Alternative formats • Investigating free software for children with Down syndrome Bob Black The use of ICT as an aid to learning has been an integral part of special education for over 20 years in the UK. During this time software resources have developed that are particularly relevant to the learning profile of this group of learners. As access to computers and the Internet becomes cheaper and more available, the 'Digital Divide' gets smaller as more homes have access to resources that enhance the lives and learning of traditionally more isolated groups.

Numbershark 4 is a versatile software package which provides a broad range of quick and fun games which are designed to support many of the areas within the National Curriculum for Maths, particularly in Key Stage 2. Wordshark is a hugely versatile computer program to help pupils read and spell. It includes a high-quality phonics approach. Different games.

While more able users have access to a whole host of free to use activities both on the computer and increasingly 'On Line', young people with cognitive and motor difficulties can struggle to find 'user friendly' resources that meet their needs. This simple investigation brings together information on free resources that tackle this problem and make available a range of educational and leisure opportunities that are more likely meet the individual needs of a range of young people with Down syndrome. (2010) Investigating free software for children with Down syndrome.

Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 12(2), 98-102. Doi:10.3104/practice.2116 Good software for special educational needs has long been available and many titles are specifically geared towards the specific learning profile of children with Down syndrome. Schools will almost all have access to some titles such as Clicker 5 or other more specific curriculum software such as the Oxford Reading Tree or Numbershark and Wordshark and as long as teachers and teaching assistants have the training to use these effectively they have proven to be essential tools in meeting the needs of a wide range of children the school environment.

A sustained campaign by parent groups and home users has led to the cost of using these educational software programs being considerably reduced for those working with an individual child at home to reinforce learning and adapt tasks. Anup jalota bhajan ganga torrent download 2017. The majority of good education suppliers will have a separate and less economically daunting 'Home User' version of the main education titles.

Speaking for Myself Plus currently costs over £50 - 250 for a license in school but only £20 for a home user. Using good quality software at home is becoming cheaper in the UK, which is good news for individuals. A couple of years ago there was a sea change in the way that schools started to access software for use in schools. The availability of fast internet connection meant that they could access software over the web and run it in a web browser without purchasing anything else. The BBC pioneered a huge range of software from the BBC online website and websites, much of which was thoughtfully geared to children with additional needs.

Schools started to use these 'free' resources whenever possible and the educational software industry was shocked and frightened by the sudden availability of free resources to schools which would threaten their ability to invest in developing new software and, in many cases, even stay in business. There followed a tranche of initiatives to try and help; access to 'e-learning credits' basically meant that schools had access to funds through government funding to pay for software and continue to support the marketplace in producing quality SEN software resources. The debacle of course goes on and I am not privy to all the machinations of the software industry and government initiatives through its agencies, such as 'British Educational Communications and Technology Agency' now known simply as ' but with a deepening recession and a slow down in sales to schools of commercially produced software it is probably inevitable that more resources will need to become free to the end user, especially if children with SEN are not to be disadvantaged by a failure to invest in specialist resources in times of reduced budgets. Increasingly now when I give talks and demonstrations on SEN software I can show how to use and where to find free resources and have collected many useful programs that I can give to people who are interested in using them either in schools or at home with their children, as many are well designed, fun to use and extremely motivating, the plus being that if some turn out to be not suitable for an individual child or have only a limited 'Lifetime' of relevance to an child it has not been an expensive mistake and alternatives can be tried and investigated. I would still recommend the commercial titles listed at the end of this article as pretty much essential resources, but am happy to suggest a range of 'freebies' that would enhance and add to that list, offering variety and a raft of possibilities to increase a child's opportunities to use computers as an aid to learning.