Modern-day technology has now leveled the playing field among gifted spellers and those that would normally just 'get by'. With a click of the mouse, students of all ages can open a world of words never before thought possible.
Where Baby Boomers had to tote voluminous dictionaries and thesauruses with them if they wanted to increase their vocabulary, children now have the advantage of carrying portable devices with a built-in program for spelling, everywhere they go.
"Although educational software should never be considered a substitute for books, several programs can give novice readers extra help and practice" (Amberg, 2002). When spelling instruction in the classroom is not enough, or when spelling-challenged students need a push to be able to catch up with their mainstream peers, spelling software becomes an invaluable tool.
The problem lies not in the dearth of software that could help your child improve spelling skills – the problem is in how to choose the program for spelling that would benefit your child most.
First of all, to make software more enticing than regular classroom instruction which entails human or social interaction, it has to be interesting to use.
Ediger (2002) proposed that learning opportunities need to be interesting to achieve objectives of instruction. This is because the learner's attention has to be secured in order to involve active engagement.
One program for spelling that is interactive and is designed to sustain the user's interest is the Ultimate Spelling software.
While other programs provide just one or two usages for a word, the Ultimate Spelling software gives up to six usages, making it easier for the child to immediately apply that word in everyday life.
The variety of approaches that Ultimate Spelling makes use of – illustrations and audio pronunciations for the words, links to websites that are related to the word being studied, word maps, and many others – provides kids with a better chance at comprehending words, as compared to routine learning and teaching situations.
The program for spelling you select should also be worth every dollar you pay for it. Make sure that it can be used not just by one child but by children of various spelling abilities. Even if you only have one child, it's almost guaranteed that with constant use of the software, he or she will eventually progress to the next level.
References:
Amberg, E 2000, 'Software focus on reading/language development', T.H.E. Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, p. 62.
Ediger, M 2002, 'Improving spelling'. Reading Improvement, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 69.