Technology for students with learning disabilities

 

 

 

Anayka Ramos

Roashell Bonadie

EDUC 350, Section050

Dr. Saran

September 25, 2010

 

 

It seems like everywhere you turn in our society, there are new advances that are being added everyday to technology.   Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means, and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment.  In education, when dealing with individuals with a learning disability there are a lot of technology that are being used. Our goal is to have our students with a learning disorder to use technology to enhance their knowledge in areas they are having difficulties in.    Besides getting the students to use technology the whole concept is to make sure they understand.  Our task is to know what type of technology would be necessary and how we are going to teach that specific technology to our students.

 

A learning disability is a neurological disorder (damage to the nervous system).  Learning disorders are caused by a difference in the brain that affects how information is received, processed, or communicated.  Children with a learning disorder would have difficulties in spelling, reading, writing, math, speaking and recalling and organizing information if left to figure things out by their selves.  Adults and children with learning disabilities have trouble processing sensory information because they see, hear, and understand things differently.   Although, this condition cannot be cured, there are ways of how that individual can deal with this disability.

 

Our purpose is to have our students find learning exciting and to not make them feel that they are left behind.  One of the ways we as teachers are planning to help our students is to keep a high self-esteem, provide them with moral support, embrace our role as their teachers, staying calm, and being reasonable. We definitely believe that our students would follow our lead once we approach the learning challenge with optimism, hard work and a sense of humor. 

 

With hard work, people with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to be successful later in life. For children who have learning disabilities, they can benefit from technology tools that play to their strengths and work around their challenges. There are several things to keep in mind when teaching children with a learning disability.  Teachers should keep in mind their audience and tailor their work as suitable.  Ask questions in a clarifying manner, and then have the students describe their understanding.   Use an overhead projector in outlining the lesson or unit of the day.  The teacher must reduce course load for student with learning disabilities and provide clear photocopies.   She/he should speak distinctly at a rate that the student with a learning disability can follow. Have students underline key words or directions on activity sheets and then review the sheets with them so that they clearly understand what the assignment is.   The lessons that are more compounds should be recorded and available to the students with learning disabilities.

 

 As well as the teacher should furthermore consider peer tutoring, that is if the student appears unable of keeping up with the class speed or with complex subject matter then the student that have the learning disability would benefit from have another students help. The more capable reader can help in summarizing the essential points of the reading or in establishing the main idea of the reading.  These are helpful hints to take note of when teaching children with learning disabilities.

 

According to the website  , the authors Kristin Stanberry and Marshall Raskind stated that “There are technology tools to help students who struggle with: Listening, Math, Organization and memory, Reading and Writing”(par.1).  For Listening some of the technologies that are being used are Paper-based computer pen. This technology records and links audio to what a person writes using the pen and special paper. It also enables the user to take notes while simultaneously recording someone example a teacher speaking. The user can later listen to any section of his notes by touching the pen to his corresponding handwriting or diagrams.

Another technology that helps children who struggle with listening is the Personal FM listening systems. This technology is use to transmits a speaker's voice directly to the user's ear. This may help the listener focus on what the speaker is saying. The unit consists of a wireless transmitter (with microphone) worn by the speaker and a receiver (with earphone) worn by the listener.  A Variable-speed tape recorder is another device. This device allows a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture spoken information (e.g., a classroom lecture) and play it back later.

Technology advances in Math can also help students that have learning disabilities. These technology tools for math are designed to help people who struggle with computing, organizing, aligning, and copying math problems down on paper. With the help of visual or audio support, users can better set up and calculate basic math problems. Besides solving the math problem it would also enhance our student’s knowledge in math. One of the technologies that are useful for teaching the students who have problems in math is the Electronic math worksheets.

 The Electronic math worksheets are software programs that can help a user organize, align, and work through math problems on a computer screen. Numbers that may appear on the screen can also be read aloud via a speech synthesizer. This would be helpful to people who have trouble aligning math problems with pencil and paper.  And another math technology is the Talking calculators. A talking calculator has a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or operation key a user presses; it also vocalizes the answer to the problem. This auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of the keys he presses and verify the answer before he transfers it to paper.

According to the authors of the website , Stanberry and  Raskind stated that  “students who struggle with organization and memory, have technology tools that can help  them plan, organize, and keep track of their calendar, schedule, task list, contact information, and miscellaneous notes” (par. 4).  These tools allow students to manage, store, and retrieve such information with the help of special software and hand-held devices.  One of the organization and memory devices that aid in learning disability is the Free-form database software that is used in conjunction with word processing or other software.  In addition the authors stated that “this tool allows the user to create and store electronic notes by jotting down relevant information of any length and on any subject” (Stanberrypar.4). The student can later retrieve the information by typing any fragment of the original note. This type of tool may help people who have difficulty with organization and memory. Another device is the Information/data managers.  This type of tool helps a person plan, organize, store, and retrieve their calendar, task list, contact data, and other information in electronic form. Personal data managers may be portable, hand-held devices, computer software, or a combination of those tools working together to share data.www.greatschools.org

 In Reading, there is a wide range of technology tools available to help individuals who struggle with reading. Each type of tool work differently, but all of these tools help by presenting text as speech. These tools help facilitate decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension.  One of the devices for reading that aid in helping students with learning disabilities is the use of Audio books and publications. Audio books and publications are pre-recorded books that allow the students to listen to text. These books are available in many different subjects and come in different formats, such as audiocassettes, CDs, and MP3 downloads etc.  Another device is the Optical character recognition.  This technology allows a user to scan printed material into a computer or handheld unit. The scanned text is then read aloud via a speech synthesis/screen reading system. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available as stand- alone units, computer software, and as portable, pocket-sized devices.

 

 The final category to be covered for students with learning disabilities is writing.  There is a wide range of technology tools available to help students who struggle with writing. Some of these tools help students get around the actual physical task of writing, while others assist in helping students with proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage, and organization. One of the tool that aid students in writing is the Abbreviation expanders. This tool is used with word processing, these software programs allow a user to create, store, and re-use abbreviations for frequently-used words or phrases. This can save the user keystrokes and ensure proper spelling of words and phrases he has coded as abbreviations.  Another writing tool is the Alternative keyboards. These programmable keyboards have special overlays that customize the appearance and function of a standard keyboard.  Students who have LD or have trouble typing may benefit from customization that reduces input choices, groups keys by color/location, and adds graphics to aid comprehension.   The Graphic organizers and outlining is another useful tool.  The Graphic organizers and outlining programs help users who have trouble organizing and outlining information as they begin a writing project. Kristin Stanberry and Marshall Raskinds stated that “this type of program lets a user "dump" information in an unstructured manner and later helps him organize the information into appropriate categories and order”(par.6).

 

Throughout the United States, there are many states that provide a number of different technologies to children with learning disabilities. These technologies help these children perform better in their school work.  With the technologies they can do more than they would have been capable of doing without these technologies.  It’s amazing what these technologies can do for children with learning disabilities.  However, even though we have technologies that support children with learning disabilities, it is so important to note that the teacher should ask questions in a way that would help the student gain confidence, since this help to make the learning experience fun and exciting without adding extra pressure. We also believe that communities should offer support and encouragement to parents, in an effort to increase the awareness and knowledge of issues relating to learning disabilities.

  

 

Works Cited

Stanberry, Kristin and Raskind, Marshall. “Technology for students with learning disabilities.” www.greatschools.org, N.p.2010.web.23 September 2010.

 

 

Kemp, Gina. “Technology for students with learning disabilities.” , N.p. 2009. web.23 September 2010.www.helpguide.org