Article Assessment #4

Assistive Technologies for Reading: Text-reader programs, word-prediction software, and other aids empower youth with learning disabilities.
by Ted S. Hasselbring and Margaret E. Bausch

In this article Hasselbring and Bausch outline how new technologies can assist students with special needs in the classroom and help them to find success at school. They argue that as more and more special education students are incorporated into the traditional classroom support must be provided to them, and that technology provides a likely solution. They outline the technologies that are available and how they might assist in a myriad of ways from reading selected text aloud to students to providing the necessary background information to kids before they read the material individually. The information and success rates they cite come from Kentucky where the majority of schools have adopted such technologies and have had pleasing results.

• 44 percent of students with learning disabilities spend 80 percent or more of their school day in inclusive classrooms
• These students are expected to perform grade-level work but are not given specialized support.
• As many as 8 of 10 students with learning disabilities have reading problems that are so significant that they cannot read and understand grade-level material without help.
• Text reading software helps these students by reading text aloud and provides them the opportunity to follow along at the same time.
• Students using this software are more likely to go over the information more times than when teachers read aloud to them.
• Word prediction, another feature of the program, predicts what word the student is writing and gives them several options to choose from which helps to speed up the writing process.
• This program also reads back what students have written allowing them to self-correct their work.
• These soft wares provide students who have difficulty reading and writing an equal opportunity to succeed in school.
• Computerized reading training exercises have also proved highly effective in teaching students how to read independently.
• One study reported that after using these programs 18% of students did not require further intervention after one year in the program.

These technologies sound amazing. I can see how they could be used in every subject taught in school. However, I do think that they present their own concerns. It is important to remember when using such technologies that each student must be individually evaluated to find out exactly what they need and how their needs can best be met by the program. It would be incredibly easy to make this technology available for everyone or to over-compensate for student difficulties with these types of programs. I think that if students can benefit from reading training programs that should be the key focus. The other technologies, which help students adapt, should only be used to help students until they are able to do it themselves, or in extreme cases. I wish I had these programs in my health class right now!