• Do certain postures or positions make a difference? Are flexible seating and options for alternate posi- tions worthwhile? • Do visual accommodations and modifications make a difference in the child’s written output? And many other questions… As you collect data with very specific variables, you will start seeing trends and ongoing decision making can be based on the student’s own real data. Graphs can be saved and printed, giving comparisons of different test setups. Many reporting op- tions give options for data to be displayed based on the ques- tions and the need for comparing progress over time and com- paring performance with different methods. SUMMARY Writing is complex for all students. Evaluation and training of writing skills should not be a hit-and-miss process. As educators and parents, we should provide our students with a carefully planned, structured and detailed approach to helping them de- velop effective, efficient and independent writing skills. Children should use a wide range of methods and multimedia tools to write and to show what they know, to record or write what they think and to independently record their opinions and ideas. As students participate in trials of various tools and systems for writing, it is important to collect data about writing methods as well as all the variables and options for each writing exercise. This includes seating and positioning, environmental variables, software supports and settings and many more aspects of each writing exercise. The Online Assessment of Writing Methods at typingtraining. com/writing_methods.html provides an online tool for compre- hensive quantitative and qualitative data collection for individ- ual students and groups of students. It can be used for all stu- dents using all technology tools and methods of writing. It can be used for individual students or groups of students. This data can be valuable in assisting teams and administrators in making decisions relating to systems, strategies and technology tools which are the most beneficial for their students to help them reach their full potential in writing.
For more information go to: https://www.powerofatech.info/data-collection
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