Technology Tools to address Visual-Spatial or Motor Control Difficulties

Students with visual-spatial or motor control difficulties may experience trouble with writing numbers, aligning digits in computation problems, and creating visual representations.  Because of these difficulties, they have trouble demonstrating their level of achievement or mastery of concepts, and may not understand and interpret their own written work.  These types of  struggles can present huge obstacles to being successful in math.  There are educational applications that address visual-spatial or motor control difficulties that minimize the handwriting demands of math work and are especially helpful for students with visual-spatial difficulties. The following list are educational applications that address visual-spatial and motor control difficulties:

1. MathPad is a talking math worksheet program that enables students to perform arithmetic computations on the computer.  Students can demonstrate their skill simply by using the keyboard or clicking the mouse, and students with severe disabilities can utilize a scanning feature. Customizable speech output can help students with visual impairments and students who have reading problems; it may also increase the attention of students who are easily distracted. Teacher-generated problem sets can be solved directly on the computer and students can receive immediate feedback.  MathPad is beneficial for students who have poor fine motor skills, need speech output, difficulty aligning problems properly, require immediate feedback, and who are more motivated and engaged in academic tasks when using the computer. 
2. MathPad Plus extends all of the features of MathPad to arithmetic computations with fractions and decimals and provides several additional features to support student success. 
3. Virtual Pencil (VP) Arithmetic is an educational application designed for students who are “pencil impaired” (i.e., unable to operate a pencil effectively). This tool allows students to solve problems in much the same way they would using pencil and paper, including performing and showing intermediate steps.  It offers speech feedback in a manner that makes it functional for students who are blind by reading problems and providing enough information so students who cannot see the problem can understand the position of digits and can navigate to where they need to be. 
4. Virtual Pencil (VP) Algebra extends most of the features of VP Arithmetic so students with disabilities can solve algebraic equations. It reads equations using correct math terminology and contains speech feedback. 
5. Number Navigator is a simple math processor, an application for creating mathematical expressions or equations, that allows users to enter and solve basic math problems on the computer. This is a free program that can be customized by colors, fonts, and font sizes. 
6. Microsoft Equation Editor, an object available in Microsft Word and other Office applications, enables students who have difficulty with handwriting but have good mouse control to create simple or advanced equations in correct mathematical notation. Numerous symbols are provided and are entered via a mouse click. 

For more advanced math classes, the following tools are useful: 

1. MathType
2. Scientific Notebook 
3. Meander's Annotator

The next blog post will discuss educational applications that can help teach math concept, math skills and problem solving. 

Sources:
Dell, A., Newtown, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom . (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey : Pearson Education.