Software for communication and learning

We don’t restrict wheelchair use to a PE lesson, supportive software that offers a ‘voice’ needs to be everywhere

For a number of my projects I have been working with Carol Allen, an Education Consultant with years of experience in both special needs and mainstream classrooms.

I recently asked Carol which features she considers to be important when looking at software for communication and learning. (If you know Carol, you would know that I had to get her to consider this over not one, but two, very strong coffees!)

Carol Allen, Education Consultant:

“In a busy classroom, we look to choose resources that offer a range of functions – in order to avoid complex combinations and changeovers during the learning process.

The ability to quickly edit and customise in order to offer cognitive and communicative access to an activity in the moment, rather than having to allocate prep time, is invaluable. The interface should be simple and accessible, not only for the student but also for the educators working around the student.

Accessibility features as standard are needed. If the product is a paid for rather than free resource, and the pricing allows anytime anywhere access across the educational setting (rather than on a single device) as well as home access – then its use will be more active, more embedded and therefore more effective.

We don’t restrict wheelchair use to a PE lesson, supportive software that offers a ‘voice’ needs to be everywhere.”

What Grid 3 and the Education Subscription offers

I think Carol has made some really good points in her response. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on what Grid 3 and the Grid 3 Education Licence offers in relation to her thoughts.

Ease of Editing

Grid 3 offers intuitive editing which is simple, clean and quick. Features such as word lists can also be edited in user mode, meaning content is updated ‘in the moment’.

Simplicity

Grid 3 is so simple to use, full of features and offers lots of accessibility options. Its simplicity means editing and creating resources is quicker than ever – important for educators with limited time to make classroom resources and update AAC vocabularies.

Anytime anywhere access

This is where the Grid 3 Education Licence certainly makes a difference for education settings. We purposely designed the licence to allow access beyond the school site. Education Licences can be put on any computer supported by the school, meaning that Grid 3 can be accessed at home as well as across the educational setting.

Download a trial of Grid 3 to see how it works

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to think about and demonstrated why I, and many others, think Grid 3 is a great tool for schools and therefore, why we created the Grid 3 Education Licence.

There’s lots to consider when making an investment in software across the school, so if you want to know more about Grid 3 and the Grid 3 Education Licence you can email me on kerry.vacara@thinksmartbox.com or book a free classroom clinic.

See more features that make Grid 3 a great tool for the classroom

Read about the Grid 3 Education Licence 

Book a classroom clinic with one of our Assistive Technology Specialists