Informal Assessment Danielle Chemello 10/18/11

1. V is a seven year old student with autism who is currently in the second grade. When it

comes to using a computer mouse, she has little to no experience with it and its uses.
2. The skill to be investigated is the physical ability to use the computer mouse to

independently participate in starfall.com activities.

3. V knows where the mouse is typically located and knows that the clicking features will

affect the computer somehow. She is easily distracted by the scrolling feature on the mouse as well the keyboard and its abilities. This must be due to her previous use of the keyboard with activities on kneebouncers.com. She does not understand the difference between the functions of the left click and right click options. She also needs to learn that the mouse will hover over items she needs to click on. The left click option needs to be stressed as well due to its importance.

4.

What? Why? Source Does V understand when to click So I know that she is capable of Observation the mouse? understanding the functions of the mouse Answer: V knows that after the letters activities and pronunciations occur, she is to click the letter or the green arrow to move onto the next activity. This skill is also exemplified when she taps a key while playing on kneebouncers.com. She knows that pressing a key will cause something to change on the computer screen. What? Why? Source Observation and interviewing

Does V understand what on the So I can definitely see if she screen to click? knows what the purpose of the activity is

Answer: Often, V would stare at the computer or ask for help when she realized that she could not click to the next activity. I would ask her to click the next button but she would not maneuver the mouse to the place. I would then ask her to point to what she should click next and she would immediately point to the green arrow or letter every time. What? Can V physically maneuver the mouse to get to the item to click it? Why? So I can see if she has the dexterity to physically manipulate the mouse Source Observation

Answer: I asked V to move the mouse to the area that she was supposed to click and just hover over it. She was physically able to do this, but often times she would get frustrated and refuse to move the mouse to its appropriate place on the screen. What? Why? Source

Does V have experience with a So that I know Vs prior Ask Classroom Teacher computer mouse at home or at experience with computer mouse any other times during the usage school day? Answer: No, she doesnt have access at home or at any other time at school.

5. What? Can V play the starfall game independently with a computer mouse? Why? So she can vary her game selection and independently play on starfall.com during class computer time Source Data collection through observation

Procedures: 1. Start at starfall.com 2. Ask V to click on a letter of her choosing. 3. Have V proceed through letters activities. 4. Wait three seconds. 5. When she is unable to click with the mouse, click the appropriate button for her. 6. Record plus or minus. (Plus=clicked on correct item independently by student, Minus=mouse had to be clicked for V.) Results: Opportunitie 10/13/11 s to Proceed Trial #1 Through Each Letters Activities Using Mouse 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 10/13/11 Trial #2 10/17/11 Trial #1 10/17/11 Trial #2 10/18/11 Trial #1

Answer: No, V cannot independently use the computer mouse.

6. The results from Vs assessment suggest that she needs a lot of instruction in mouse usage. She was not able to perform the task independently at any time. I had to click the appropriate selection for her every time. V can identify through pointing what she needs to select which will be helpful in the

instructional program. Since she knows what to click, I will have to focus on her manipulating the mouse to drag the cursor and then physically left-click the mouse.

7. When presented with the starfall.com website, V will be able to maneuver the mouse to click the selected letter or necessary action to forward the game for 50 percent of trials. The 50 percent is chosen because the student is only instructed on mouse usage during this class time until mid-December.

8. V would benefit greatly from learning to use a mouse from a classroom perspective because she will have the ability to learn letters on starfall.com independently during the designated class time. This will promote her independence during computer time. This skill is also great for other functional activities. V will be able to access information from other websites as well as play other educational games on the computer in the future.