Software Reviews
The educational software programs reviewed here were not originally designed for use by deaf children. However many of the titles are at least partially accessible and offer good educational value. The titles are rated for their suitability in an educational setting, such as a school computer lab or classroom. Some educational software that is widely-used with hearing children but isn't recommended is also described, to show why it was not recommended. Please see below for the review criteria used, and the review process.
The
Review Criteria
Products are rated from A to F in three categories with A being the highest
rating possible. The three categories are Accessibility,
Educational Value, and Deaf-child
appeal. A product with highest ratings in each category would get a rating
of AAA. A (cm) in the educational category means the software has classroom
management features.
Accessibility
The deaf
player must be able to understand the task presented and the response from the
program for his/her answer. The response includes positive feedback (i.e. rewards)
for correct answers and corrective feedback for wrong answers. For a program
to be called accessible, a deaf child must be able to play the program independently,
though the first time or two they may need someone to show them how to play.
Educational Value
To get a high rating in this category the activities
in the program must have a high proportion of time spent on the educational
task and a low proportion spent on "entertainment". The educational pedagogy
(teaching strategy) must also be sound. Ideally, feedback for incorrect answers
should help the child solve the same type of problem in the future. Where appropriate,
it should be possible to set levels of difficulty.
Software that tracks individual progress and provides reports for teachers is also noted, as some school districts require this feature.
Deaf-child Appeal
Educational software in a school setting doesn't have to meet the high entertainment
standards of software intended for the home, but neither should it be unappealing
or devoid of rewarding responses. Most children willingly work at a task if
it's interesting to them and their efforts are acknowledged in a positive fashion
- even if it's just a smiley face! For deaf children, visual rewards are necessary,
so programs that provide only sound-based acknowledgments for correct answers,
such as a musical note or a spoken "nice going", would have little appeal.
The Review
Process
Most of the recommended titles reviewed here are currently being used in a residential
school for the deaf where ASL is the language of instruction and English is
taught through the medium of print. The titles used in the school were chosen
by teachers and used over a long period of time with deaf students at the elementary
school level. Since most of the students are learning English for the first
time at the age of 5 or 6, special attention was given to software that supports
the needs of children new to the English language.
The reviews were written by Leslie Grimm, Ph.D., who has volunteered at the school for a number of years and assisted in supporting the computer lab. Leslie has served as an aide or volunteer in classrooms for both hearing and deaf students for many years. She also has expertise as a developer of software for hearing and deaf children. (Please see About the Designer on this site.)
Leslie previews software for its accessibility to deaf children as one of her volunteer functions at the school. Software that meets the accessibility criteria is then referred to teachers for their review and tried out with deaf children. The best software is recommended for purchase.
This software review section was created for the benefit of parents, teachers, and other educators of deaf children trying to find good educational software for the deaf children they serve. If you have comments or other recommendations to offer, please contact Leslie (click here).