Reviews

Reading Matters
Educational Computing & Technology, May 2001

The following is an excerpt from an article 'looking at some of the literacy resources for children with special educational needs that offer assistance to teachers'.

... Some of the most cost-effective items to buy are those with maximum versatility such as Crick's Clicker 4 - a versatile tool with which teachers can produce illustrated word banks with spoken support to scaffold emergent writers' efforts. This is useful throughout the primary school as well as for children with SEN. Clicker 4 supports the use of switch access, enabling children with restricted mobility to participate and succeed in writing using a computer.

Additional materials are available to support literacy, such as...recently released animated pictures to illustrate many of the common verbs used by children. The program ensures success, which can be the most motivating force for learners who have experienced failure earlier in their school experience, and is supported by an extensive range of quality grids created by practising teachers on the regularly updated website.

All My Words, also from Crick, is ideal for designing specific literacy activities for any ability level almost instantly. The text is speech supported, it is accessible by switch or keyboard control and it is also able to register a child's progress. Above all, it allows children who have special needs to work with independence on meaningful activities which ultimately enhance access to a full literacy curriculum.

Gillian Blatherwick

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