New Releases: 5 Dolch Sight Words programs were recently released and are available by download from our website at www.dttrainer.com/addons.html (Addons). You will need DT Trainer version 2.1.1.0 or later to install the programs. If you have an older version, go to www.dttrainer.com/updates.html (updated link) to obtain the patch to update your installation. Many more programs are in development, as is an auto-update feature, which will simplify the release and installation process for you. Watch for our next release in October!

Terri's Tips

Welcome to my corner, where I'll be sharing teaching tips, ideas for best practices, feedback from customers, and important features of the DT Trainer that I feel should be fully utilized.

I've traveled quite a bit this summer training and presenting the DT Trainer in my new role as Director of Instructional Support, and have discovered that some of you are not familiar with one of my favorite DT Trainer assessment tools, The Test Feature.

The fabulous Test feature allows you to quickly assess a child's knowledge of any of the 130+ content/curriculum programs. Pretest, post test, and periodic probes are easily administered to the student, and you are provided with easy to interpret, time & date stamped, printable data. This data not only lists the % correct and % tested, but also lists the items tested and labels them correct (C) or incorrect (I). The results of all the following tests are given in a vertical column format, making it very easy to read. Anecdotal notes can be added in the note space provided; anything that is impacting that child's testing data should be recorded. For example, "the lunch menu was changed", "he missed the bus that morning", "is very focused on his new shoes", etc.

As a classroom teacher, I would test each of my students on a few content programs 4-5 times during the grading period. What a powerful and meaningful set of data you can print out and share with parents at conferences and IEP meetings! While report cards were required, they were not necessarily a true reflection of that child's learning. I also shared these reports with team members (SLP, regular ed inclusion teachers, etc.) and used them to verify that my students were retaining skills once that program was no longer active.

If you are using this Test feature, great job! If not, here's a great how-to-do-it sheet for you to get started: www.dttrainer.com/files/docs/DTTTest-AssessmentFeature.html.