Mixing and Matching

Today I was working with a middle school student trying to put together a system of tools that could work for him at home. As much I would like to find tools that give students the most coverage for what they need, it often comes down to looking at several different pieces of software to do the trick. Working with the middle school student who has difficulty getting started with writing book reports and essays, it was apparent that looking at programs like Inspiration and Draft:Builder would be great starting points. I showed the student the programs and had him try it out so that I could get his feedback. After using the programs he thought that Draft:Builder could do the trick for him. We next took a look how Dragon Naturally Speaking could integrate with Draft:Builder and I had the student dictate into a Draft:Builder Note-which worked quite well. Between Draft:Builder and Dragon Naturally Speaking we had a real winning combination to support this students writing. I guess if there is a lesson to be learned sometime you need to think out of the box and mix and match your AT.