Suzanne Ketchum
Assistive/Instructional Technology to Accommodate Learning
Assistive/Instructional Technology to Accommodate Learning
I chose Stages©: Software Solutions for Special Needs by Assistive Technology, Inc. to meet the requirements of this assignment. Stages is“a set of informal, technology-based assessment software kits.” Each kit has a CD that has activities in which the data is automatically recorded. It has unique observation forms, guidelines for interpreting the data, scripts to instruct, and a Software Feature Comparison Chart. It can be used in MACINTOSH® or WINDOWS® platforms. Stages is a multi-level framework that helps educators and parents meet the needs of learners with cognitive and language disabilities.
It also affords the educators support in choosing instructional software to provide for student needs. The Stages Assessment Process helps special education teachers gather information that can be easily transferred onto an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan). According to Madalaine Pugliese creator of Stages, as quoted in Closing the Gap, “Stages alternative assessment software takes advantage of assistive technology to facilitate authentic assessment.” There are different ways in which the program can be purchased. The program is a book which helps to identify the student needs and the stage at which they might begin. A single book costs $39.00. The Stages Assessment Kits cost $795.00 for a single product. This includes the Stages Report Wizard. You can purchase just stages 1-3 with the report software for $341.00 for a single. Each stage can be purchased individually for $125.00, with the Stages Report Wizard also costing an additional $125.00.The software bundles that are recommended can be purchased for anywhere from $234.00 to $394.00.
The Stages program is intended for use by learners with cognitive and language delays. The Stages materials are universally accessible due to the fact that the software is designed to be compatible with adaptive computer access devices. This allows learners that have never been able to be tested, the opportunity to be measured. “The applicability of the information reaches beyond students with special needs.” The information from Assistive Technology, Inc. in their description of their products Stages, say that you can assess over 99% of all students with special needs.
Stages is a program that the author created over a twenty year period. She used the research of Jean Piaget, Mary Wilson, Noam Chomsky, and Barb Adams to develop her seven distinct developmental stages. Stages has been described as a program that allows educators to make good decisions and choices about the unique needs of individual learners. It is also described as a tool that is rooted in developmental theory and research, stated in a Software Review by Elizabeth Dalton I the Summer 2002 edition of TechACCESSory. This resource has been called “A valuable and timely resource…(a) user-friendly, comprehensive publication,” by Cheryl Wissick in Journal of Special Education Technology.
The benefits of Stages are many. Madalaine Pugliese created the seven stages of her program by dividing language and cognitive development evenly throughout the stages. A stage is defined as the place where a child “is challenged, but not overwhelmed or frustrated.” The program also offers a good directory of appropriate software products and off-computer curriculum activities throughout all of the stages.
I would recommend the use of Stages with students with special needs. It is very comprehensive and covers different curriculum areas. Stages provides correlation charts to every states’ core curricula. Each stage also offers possible sample goals and IEP Objectives, further proving that it is user-friendly. “The Stages Framework gives parents, educators, and clinicians, a common language for reviewing learner progress.”
Reference List:
Assistive Tecnology, Inc. (n.d.). Stages: software solutions for special needs. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://www.assistivetech.com/p-stages.htm
Dalton, E. (2002, Summer). Software review: stages©: a tool for making decisions about software for special needs. TechACCESSory. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://teachaccess-ri.org/newsletters/Summer02/softrev.htm
Pugliese, M. (n.d.). Using Stages to create meaningful and effective alternate assessment portfolios. Closing the Gap: Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from
www.closingthegap.com
Wissick, C. (2002). Book & software review associate editor column. Journal of Special Education Technology. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://jset.unlv.edu/15.4/asseds/wissick.html
I would recommend the use of Stages with students with special needs. It is very comprehensive and covers different curriculum areas. Stages provides correlation charts to every states’ core curricula. Each stage also offers possible sample goals and IEP Objectives, further proving that it is user-friendly. “The Stages Framework gives parents, educators, and clinicians, a common language for reviewing learner progress.”
Reference List:
Assistive Tecnology, Inc. (n.d.). Stages: software solutions for special needs. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://www.assistivetech.com/p-stages.htm
Dalton, E. (2002, Summer). Software review: stages©: a tool for making decisions about software for special needs. TechACCESSory. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://teachaccess-ri.org/newsletters/Summer02/softrev.htm
Pugliese, M. (n.d.). Using Stages to create meaningful and effective alternate assessment portfolios. Closing the Gap: Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from
www.closingthegap.com
Wissick, C. (2002). Book & software review associate editor column. Journal of Special Education Technology. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from
http://jset.unlv.edu/15.4/asseds/wissick.html
2 comments:
During my field work observations, I had the opportunity to learn about and practice using Fast Forward http://www.scilearn.com/. I was very impressed with the program and how it combines various aspects of
building the cognitive skills of memory, attention, processing, and sequencing that are essential for academic learning and reading success. Now that I have had this experience, I would recommend this program over the Stages program that researched in the first place. Stages has many teacher-friendly aspects, like IEP help, however, Fast Forward seems much more thorough in its approach to literacy learning.
Thanks for the comment. It demonstrates that you are learning how to critique the technology in terms of functional uses. It sounds like the Stages software is more useful for assessment than instruction/functional accomodation. It seems expensive too.
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