Cobi+Maya

By Dunedin Multimedia** http://www.face-cards.com/FaceBrowser.html copy and paste link on your browser for a demo (you must have Adobe Shockwave to view. Price: 29.99 Category: Simulation
 * Face-cards: Emotion Expression Flash Card Software and CD-ROM pack

The face-card link above gave a great demonstration on how their virtual characters change their emotions. The subject area this software covers is under social skills. This is a great tool for special education teachers who have students with Autism, Asperger, or other social skill disorders. Children with these disorders have a hard time reading facial cues. The CD-Rom also has a special activity called 'eye-gaze' which helps students build eye contact skills. I have also noticed autistic children do not like eye contact and have a hard time keeping eye contact with someone speaking to them, in which case, this practice allows them to practice within a save virtual character. Below is a study I found beneficial to anyone considering special education endorsement.

"Two new studies at Indiana University demonstrate that videos depicting exemplary behaviors can be effective in helping children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders develop social skills and daily living skills. Lead researcher Scott Bellini said these findings will help to identify video modeling as a worthwhile strategy for educators and child development professionals in a field lacking proven methods of treatment: Link for this article http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/5254.html (copy and paste to browser)

After reviewing this program I feel it is appropriate for all age levels with the disorders named, and I can also see using this program in pre-k thru 1st grade for students who are not in special ed. classes. Beside using this regularly in special education classes, I would use this as a unit on emotions to enhance students social skills. This program would also integrate nicely into a health unit regarding how our muscles work and how many muscles are in the face.

The Windows/Mac compatible [|CD-ROM] _

by Inclusive Technology http://www.inclusive.co.uk/catalogue/acatalog/coping_with_chaos.html (copy and paste to browser) Price: UK£ 49.00 = $79.73 U.S. dollars Category: Instructional Game
 * Coping with Chaos**

This software program did not have a demonstration but it did have an information fact sheet that described its features and benefits. The program has a 3D virtual character named Sam who is faced with several situations and the student is able to make choices based on how Sam feels and decide what to do in the situation. This is a great way to help special education students with social skills much like the first software program I review. The difference is that not only does the student have to recognize emotions, but they also are put into realistic situations they would otherwise only learn by being in the situation. This allows the students to make mistakes without the realistic consequence that would come with a real situation, they are free to learn in a safe virtual environment. This program also has a reward system for choosing the appropriate response, which promotes a positive reinforcement. Another feature I enjoyed was the switch access options available for learners that are unable to use the mouse or a touch screen. Some of the downfalls are that there is additional costs with special hardware for different disabilities. The prices are all in British pounds and you would definitely want to make sure you speak with someone regarding the system requirementsMuch like the face-card CD-Rom I review I feel the software is appropriate for all school age level students with Autism or other disorders that affect social skills and behavioral skills. Besides being used in a special education class, I would also use the program in pre-k thru 5th grade to reinforce social skills and role playing through technology. Another way to integrate this program would be through an anti-bully program lesson. Children can take Sam through situations and then discuss positive and negative consequences. This could be the platform for deeper discussions on this topic.
 * The only system requirements I could find on the website was the program worked with Windows 2000 and higher. This program was developed in the United Kingdom and is sold also in the United States, however to find out more information I would have to contact the vendor. ||

_ by Smart Kids Software www.animatedspeech.com (copy and paste to browser) also can be order by phone 800-701-9025 Price: $99 1 student on 1 computer/ $249 5 students on 5 computers Category: drill and practice
 * Timo Vocabulary**

An animated language tutor named Timo helps students in a one-on-one practice sessions. This software is especially usefully to student with hearing impairments who are learning to speak and those with speech delays in K-4th. The program introduces vocabulary to students in a CD-Rom with 127 lessons. The Timo lessons are customizable to your students. The program introduces not only vocabulary but also sequential thinking, and simple problem solving. Students are also able to sequence the pictures for retelling of the story. The program also has a progress tracking system for IEP, excellent tool for special education teachers. Other benefits are that this is a one-on-one session that utilizes technology and modeling to show even facial cues when pronouncing words. I think that from the demo that it would be nice to have a varied of voices or tutors to choose from to give students choices and variety. So far I really don't see any disadvantages of the program. I think with some software it's trial and error to discover drawbacks. I would like to have this program in my special education classroom

This program is designed for special education students that have hear impairment, speech delays, or Autism K-4th grade. However, I would also use this to help students K-2nd in regular classrooms because you can customize it to read, write, say, and/or spell the vocabulary. Teachers can also integrate this program to extend vocabulary lesson, such as teaching adjectives or verbs. You can also customize Timo to go over only 1 subjects vocabulary such as math or science words. I really like the flexibility of this program. System requirements are Windows 98 SE through XP, Macintosh 9.2 through OSX.

