Who Uses KIDWARE_® and Why They Do

KIDWARE has been designed to extend the principles of brain-based learning and student-centered instruction to technology. KIDWARE offers teachers and learners a set of flexible tools that support active problem-solving and stimulate creativity, thus enriching brain connections. The resulting technology environment incorporates individualization and assessment as essential elements of successful student achievement.

			Who Uses KIDWARE ? Title I programs ESL and Bilingual classrooms Special Education students Public and private primary schools Kindergartens Head Starts State-funded preschool programs Family Literacy Programs					What are the unique Features of KIDWARE? Personalized Environment: KIDWARE addresses the individual needs and interests of learners. This results in student- centered instruction, a key ingredient of effective technology use. Teachers can adjust the level of software programs to accommodate children's individual abilities. Personal details of each learner can be incorporated into the software. Customizing the software makes each student's experiences at the computer more relevant and meaningful. In addition KIDWARE uses voiced instructions and feedback that support learners from different language backgrounds including Spanish, Vietnamese and any other language. Continuous Assessment of Progress: Good assessment methods improve teaching and learning. KIDWARE incorporates a variety of strategies that permit teachers to evaluate student progress. For example analysis of multimedia products permits teachers and parents to evaluate children's oral language, their development of representational thought as reflected in their drawings and their story dictation. Balanced Approach to Literacy: KIDWARE offers a model that provides a balanced conceptual framework for thinking about and planning skill instruction. KIDWARE addresses the need for teaching that (1) is grounded in fundamental understandings about whole texts such as stories, informational books and poems; (2) allows for in-depth focus on specific skills and (3) includes planned practice within the context of meaningful reading and writing. This approach combines both perspectives--skills and meaningful content. The approach focuses on skills as students needs dictate rather than skills as an end in themselves.