ConnSENSEReviewClozePro

ConnSENSE Review: Cloze Pro

Product Reviewed: Cloze Pro
Manufacturer: Crick Software Inc.
14687 N.E. 95th Street
Redmond, WA 98052
Toll-free: 1-866-33-CRICK
Telephone: 425-467-8260
Fax: 425-467-8245
http://www.cricksoft.com
info@cricksoft.com
Price: $199.00 single user license; 5 user license $399.00
Reviewed by: Margaret Kardos OTR/L, ATP
muncie@connsensebulletin.com

I have yet to see someone watch a demonstration of Cloze Pro for the first time who doesn’t say the same thing, “WOW!” Cloze Pro is another excellent program brought to us by the folks at Crick Software. It is a program that enables you to create cloze activities used so frequently in schools today. I must admit that when I first saw this software demonstrated, I too thought it must be magic. Simply type in the text, select and set the remove button from the tool bar and PRESTO! you have a fill-in-the-blank-multiple-choice activity. It’s that easy; it’s that fast. The text that you just typed remains in the upper portion of the screen, minus the words you have removed that have been replaced with a fill-in line. The words that have been removed now conveniently appear in a grid of cells located at the bottom section of the screen. By clicking on the cell, the word contained in it is placed back into the selected fill-in space. For those of you who are familiar with Clicker 5, Crick’s talking word processing and grid writing program, you will recognize the format.

Cloze Pro offers a number of options that will allow customization and increased versatility of use. Take a look at some of them:

Picture library: for those students who are younger or may rely on visual cues, there is a picture library that is available to illustrate words or phrases in both the text and the cells; you can also add your own pictures by creating a custom library.
“Distracter” choices: it is possible to have “distracter” choices that are “extra” cells containing words that will not be used in completing the activity.
Remove-as-you-use feature: words can be removed from the cells as choices are made to decrease the likelihood of error on the part of the student if desired.
Speech: there is a speech engine that has a natural voice quality to it that can read the text in the word processing portion of the page as well as read the text in the cell simply by right clicking on it. This can be very helpful to students to hear the text after they have made a choice to verify that it makes sense. The words in the cell can also be “read” to ensure that the student is reading and understanding the selection correctly.
Notes: notes can be added either for the use of the teacher or the student. This is a great way to include instructions in a saved activity that the student can access independently. The notes appear in a pop-up box on the screen and can be read aloud using the speech feature or can be printed out.
Print features: After an activity has been created it can be printed out in a convenient worksheet format; this is particularly useful in terms of universal design for instruction, enabling everyone to have the exact same worksheet. Students with accessibility or other learning needs can complete the same work on the computer that peers are completing with a pencil. The finished work can be printed and turned in or sent home and everyone ends up with the same finished product.
Accessibility: Cloze Pro can be used with a mouse-emulating device such as a joystick or trackball and it has scanning capabilities as well. The scanning feature requires an additional purchase of the Crick interface box to support switch use.
Administrative features: Cloze Pro has the capability to track student progress by automatically creating and saving a report on the student’s progress. This feature allows you to view the assignments/activities that the student accessed; see whether or not they were completed; view the percentage of correct answers; and know whether or not a prompt was used. The report can be printed as well and can provide valuable information in assessing student progress.

Cloze Pro is simple to master and has many user-friendly features including an easy to understand tool bar and kid-friendly buttons to promote independent use. As with most educational programs, teacher features are separate from student features yet are easy to access and simple enough for the novice and computer-shy user at heart.

While appropriately named Cloze Pro, this program can be used to meet a number of educational outcomes beyond the standard cloze activities. In addition to cloze activities the program can be used to teach and/or assess literacy and language skills such as labeling, matching, categorizing and demonstrating associations. The cells contained in the grids can contain a single letter, word, phrase or an entire sentence, making the program useful for reading activities such as phonological awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary building, sequencing, retelling events or making predictions. Cloze Pro could also be used for teaching and assessing math applications that are typically found in worksheet format such as word problems, matching sets and making comparisons. Virtually anything that would teach or assess using a worksheet can be reinforced with Cloze Pro; in addition, the speech feature enables the creation of auditory comprehension activities as well.

Cloze Pro is supported by www.LearningGrids.com Crick’s resource for free ready-made activities available to license holders. Activities at the site are available without having to leave the program to download and save them, provided you have Internet access on the computer where the program is installed. You can get a free fully working copy of the program that will operate for 30 days by visiting the Crick website and requesting it. I would encourage those who don’t have the program to get a copy of the demo; I’m sure once you see it you too will say “WOW!” Another fine product from the folks at Crick.

Grade: A+