Re: computerdisc-l: inclusion and keyboard covers

["Patti S. Abraham" <psa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

Thanks Dane.  Your comments about your special needs students help.  I
think in most cases we just do not know what to do to help.  A good
contact person at the State Dept. is Susan Davis
sdavis@mdek12.state.ms.us

Dr. Patti S. Abraham psa1@ra.msstate.ed
Professor, Department of Technology and Education
Mississippi State University
Voice: 601-325-2280	FAX: 601-325-7599	Internet: psa1@ra.msstate.edu

On Wed, 20 Jan 1999, Dane Conrad wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have had some success teaching the keyboarding
> segment of the class by using the keyboard covers.
> During the 1st nine weeks several students were
> scoring off the charts; however, now that we are into
> the third nine weeks, their scores have not kept pace
> with the chart's progression.  I have instituted one day
> out of the week as keyboarding review (or a least half
> a period) in order to attempt to raise their scores again.
> Next year, I plan to really stress this hard during the
> second nine weeks to see if I can avoid this lag.
> My students seem to be like everyone else's: they balked
> at the covers at first, became comfortable with them
> afterwards, and then still insist on occasionally looking at
> their fingers.
> Special education students in my class have had varying
> degrees of success. The work in the Horizons book has
> really drawn a clear line between those who can read and
> those who have difficulty. Reading comprehension is a concern
> for our regular students, but for many of my special education
> students just reading the text is a challenge in and of itself.
> Many times if I can verbally explain what the instructions are
> saying they can perform the task but not until then. Also,
> if they have short-term memory problems, it is hard to build
> a skill from day to day when they are almost relearning
> everything.
> 
> Blessings,
> Dane
> 
>