This blog is intended to introduce you to the writing process and specific assistive technology, both high tech and low tech, that can be used to aid someone for who the process of writing has broken down in some way.
The writing process is very complicated. It involves all the elements needed for reading (attention, propriosenory processing,emotional engagement, organization, exposure to vocabulary, understanding of phonemes and phonics, memory, working memory) plus the mechanics of being able to hold a pencil and print the letters.
In order for the brain to learn it must be able to pay attention and be in its optimum state for learning. The following video is a good one to share with students to explain all this.
Next you have to be able to generate ideas for writing, understand grammar, punctuation, organize ideas and the list goes on and on. The following videos help explain some of these aspects of writing.
If you are interested in learning more about some of the elements of learning to write you may follow the links below to articles and videos which take a more indepth look at this:
When looking at introducing technology into your classroom or home you may want to consider careful research about what to look for. Below is a link that will help you with this process.
In order for students to be able to learn to write they must have a good understanding of reading basics such as the relationship between the sounds we make and how we represent them in writing (phonemes/graphemes) and how this all combines to make a message to convey to others.
The iPod/phone/pad can assist with this. There are many apps that support struggling readers and writers if paying attention is an issue for the student. Please see my blog on reading at eneaves@blogspot.com for a comprehensive list of some apps that may assist with this.
In order to learn anything you need to be able to pay attention, focus, get data from our senses and process it and make connections (see video in The Writing Process post). Those students who have a difficult time paying attention are at a disadvantage. Students who have ADHD have a very difficult time sustaining attention. Some products and non-medication interventions are available to help students from being less distracted in class. Below are some articles with some background information on this.
The following links and video show you some technology that can be used in the classroom to support these students.
Low Tech Assistance
For some students holding a pencil correctly might not be enough. If they are slower at producing written work (writing the letters on paper) you may want to switch to higher technology to help out, keyboards/computers.
. Alternative keyboards
Some students may have difficulty accessing a standard keyboard due to physical limitations such as sight and coordination.
For some students, whose phsical limitations so not allow them access to a keyboard, speech recognition software may assist in them getting their ideas on paper independently. There are many different speech to text software to choose from. See the links below:
Now that the students should be able to get their ideas or thoughts physically on paper they may need assistance with the actual organization and generation of ideas. Please see below for some ideas on how to assist students with these aspects of writing using technology.
SPELLING
As stated in the Cognitive Aspects of writing, writing requires knowing the basic building blocks to reading and writing can assist students with the reading process.
But until this bridge between reading and spelling is gapped, students still have to write so below you will find some assistive technology that may be useful in helping students, who struggle with spelling, write:
Many students struggle with coming up with ideas and/or organizing their thoughts in a logical way. Below are some tools that will be useful in helping with this.
Now that we have talked about how to help students with the being able to pay attention, physically be able to write and have talked about technology to help with organization and idea generation it is time to talk about the most challenging aspect of teaching: motivating students to learn.
One of the best ways to do this is to make learning fun and interactive. The iPod touch is a fantastic way to engage students in learning. The following apps are great ones to help with the writing process:
A great site that has a list of writing apps with description and link and options for other genres of apps
