Technology for Gifted Students

This chapter proposes that software design using software with programming capabilities, such as Classroom Suite, is a good activity for gifted students to increase their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills while designing appropriate learning activities for all students, including those with disabilities. The chapter describes design techniques that gifted students can apply during the development, offers as an example the design process for one of the authors' own Classroom Suite instructional games, and concludes with a description of several other games designed by the authors as further examples of the kinds of instructional software that gifted students can develop for students with disabilities using Classroom Suite.

Using Instructional Games in Teaching Grammar: The Case of Moroccan EFL Common Core Students

This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study that examines the use of instructional games in teaching grammar, and in particular, it explores the effect of tic-tac toe and board game on the present continuous and present simple. The study was conducted among 60 (N=60) Moroccan EFL common core students from two different high schools in Casablanca. All the participants took a pre-test prior to instruction and a post-test immediately after the training, which lasted three sessions. The experimental group (n=30) were instructed using instructional games, mainly tic-tac toe and board game. However, the control group (n=30) received no treatment. The experimental group was also given a feedback questionnaire at the end of the training. The data sets were submitted to SPSS, using the Independent T-test. The findings indicated that all the participants were equal in the pre-test. Nonetheless, the experimental group outscored the control group in the post test. The results of the feedback questionnaire were also in line with the whole-results of the study. It can be concluded that the tic-tac toe and board game had a momentous effect on the subjects’ understanding of the present simple and present continuous.

B1 Single Sentence Descriptors

Single sentences are commonly used to develop objective questions that are used to evaluatestudents’ learning progress. It is crucially important to be able to develop objective questions of differentdifficulty levels consistently. Therefore, B1 Single Sentence Descriptors (B1-SSD) is invented to facilitateinstructors who need to construct single sentences that are used for developing objective questions ofthree difficulty levels at B1 or the intermediate level of English proficiency. To date, there is no descriptorsfor single sentences found on Google Search. From the studies that have been published so far, thereare limited readability formula for single sentences that can be used as guidelines for constructing singlesentences of different difficulty levels. Moreover, the studies employ a strenuous process of determiningof single sentence readability. Therefore, B1-SSD has specified the features for single sentences of threedifficulty levels at B1 or the intermediate level of English proficiency that that are more easily determined.The features can be analysed by using free resources such as the sentence depth by using Enju athttp://www.nactem.ac.uk/enju/demo.html and the vocabulary level by using Online Cambridge Dictionaryat http://dictionary.cambridge.org/. B1-SSD is significantly useful to facilitate instructors in in developingobjective questions faster, more easily and economically. It also has a great potential in developingobjective questions for learning assessments and instructional games that have commercial values for aspecified target group.

Aplikasi Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Pengenalan Hewan Berdasarkan Klasifikasi Makanan untuk Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus

Anak berkebutuhan khusus (ABK) adalah anak-anak abnormal yang menyandang ketunaan. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) adalah media bantu pembelajaran yang menempatkan komputer sebagai piranti sistem pembelajaran individual, siswa dapat berinteraksi langsung dengan sistem komputer yang dirancang. Dalam proses pembelajaran di sekolah berkebutuhan khusus, salah satu pembelajaran yang diajarkan adalah pengenalan tentang hewan dalam mata pelajaran IPA. Materi pengenalan hewan juga diajarkan dalam terapi wicara untuk anak berkebutuhan khusus. Pada proses materi pengenalan hewan terkadang anak berkebutuhan khusus mengalami kesulitan untuk memahami materi tersebut. Beberapa anak berkebutuhan khusus juga terkadang mengalami kesulitan dalam mengeja dan melafalkan nama hewan yang akan mereka pelajari. Selama ini alat penunjang yang guru gunakan hanya buku lembar kerja siswa (LKS) dan buku yang khusus memuat materi tentang pengenalan hewan. Untuk kasus tertentu, para terapis untuk anak berkebutuhan khusus menggunakan alat bantu berupa kartu bergambar untuk mengenalkan hewan-hewan yang akan dipelajari anak berkebutuhan khusus. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk membantu anak berkebutuhan khusus lebih mudah belajar dan mengenali hewan, serta mengenalkan pelafalan nama hewan dan suara hewan tersebut dengan memanfaatkan konsep CAI dengan model tutorial dan instructional games. Pengujian aplikasi menggunakan uji validasi yaitu ahli materi (Guru SBK Bina Anak Bangsa), serta pengujian angket pada siswa SBK Bina Anak Bangsa dari kelas VI SD sampai XII SMA. Hasil yang didapat dari validasi aplikasi menggunakan skala pengukuran Guttman ini mendapatkan nilai 90% untuk sisi ahli materi, dan 88,9% untuk siswa SBK Bina Anak Bangsa, sehingga aplikasi CAI pengenalan hewan berdasarkan klasifikasi makanan untuk anak berkebutuhan khusus dirasa telah sesuai dengan tujuan dalam memenuhi target pembelajaran.

Technology for Gifted Students

This chapter proposes that software design using software with programming capabilities, such as Classroom Suite, is a good activity for gifted students to increase their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills while designing appropriate learning activities for all students, including those with disabilities. The chapter describes design techniques that gifted students can apply during the development, offers as an example the design process for one of the authors' own Classroom Suite instructional games, and concludes with a description of several other games designed by the authors as further examples of the kinds of instructional software that gifted students can develop for students with disabilities using Classroom Suite.