The Sherlock Software Laboratory

Software Laboratory List of Holdings 1.7 mb (PDF)

The Sherlock Lab has been established to provide a free site for students, professionals, families, and others to explore some of the software programs currently available to support teaching and learning.

The Lab is located on the RI College Campus, in the former Alumni House at the western edge of the college, next to Fruit Hill Avenue. The Lab is on the main floor and currently has 8 computer systems available for use – 4 PC and 4 MAC. The RITAP Resource Library is also housed here, and is available as a resource. The Sherlock Center Resource Library is housed in the Sherlock Center’s main building, which is just a short distance away.

About 100 programs (some duplicates) are currently available to view. The individual programs relate to the following topic areas – presented alphabetically:

• Adapted Application

• Art

• Attention

• Behavioral Management

• Bilingual

• Cause & Effect

• Critical Thinking

• Curriculum Support

• Early Learning

• Language Arts

• Language Development

• Math

• Memory

• Personal Independence

• Project-based Learning

• Reading

• Social Studies

• Spelling

• Teacher Productivity

• Testing

• Visual Support

• Writing

Software has been documented in a database available in print and digital forms at the Lab, and will be available on the Sherlock Center website under “Publications and Resources” as of October 1, 2004.

Special Features of the Sherlock Software Lab

A major reason to establish the Sherlock Software Lab is to provide a free resource for the community of specialized or hard-to-find computer programs that support teaching and learning.
Many of the programs in the Lab contain features that support different means of accessing and expressing information. Programs may have print enlargement, voice output, multi-sensory instruction and reinforcement, opportunity for switch access, or other accessibility features. The specific features in any one program will vary according to its instructional purpose and intended audience.

Universal Design for Learning

Recently, the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an extension of the architectural concept of Universal Design, has started to influence the field of education. Universal Design relates to achieving physical access to environments for all persons at the time of design, rather than retrofitting. Universal Design for Learning is concerned with achieving access to educational environments for all persons at the time of design, which should lower need for many individual accommodations. UDL in the educational environment involves three essential features: 1) Multiple means of representation; 2) Multiple means of expression; and 3) Multiple means of engagement. The programs available in the Sherlock Software Lab provide some technology-related tools to support the movement toward increased UDL in schools and at home.

Using the Sherlock Software Lab

Everyone is welcome to visit the Sherlock Software Lab.

Software cannot leave the Lab – it must be used there.

For other questions about the Sherlock Software Lab, or to request use of the lab, please contact Betsy Dalton, Assistive Technology Coordinator for the Sherlock Center, at edalton@ric.edu or (401) 456-4736. We will try to accommodate requests for lab use as much as possible.

We hope that the Sherlock Software Lab will serve as a helpful resource for the college and the community to learn more about different software applications to serve the varying needs of all learners, including those with disabilities.