Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

Aimee Karaul
ETEC 532, Section 65A
Dr. Alexander de Cosson
April 23, 2013

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are not classified by a

specific set of characteristics. The nature of learning disabilities differs
from person to person, as there are varying traits and severities.
However, there are certain uniform attributes associated with LD
students. Students considered to be learning disabled may find it
difficult to socialize with others, display off-task behaviours, and be shy
and withdrawn from the classroom environment. Today, approximately
one of six students in schools across the United States cannot benefit
fully from a traditional educational program because they have a
disability that impairs their ability to participate in classroom activities
(Hasselbring & Glaser, 2000, p. 103). With the increase of LD children
being prevalent in classrooms, general education teachers are faced
with the task of adopting programs and teaching strategies tailored to
the needs of these specific students. To help encourage success,
students with Learning Disabilities can benefit from using technology
within their academic programs to allow more independency in
academic subjects, to promote more on-tasks behaviours, and to
build better social skills.
Challenges faced to students with Learning Disabilities
The classroom environment provides a place where children are
given the tools and information in order for them to grow up to be
successful adults. There are many unique programs that are
implemented to offer a differentiated learning experience for each

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

individual. However, the problem arises when these typical classroom

programs do not meet the needs of children with learning disabilities.
A learning disability is a disorder where one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or using language,
spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to
listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical
calculations (U.S. Office of Education, 1977, p.65).
There are many different challenges that LD students have. One
of these problems could even stem from the fact that students may
not be identified as learning disabled until they get to college and
experience overwhelming difficulty with coursework or organization
(Lauffer, 1999, p.30). For example, classrooms today have a maximum
of thirty students assigned to one teacher. Not all the time do these
teachers get assistance. It is up to the teacher to figure out the needs
for the entire classroom. Generally the students that are very needy
are the ones that stand out and get more assistance since the teacher
needs to deal with the big concerns first. The ones that are able to
manage themselves are left to figure things out on their own. Thus,
there are some students with learning disabilities that are not high
target and keep getting neglected year after year. Its not until the
curriculum gets extremely difficult until they realize their own disability.
Thus, the frustrations these children undergo really affect their mental
and emotional well-being.

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

Depression within LD students is also another challenge they

may face. The study by Wright-Strawderman & Watson (1992) shows
children identified first as LD found that the students evidenced a
higher rate of depressive symptoms than did non-learning-disabled (p.
259). This depressive symptoms is greatly associated with the lack of
confidence LD student maintain. These deep routed feelings of unacceptance can easily cause children to be scared and feel they will be
forever stuck in this world of not being able to accomplish anything in
life.

Positive Connections for Promoting Academic Success with Technology

Using technology within the classroom has shown great success
in allowing students with LD to have a more active and independent
learning process. Technology facilitates the students' ability to make
personal connections with others and provides opportunities to focus
on writing skills within a context that they value, without fear of being
stigmatized (Hasselbring & Glaser, 2000, p. 108). Students want to
feel like they are similar to every other child. Technology helps to
bridge the gap between the different needs of each child; allowing
them to be successful in their own unique ways. Ultimately, this
promotes internal confidence, which leads to positive growth in the
future. Technologyhas provided new opportunities for these
students to maximize their powers of expression, even to the point

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

where they can find as much enjoyment in writing as their

counterparts (Zhang, 2002, p. 467)
Technology and Academic Independency
Accommodations made in the classroom to support the learning
process of a student with learning disabilities are vital to creating
success in the classroom. To effectively accommodate students with
LD, teachers can incorporate a variety of strategies to enhance
learning. Given the fact that learning disabilities varies considerably
from case to case, it is essential that teachers adopt differing
approaches and strategies to accommodate the needs of specific
children. In reality, teachers dont always have the necessary teaching
support and/or time to provide all students with sufficient assistance.
This is where technology can be beneficial to deliver instructions in a
clear, engaging and motivational level. Using technology is easy, fast
and simple to maneuver around. It also allows students to express
themselves in ways that are not confined to the classroom. Teachers
can employ differentiating assessment through the use of technology
as a tool to evaluate the learning progress of a student with learning
disabilities. Technology allows students to demonstrate their
knowledge of a particular subject through different avenues of
explanation. For example, assistive technology allows individuals with
disabilities to develop compensatory methods of accessing or using

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

information or devices in light of their specific deficits (Lauffer , 1999,

p.37). Technology is the facilitator that breaks barriers between LD
students and allows them to compete in regular academic subjects.
Technology and on-task Learning Disability students
When attention span is affected and it does correlate with offtask behaviours. The issue that occurs with LD students is the fact
that they can easily be off-task due to all the distractions and lack of
focus in a regular classroom, which can result in difficulty with
academics. Learning disabled students have a hard time working in
big groups since they are not getting that one on one support.
There are some programs that break down the information
taught in class in a more simplistic manner as well. By breaking
instructions down into smaller steps, LD students are able to sustain
full attention on the lesson at hand since its geared to their own level
of understanding; resulting in more on-task behaviours. Many
students feel they are failures in any writing context and loose the
hope to try hard and learn. These new programs provide new
opportunities for students to maximize their powers of expressions
[and decrease the amount of anxiety], where they can find enjoyment
in writing (Zhang, 2002, p. 467). By getting rid of the anxiety levels,
students with LD show less signs of inappropriate behaviours; this type
of behaviour is greatly associated with off-task behaviours in their

