Download Software for Educators

Software for Home and Personal Use
SPECIAL NEEDS SOFTWARE
Special needs software, also called
assistive technologies software, is designed
specifically for students with physical
impairments or learning disabilities to assist
them in completing school assignments and
everyday tasks (Figure 3-50). Special needs
software includes such programs as speech
synthesis software, text enlargement programs, talking calculators, and more.
Today, teachers have many software
options available to use as tools to enhance
teaching and learning of students with special needs. Many software applications discussed in this chapter and other chapters
also can be used to assist students with
special needs. When students use these
software programs in combination with
assistive devices, such as touch screens and
adaptive keyboards, their ability to succeed
increases. These and other special input
and output devices designed for use by students with special needs are discussed in
Chapter 4 and in each chapter’s Assistive
Technologies Corner.
Recall that the textbook Web site
includes an end-of-chapter section called
Apps Corner. Included with Apps for each
chapter is information on special needs
apps and information on how other teachers are integrating apps to help special
needs students. Finally, the Assistive
Technologies Corner at the end of this
chapter and on the Web provides extensive
information and links to special needs software programs.
Software for Home
and Personal Use
Many software applications are designed
specifically for home or personal use.
Personal software includes personal
finance software, tax preparation software,
legal software, entertainment software,
and more. Most of the products in this
category are relatively inexpensive, often
priced at less than $25–$50. The features
and functions of some of these applications
are discussed in the following sections. In
addition, many of these programs are now
available as apps for use on mobile devices.
To explore a wide variety of personal use
apps, visit your favorite apps store.
PERSONAL FINANCE SOFTWARE
Personal finance software is a simplified
accounting program that helps you pay
bills, balance your checkbook, track your
personal income and expenses, such as
credit card bills, track investments, evaluate financial plans, and maintain a home
inventory (Figure 3-51 on the next page).
Popular personal finance software includes
Quicken and Microsoft Money.
Using personal finance software can
help you determine where, and for what
purpose, you are spending money so you
can manage your finances. Reports can
summarize transactions by category (such
as dining), by payee (such as the electric
company), or by billing period (such as
the last two months). Bill-paying
features include the ability to
print checks on your printer or
have an outside service print
your checks.
Personal finance software
packages usually offer a variety
of online services, which require
access to the Web. For example,
you can track your investments
online, compare insurance rates
from leading insurance companies, and even do your banking
online. Online banking offers
access to account balances, provides bill payment services, and
allows you to download transactions and statements from the
Figure 3-50 Using assistive technologies software, teachers
help students with disabilities learn subject-related content.
Web directly to your computer.
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Web Info
For more information
about a popular and
free text-to-speech
software program,
visit the Computer
Concepts CourseMate
Web site at www.
cengagebrain.com,
navigate to the
Chapter 3 Web Info
resource for this
book, and then click
ReadPlease.