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by TOPICS Entertainment http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002J6I2S/edutainingkid-20 (copy paste to browser) Purchase at amazon or another online bookstore. Price: $29.99 per CD-Rom Category: instructional games and drill and practice
 * Clifford Reading Pack**

Clifford Phonics software is a CD-Rom that has phonetic practice and age-appropriate content. The setting is in a carnival with Clifford the Big Red Dog. There are six activities in the game, and many mini-games that take the form of language arts. The students help Clifford and Jetta inflate balloons by matching words and pictures. They create silly stories that are read aloud, work with word families as they match kids with correct Ferris Wheel cars, and work with rhymes as they shoot cannons in a circus tent. phonics, word families, word-object association, letter/sound recognition, word building, letter recognition, letter sorting, visual discrimination, upper/lowercase letters, creativity, sight word recognition, fine motor skills, phonics, sound blending, sound recognition

This program is a great start for preschoolers. I would start out by creating a lesson plan that has a Clifford theme to introduce the program. I would start out reading Clifford books and watching a Clifford video and then have students try the CD-Rom program. The benefits come from the practice in a fun, familiar character and the low cost. The drawbacks I see would be the students getting tired of the Clifford only theme. This would be a great software program for a free play session and a unit session.

System requirements are Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP, a Pentium II 266 MHz processor, 64 Mb RAM, and 8X CD ROM.

http://store.ergoguys.com/tlc-dr-seuss-preschool-learning-system-2009.html (copy and paste to browser) Price: $ 19.95 Category: instructional game and drill practice Top of Form
 * TLC® Dr. Seuss® Preschool Learning System (2009)**

This software CD-Rom is a learning program that introduces Dr. Seuss and through the fun world of Dr. Seuss you can have your students practice letter recognition, for School word recognition skills. The program includes Dr. Seuss® ABC, for alphabet recognition. Dr. Seuss® Green Eggs & Ham is an interactive book that helps with word recognition and rhyming. This program also comes with Reader Rabbit® The Great Alphabet Race DVD Video.

Preschool and Kindergarten students will not learn to read from this program, however it helps with the repetition to create some rote learning and recognition. This program is great because you get several programs in one software. I like the Dr. Seuss theme because most preschool teachers do a theme on Dr. Seuss and it would be nice to also incorporate into a lesson on Dr. Seuss' birthday or an author lesson. I think the drawbacks are that most preschoolers are not familiar with using the most and need assistance getting from one session to the next. This would be a good program to use with one or two students at a time for this reason that the teacher would have facilitate the use of this program.

System Requirements are Windows® XP (Home and Pro) SP2/Vista™¹, 486 MHz Pentium processor or faster (800 MHz or faster for Vista), 128 MB RAM (512 MB RAM for Vista), 20 MB free hard drive space, 2X CD-ROM (or faster), & DVD-Rom drive to view Bonus DVD movie, DirectX® 8.0 compatible or higher video card (video card with 32 MB of RAM for Vista), SVGA display, 256 colors, DirectX compatible sound card, speakers, Keyboard & Mouse. ¹Administrator privileges are required to properly install the program on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Note: Some of the programs may require Windows Compatibility mode to run on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Comment by Janine Yaklich Hey Cobi! I was interested by your reviews and especially //Timo Vocabulary// software. What a great tool a progress tracker must be! Tracking progress is always important, but particularly with students of special needs. Also very unique, I thought, are the facial cues for pronunciation. This is great for the hearing impaired and something that I never would of thought of as a tool in an educational software. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Comment by Gail Purcell

Cobi,

Face Cards looks so interesting!! This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I could use this program with a lot of my students. Eye contact is very important for all students with disabilities because it helps me know that they have heard what I have said and t helps them focus on one thing instead of distractions going on in the room. One of the things that children with disabilities struggle with is know how to understand facial expressions and body language of others. In addition to this they often have difficulty understanding how their body language and facial expressions effect others. I am going to look deeper into this program for my classroom!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Gail __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________