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

academics. Lastly, iPads are visually pleasing to look at with all the fun
graphics and visuals found on the apps. Research demonstrates that
learning environments that incorporate dynamic images and sound are
especially helpful for students who have limited background knowledge
in a subject, which is often the case for students with learning
disabilities (Hasselbring & Glaser, 2000, p.109). Visuals allow for
communication to be direct and unambiguous, which is beneficial for
learning disabled students. By using the techniques listed about of
extra time and more visuals, students with LD demonstrate more
involvement in their academics and moreover show more on-task
behaviours.
There are many apps on the iPads that allow for LD students to
spend more time on the lessons being taught in the classroom. By
providing more time for a student with learning disabilities, allows to
process information in a more efficient manner. For example, the app
Explain Everything allows for students to create their own video at
their own pace about the concepts being learnt in the class. LD
students can log onto the app whenever extra practice is able and by
viewing what they created they are able to build from their previous
knowledge and thus have a better understanding. Students tend to
learn best by doing and showing from their own peer groups.
Social Benefits for Learning Disabled students

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

Technologies, such as iPads, are bridging the gap between

building social skills and the time involved in teaching these skills.
More parents are turning to apps to improve their children's skills
because of the technology's ability to captivate, individualize and offer
immediate feedback in ways other therapies can't, (Munz, 2011, p. 1).
Technology allows for students to feel more confidence in themselves
since it assists with writing/reading barriers. Using technology
promotes a more positive self-conception and this helps with building
relationships in the classroom.
Economic Barriers
Although advantages of technology are endless and cannot be
argued against, there are still barriers that prevent teachers and
schools to fully adopt these educational technology programs. Stack &
Kelly (2006, p.13) state, despite easy and adequate access to
computers, majority of novice teachers do not use the available
resources for instructional purposes. There are several different
factors that affect teachers perception of not promoting the use of
technology within the classrooms. A survey done by Pelgrum (2001)
showed that two of the biggest obstacles to teachers' technology use
were teachers' lack of knowledge and skills, and not enough training
opportunities for teachers, (Kurt & Ciftci, 2012, p. 226). Teachers want
to feel confident and understand the foundation of using the device

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

before integrating it within the classroom. For example, Pajares (1992)

found that there was a "strong relationship between teachers'
educational beliefs and their planning, instructional decisions, and
classroom practices, (Kurt and Ciftci, 2012, p. 226). If technology is
not an important facilitator to the teachers instructional planning,
chances are teachers will be less likely to feel the need to use the
devices.
Financial cutbacks in school systems are also huge barriers. Due
to the districts cutbacks on resources, students are forced to use
devices that are shared amongst the entire school. This can cause
great limitations to the LD student. Generally LD students need
consistency in their daily support, and by not providing consistency
with the use of the iPads, it can cause a damper on the success rate of
the individual as well as frustration and negative behaviour.
These cutbacks also create problems with LD students who need
programs specifically created for the improvement of their own
disability. More and more parents of learning disabled children are
being forced to pay the high prices of out of school private programs
that include technology-implemented programs. These parents are
being told that the districts cannot afford certain programs and to
simply take them out of the public school system. The Moore family
case was a prime example of special needs students being diminished

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

10

educational privileges. This family from North Vancouver fought for the
injustice of students with special needs who were not provided
adequate amount of classroom assistance. This case was taken to the
Supreme Court of Canada, where the decision was made that school
districts need to take responsibility for providing full assistance to
special needs students (Makin, 2012). The father (Jeffrey Moore)
stated, This case is about the thousands of kids who cant afford a
private school education and ... are stuck in the public school system;
who end up dropping out and become a burden on society, (Makin,
2012). This case was extremely important to the families of children
with exceptionalities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, since it
stressed how important classroom assistance is for these special
needs students. Furthermore, these barriers that demote the use of
technology for differentiated learning within special needs children
really hindered the growth and success of the child; creating many
more obstacles in their own future and thus society at large.
Conclusion
There are many challenges that students with learning
disabilities face on a daily basis, and the classroom environment does
not fall short of these difficulties. It is an educators duty to provide
students with meaningful access to education. Teachers can adopt
many accommodations and teaching strategies that can make the

Technology and Language Arts Learning Disabilities

11

school environment an effective place for learning. These strategies

vary greatly and are tailored based on a students strengths,
weaknesses and interests. Technology above all programs has had
positive impacts on special needs students. Overall, the more
knowledge and information that educator acquires about the students
disorder, the more technological tools, they can generate and present
to their classrooms.

References:
Bender, W., & Smith, J. (1990). Classroom behavior of children and
adolescents with
learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. Journal of Learning
Disabilities, 23, 298-305.
Forgrave, Karen E. (2002). Assistive Technology: Empowering Students
with
Learning Disabilities, The Clearing House . Taylor & Francis, Ltd,
(75), (3), 122-126.
Hasselbring, T. & Glaser C. (2000). Use of Computer Technology to Help
Students
with Special Needs. The Future of Children,10, (2),102-122.

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12

Kurt, S. & Ciftci, M. (2012). Barriers to Teachers' Use of Technology.

International
Journal of Instructional Media, 39, 3.
Lauffer, Kimberly A. (1999). Accommodating Students with Specific
Writing
Disabilities. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 54, 29.
Munz, M. (2011). New apps part of autistic kids' therapy Advent of iPad
creates
technology for patients and their parents to improve social skills. St.
Louis
Post-Dispatch (Missouri). 3rd ed.

Stack, M. & Kelly, D. M. (2006). The Popular Media, Education, and

Resistance. Canadian Journal of Education, 29,(1), 5-26.
U.S. Office of Education. (1977). Assistance of states for education of
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Wright-Strawderman, C., & Watson, B. (1992). The prevalence of
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Zhang, Y. (2002). Technology and the Writing Skills of Students with
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13

Disabilities. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32,

(4), 467.