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Essay Subject: Uses & effectiveness of new technologies in educating learning-disabled students, focusing on word-processing & writing skills.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Uses & effectiveness of new technologies in educating learning-disabled students, focusing on word-processing & writing skills. Paper Introduction: The significant growth and use of microcomputers in special education oyer the last few years can be attributed to a number of factors (Blaschke, 1985). First the passage of public Law 94-142 has generated a demand for the new technology both in terms of a reduction in paper work needed to comply with the Law (assessing, evaluation, placement, student monitoring and reporting) and in instruction. Secondly, funds allocated to special education have increased. This has spirited the development of software for learning disabled students. Thirdly, parental realization that the new technology can help to improve their children's academic work has brought pressure on state and local education agencies to provide these methodologies to their children. Finally, the Special Education division of the U.S. Department of Education has Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. A comparison of components of written expression abilities inlearning disabled and non-learning disabled students at three grade levels. Journal of LearningDisabilities, 19(3), 185-188. Several other authors have characterized the writing of learningdisabled students as less cohesive (Bryson & Siegel, 1986), shorter andpoorer in overall quality (Poplin, Gray, Larsen, Banikowski, & Mehring,198 ). Students could experiment withouthaving to rewrite every word, which could present a problem to studentswith limited motor skills. The ability to edit,delete and insert text made students more willing to try new sentenceconstruction and different word choices. Learning Disability Quarterly, 46-53. Using the microcomputer as a to]] forlearning to read and write. Technology trends in special education.T.H.E. In this method the student dictates his story to theteacher who writes it down. Students had daily 2 minute sessions on the program. The teachers surveyed indicated that there was an increase in thechildren's willingness to write, and in the quality of the writing.However, the teachers in this survey, in general, did not use the computerto teach the writing process; they were mainly concerned with the mechanicsof writing. References Blaschke, C. Because of this,students' stories using these two methods were not significantly differentfrom one another. Handwriting, wordprocessing and dictation were used by a group of students to write storiesusing pictures as stimuli. Journal, 12, 8 -82. The authors identified several variables whichmight have an effect on the writing composition of these students as afunction of the method used. A similar analysis was presented by Mokros and Russell (1986). Secondly, funds allocated to specialeducation have increased. In conclusion, word processing programs used to teach writing skillsto non-readers have been found to produce gains of one to two years afteronly six months of use. (1985). The factors which have been identified ascontributing to these gains include the use of multi-modality input, thelow risk involved in experimenting with new construction, the ease withwhich editing and correcting can be done, and the lack of interference frompoor mechanical skills. Rosegrant, T. Dictionarymeaning of words were also included in word processing programs to aidwriting. Bryson, M., & Siegel, L. Theseauthors reported on a survey of the ways in which teachers used computersfor special education students. After the first 6 months of the project the students had shown asignificant improvement in their reading and writing skills. The word processing programdesigned for the project included a synthesized speech feature. However, composition rates and revision rates weresignificantly different. Seeing their compositions in print helped withword recognition and grammar. Word processing for special education studentsworth the effort. The second factor identified as particular to the use of a wordprocessor was to lower the risk of making errors. At least oneyear of improvement was seen; length of writings, word choice, punctuation,and use of more complete and complex meaning units were used. The significant growth and use of microcomputers in special educationoyer the last few years can be attributed to a number of factors (Blaschke,1985). The development of writtenlanguage production in normally achieving and learning-disabled children.Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian PsychologicalAssociation. It is these features of wordprocessing programs which has been found to help dyslexic, or learningdisabled students. Word processors were used in a variety ofways including correcting punctuation, grammar, and spelling. (1967). This has spirited the development of softwarefor learning disabled students. The Journal of SpecialEducation, 21(3), 22-42. Furthermore, LD (Learning Disabled) students' compositions containfewer structural elements and have more spelling, capitalization, andpunctuation errors (Poplin et al.). Finally, the Special Education divisionof the U.S. However, as the use of the computer became more widespread andthe teachers became more familiar with the capabilities of the program, itsuse for teaching writing was improved. Thirdly, parental realization that the newtechnology can help to improve their children's academic work has broughtpressure on state and local education agencies to provide thesemethodologies to their children. (1985). The computerkeyboard allowed students to write without having to be concerned abouthandwriting. (1965). (1986). A study reported by MacArthur and Graham (1987) compared studentcompositions under three methods of text production. Handwriting and word processing demand that thestudent use mechanical means of producing the story. Word processing packages provide users with the ability to erase,edit, and move written text. T.H.E. In effect, students are free from themechanical and conventional demands of producing text. Third, the high degree of control over the reading and writing taskenabled students to explore writing. Thepaper presents a sampling of those studies which have found gains fromusing word processing programs on dyslexic students to teach writingskills. (1986). Journal, 12, 73-77. Rosegrant (1985) reports on a four year project which has used a wordprocessing program with "non-readers." The students in this project were 6to 1 year olds who were reading at least two years below grade level andwho had difficulty decoding the written word. The rate of composition wasslower for the word processing methods, since students had to learn theplacement of the keys and how to use the editing technique. In comparison tohandwriting and word processing, dictation does not interfere with theputting of text on paper. The author foundthat most often teachers are apprehensive about including computers intothe program. Dictation was the easiest of the threemethods to use. The monitor screen provided practice in visual tracking andvisual pattern recognition without being a drill and practice exercise.Additionally, the speech synthesizer allowed students to hear letter names,word sounds, letter combinations, and string sounds. The softwarecould also say aloud, every word of text on the monitor, as often asrequested. MdcArthur, C., & Graham, S. The authorsconclude that typing skills need to be taught prior to beginning a computerword processing program, but that the use of the computer to help teachwriting may be a useful too]. Theprogram said the letters or words as the children typed them. Several relevant variables were identified as being responsible forthe improvement in writing skills. Degnan (1985) reports on a project which reduced teacher reluctanceto use word processing with special education students. Degnan, S. & Russel, S. Studentswith mechanical as well as perceptual problems could practice these skillsand also learn the process involved in writing. Packages differ on the techniques used toaccomplish these tasks; however, the ability to compose written materialwithout being concerned about format, spelling, and punctuation remains thegreatest utility of word processing systems. In other words threemodalities were being used by the computer to improve writing and readingskills. Significant content changes were made using thismethod; large sections of text were added. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16(2), 113-115.----------------------- 7 Learner-centered software: A surveyof microcomputer use with special needs students. Students produced the longest and most complexstories using this method. The chief means of promoting computers as tools for writingis to convince teachers that the computer is a labor saving tool. Students made more revisions in the wordprocessing methods. As a result of these factors the successful use of computers with LD(Learning Disabled) students has been reported in the literature. Increases in motivationhave been evident in computer labs since students can share their writingby making multiple copies. First the passage of public Law 94-142 has generated a demand for thenew technology both in terms of a reduction in paper work needed to complywith the Law (assessing, evaluation, placement, student monitoring andreporting) and in instruction. Mokros, J. First the computer program providedvisual, auditory and motoric support for the students. Poplin, M., Gray, R., Larsen, S., Banikowski, A., & Mehring, T.(198 ). Department of Education has allocated funds for the developmentof systems to be used with learning disabled students. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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