Software applications provide a constructivist learning environment for students

Assistive technology enables a student with special needs to develop in a constructivist learning environment. Based on the premise that “conditions of learning come from individual cognition,” (Kanuka & Anderson, 1998), a student enters a learning environment with cognitive strengths and weaknesses. Once evaluated, certain software applications are recommended which create an interactive environment for the student to learn. For students who have difficulty reading, there is computer software available to them, which highlights passages as it reads out loud. The student enters the environment with his knowledge of keyboarding skills, his ability to focus for as long as he is able to, his understanding of how the computer and the software work and the goal that he/she wants to achieve. Given a reading assignment in a classroom setting, the student who has difficulty reading brings his struggles with him, his ability to focus as long as possible and his goal. Once placed in front of the computer with the text to speech software, the student’s attention is drawn to the highlighted words and sentences at the same time as being engaged in hearing the story read out loud. This greatly differs from having a struggling reader look at the printed words on a page and lose focus repeatedly or have an adult read while the student passively listens. There are questions that can be inserted in a bubble form ahead of time by the teacher. Once the student gets to the link, it opens and he/she actively engages in responding to the questions. If the student is experiencing difficulty with a writing assignment, he/she can be actively engaged in working on a pictorial or textual graphic organizer. The student could then start his writing assignment based on the meaningful groupings that he/she created with the software. As the student begins to type, the words are highlighted and read out loud. These types of computer software fit into Jonassen ‘s (1999) discussion of how” different kinds of software can be used as mindtools.” For Jonassen (2000)“..a mindtool is a way of using a computer application program to engage learners in constructive, higher-order critical thinking about the subjects they are studying.” When creating graphic organizers, a student is actively engaged in reasoning, critical thinking, retention, understanding, self-regulation and mindful reflection.