Evaluating Software
There are many types of educational software available for the special needs population. Due to the abundance of available software, it is often difficult to decide what software to use with students with special needs. Choosing the right piece of software depends upon the individual student, the specific setting and the objectives you hope to achieve. Some criteria that you may want to consider when selecting software is:
Educational Value
- What goals and objectives will this software help the student attain?
- How does the program tie into the curriculum or an individual education plan?
- How does it improve teaching and learning?
- How does the program help the teacher? (e.g. does it provide information that the teacher is unable to provide by other means? Will it help the teacher to facilitate learning? Does it complement instruction? )
Content
- Are there a range of teacher/student options that allow the software to be individualised for different learners (e.g. level of difficulty, customisation of menus, rate of delivery, user preferences)?
- Is the presentation of information appropriate for students with special needs? (e.g., Is the screen too cluttered or busy? Is there too much text or information?)
- Is the level of language appropriate? Is it too difficult? Are the sentences too long?
Design and Navigation
- Is it easy for students with special needs to navigate around the software? Is the navigation consistent? (e.g. are buttons in the same place on every screen?)
- Does the software include teacher options for configuring design for individual needs? (e.g. can the size and colour of text and backgrounds be altered?)
- Is there a management system that allows the teacher to track student progress? Is it easy to use? Does it provide useful information to the teacher?
Ease of Use/Suitability
- How difficult is it for students to work independently with the software (if required), following initial teacher guidance?
- Are there features that allow individuals using alternative input devices (e.g. switches) to access the software?
- For programs where content can be created by the user, how easy is it to input information?
- Is the software suitable for running on your computer (software requires a computer of a certain minimum specification to run effectively)?
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