•Making a Book Using
the Digital Camera
•Millie’s Deck
•Calendar Concepts and
Organizing Data
•Single Switch
•Urban Environments
•Home-School Connections
•Observation Checklist to Track Children’s Work
•Make-a-Bug Game
•Chart Showing Individual Characteristics
•Making Weather Stations
•Working With Shapes
•Making a Special Person Card
•Sorting Game
•Awareness of Stereotypes
•Screen Saver
•I'm Me, I'm Special: An Electronic Portfolio
•Yo Hablo Espanol, I Speak English: Learning Together at the Computer

 

 

Single Switch

Type of Submission:

This idea is a submission for:
__A curriculum idea
__Cool things to do
X A special issue
Age group for whom this activity is appropriate:
Early childhood
Brief description of activity:
The kids in my class all took turns using a single switch to play games on the computer.
What I did to set this up and how I followed through:

I ordered a single switch through Edmark/Riverdeep and installed it on the computer.
Materials used:

Single switch
What the children had to do and what I wanted them to learn:
The children had to learn how to use the single switch by watching it scroll through all of the choices and picking the one they wanted.
Images of the Activity:
 
   
Background: How I got the idea:
One of the children in my class has difficulty using the mouse and the keyboard because of a disability. I found out that Edmark/Riverdeep had a device called a single switch, which allows a child (or adult) with limited motor ability to use the computer. The way the single switch works is that, when hooked up, the computer scrolls through all of the possible places where you might "click" to make things happen. The person using the switch hits the button when the computer lands on the option they want. That way, the person using the switch only has to be able to hit a big button, instead of move a mouse around. We ordered the single switch, and it worked well and let her use the computer like the other children. When she started using the single switch, a lot of the other kids gathered around and were interested. I thought that it would be a good idea to have all of the children use the single switch, so that they could play together.
Analysis: How the kids and/or parents responded:
This kids loved using a different type of switch than what they were used to, and they learned how to use it easily and quickly. It was nice that the girl in my class who needed to use the switch did not have to be the only one, and we did not have to take time switching between the mouse and the switch all the time.
Extension

 
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