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Debate over the use of software for dissections gets a new twist.
Animal-rights organizations are using software donations and other outreach efforts to spur interest in the use of "virtual dissection" tools among schools--adding a new chapter in the debate over whether these tools offer a viable option for teaching biology.
It's not just concern for the squeamish biology students who wince at the feel and the smell of cutting into a formaldehyde-soaked animal that is driving the virtual-dissection trend in schools. Think about the frog, the pig, or even the rat: That's the message that animal-rights activists in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle had in mind when they recently donated interactive software that replicates a frog dissection to nearby Wheeling Park High School.
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Related links
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
National Anti-Vivisection Society
Digital Frog International
Froguts Inc.
Tactus Technologies
Zac Browser created by the grandfather of an autistic boy.
A Las Vegas software developer has created a free web browser designed specifically for use by autistic children.
John LeSieur is in the software business, so he took particular interest when computers seemed mostly useless to his 6-year-old grandson, Zackary. The boy has autism, and the whirlwind of options presented by PCs so confounded him that he threw the mouse in frustration.
LeSieur tried to find online tools that could guide autistic kids around the web, but he couldn't find anything satisfactory.
So he had one built, named it the Zac Browser For Autistic Children in honor of his grandson, and is making it available to anyone free of charge.
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Related links
Zac Browser
Center for Teaching and Research in Autism
Heartspring
Site of the Week
Database helps educators compare assistive software and technologies. 
The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) has updated its TechMatrix, a searchable database that enables educators and families of students with disabilities to identify and compare assistive learning software and technologies.
Users can search for and compare more than 190 products that focus on improving the lives of students with special needs. Funded by the NEC Foundation of America and the U.S. Department of Education, the expanded TechMatrix allows users to generate a detailed report on customized searches within four areas of focus: reading, mathematics, writing, and assistive technologies.
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Source: eSchool News
