1. Accelerated Reader (http://www.renaissance.com/products/accelerated-reader)

"At its heart, AR is simple. Students read a book, take an AR Quiz, and get immediate feedback. Kids get excited and motivated when they see their progress. And teachers can easily monitor and manage students' independent reading practice."

2. STAR Reading (http://www.renaissance.com/products/star-assessments/star-reading)

"STAR Reading includes new skills-based test items and new in-depth reports for screening, instructional planning, progress monitoring, and standards benchmarking. Educators have immediate access to skill-specific, actionable data to target instruction and practice, select students for intervention, and predict state-test performance. STAR is also the first to report Student Growth Percentile, a widely accepted growth measurement."

3. Lexia Learning Systems (www.lexialearning.com)

"Lexia is a computer-based assessment for reading remediation. It uses a framework of Assessment –

Instruction – Practice – Reassessment to help struggling readers. Lexia Learning Systems software supports every step in the learning cycle, making each one quicker and more effective by letting the computer take on the repetitive tasks of generating assessment reports, providing correct speech examples, guiding the student through each exercise and correcting student work in real time. The teacher is left to focus on the essential tasks of instruction and management of the learning process.

• Lexia’s assessment software identifies students’ reading strengths and weaknesses in detail, providing

reports teachers can use to focus instruction on just the skills that need it.

• Lexia’s reading skills development software provides interactive exercises for students to learn from and tracks their progress to automatically provide just the material that they are ready for and to report on their progress to teachers."

4. Essential Learning System (www.ceilearning.com)

"ELS capitalizes on the brain’s ability to develop more fluid pathways for automatic recognition, retention, comprehension, and application of information … pathways that are frequently underdeveloped in students with learning challenges. Our approach focuses on mastery, positive reinforcement and motivation, resulting in significant gains in grade-level equivalencies, test scores, self-esteem and overall performance."

Click here to read research supporting why ELS works!

5. Classroom Suite: Classroom Suite Reading Tutor (phonemic awareness, phonics, and sight word vocabulary development) (http://www.intellitools.com/classroom-suite-reading-tutor.html)

Classroom Suite is a unique software intervention tool developed upon the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that combines two educational paradigms—systematic, explicit instruction and flexible creativity tools. Teachers have control over specific learning objectives, allowing differentiated instruction for individuals or groups to help students in grades PreK-5 achieve mastery in reading, writing, and mathematics. Reading activities to build phonemic awareness,phonics, and sight word vocabulary developmentClassroom Suite ReadingTutor covers reading concepts such as letter name identification; all major letter sounds in the initial, medial, and final positions; and rime sounds through phonemic awareness and phonics activities.

NOTE: For more information, please open this PDF link and scroll to page 55 of the document. It outlines some of the above software programs and websites, as well as several different ones.

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/division/fiscal/lebeape/lerp2005.pdf

Apps:

1. Phonics: Fun on Farm (Currently $1.99)