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SOFTWARE INDUSTRY AWARDS HONOR ONE SPECIAL ED PRODUCT DEVELOPER; NOMINATIONS CLOSE OCT. 14

Aug. 23, 2005

The Software & Information Industry Association recently issued a call for nominations for its annual Codie Awards, which recognize outstanding software, content and education technology products. Nominations are due October 14, and winners will be announced next spring.

In recent years, the SIIA has recognized a varied group of software developers that focus on special education applications. In May, Scholastic's Tom Snyder Productions won a Codie in the Best Education Instructional Solution for Special Needs Students for its Thinking Reader program. Thinking Reader helps develop reading comprehension, targeting fifth through eighth grade students with special needs and those reading below grade level. It was developed in partnership with the Center for Applied Special Technology.

Last year, Kurzweil Educational Systems earned its first Best Educational Special Needs Solution Codie with its Kurzweil 3000 software for addressing language and literacy difficulties. The software uses a multi-sensory approach, presenting printed or electronic text on the computer screen with added visual and audible accessibility, according to company literature.

Other special education category winners include:

• 2003 Best K-16 Educational Special Needs Solution: Digital Frog International's Digital Field Trip to the Rainforest AT program.
• 2002 Best Educational Special Needs Solution: Edmark Reading Program Software Series: Levels 1&2 from Riverdeep Interactive Learning
• 2001 Best Education Special Needs Product: M2K's American Sign Language for Kids
• 2000 Education Special Needs Program - Best Product: Travel the World with Timmy Deluxe, from Riverdeep Interactive Learning's Edmark label

The annual Codie Awards honor the best products in the software and information industry in dozens of categories, including at least one related to special education. In addition to supporting innovative efforts in educational technology, the SIIA has lobbied the federal government to continue funding the Enhancing Education Through Technology school grant program.8