Literacy Instruction, Technology, and Students with Learning Disabilities

I chose this article because I am specializing in special education, and I was curious what research was out there that supported technology and students with learning disabilities.   According to this article, the gap between the level at which students with learning disabilities (LD) perform and the demands of the curriculum that they are expected to meet is often wide.  This article stated that 21% of students with LD are five or more grade levels below in reading, 31% of students with LD drop out of school compared to 9.4% of nondisabled peers, and only 11% of students with LD attend postsecondary school.  I found these statistics interesting and as a special education teacher, I hope I can close the gap and help the students succeed in their education.

According to this article, eText helps students gain access to text through simple changes to font, size, color, and availability of other tools that are assistive in nature.  This particular research group focuses on improving student decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension through various embedded supports such as electronic dictionaries, links to outside resources, and utilization of cognitive learning strategies.  I think that it is really important to use different strategies when teaching students with learning disabilities.  They need a lot of support and in order to give that support teachers need to know how to differentiate and use different strategies to teach a concept.

This article focuses on TPACK and how important it is to balance content, pedagogy, and technology.  According to the research of this article, technology can play a role in helping teacher structure individualized literacy instruction; however, the use of technology must be augmentative and logical in terms of its impact on the overall instructional plan.  I like how they stated that TPACK can be used across the three tiers of the RTI framework helping to conceptualize and organize the delivery of literacy instruction.

Overall, this article's main focus was using technology with students with learning disabilities.  It focused on finding appropriate technology to use that will help the students and not hinder them.  There are several factors to think about when using technology like sound and lighting.  These can affect students in ways that will hinder their learning.  The article stressed the importance of selecting and designing multimedia materials for literacy instruction that helps students build skills necessary for literacy-related success, including meeting individual needs, along the demands of local and state standards.

Kennedy, M. J., & Deshler, D. D. (2010). Literacy Instruction, Technology, and Student with Learning Disabilities: Research We Have, Research We Need. Learning Disability Quarterly, 33, 289-298.   Retrieved May 16, 2011, from ERIC. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.iastate.edu:2048/ehost/results?sid=7d50fd64-eead-45dc-9df6-bf6f8e8d75ea%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=19&bquery=(Literacy+AND+Instruction%2c+AND+Technology%2c+AND+Students+AND+with+AND+Learning+AND+Disabilities)&bdata=JmRiPWVyaWMmdHlwZT0wJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d>.