Higher Wider Deeper
WRITING TOOLS
By Cierra Kirts
WHAT IS A WRITING TOOL?
A writing tool is a device, software or tool that helps a
person write.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OFTEN HAVE ISSUES WITH THE
WRITING PROCESS, AND THESE WRITING TOOLS ARE SOMETHING THAT WILL ASSIST THEM
THROUGHOUT THEIR GROWING PROCESS.
WHO WOULD THESE WRITING TOOLS
BENEFIT?
oPeople with oPhysical Disabilities oDyslexia
oVisual Impairments oLearning Disabilities oADD
oLanguage
Disabilities
oIndividuals on the Autistic Spectrum
HOW DO AT TOOLS HELP THOSE STUDENTS
WHO HAVE A HARD TIME WITH WRITING?
There is a wide range of Assistive Technology (AT) tools
that are available to help students who struggle with writing. Some of these
tools can help make the physical act of writing easier, it can also help those
who have a hard time with spelling and grammar, giving them the skills to
express their thoughts clearly while teaching them organizational skills.
HOW TO PICK WHICH WRITING TOOL WILL
BEST BENEFIT THE INDIVIDUAL.
Deciding which tool is best for your student or child’s
needs is a very important and may be a pivotal point in the individuals life.
So when deciding and researching your options you need to question what is his
or her experience using technology? As well as what settings and situations
they would use the AT device in? This situation may seem very stressful as it
is a decision to find the best possible aid for an individual’s struggles and
everyday life, but you need to remember that you aren't alone in this process
of decisions. There are many resources out there that can help you when you
have questions and are unclear about which tool is best, but an occupational
therapist or a special education teacher is going to be the most reliable
resource you will find. They will tell and advise you of what tools they
believe are the best and most suitable options for your loved ones needs. As
well, they will also have a wider variety of tools than your typical store
would have.
WHAT KIND OF WRITING TOOL WORKS BEST
FOR EACH DISABILITY.
Well a specific tool that is best used for an individual is
based on their own needs, so you will find that there is no right tool for each
and every disability. It all is just based off of what they need and finding
the tool that will help them succeed in their lives.
TYPES OF WRITING TOOLS AND PRICING
oThere are many
different types of writing tools, we have those that are high tech which will
also be the most expensive, while the low tech options would be the less
expensive route. Here are some of the prices of the tools I will be focusing
on.
oDragon Software
$100 oLivescribe Pen
$200 oTape Recorders
$25 oPencil Grips
$0.33
TYPES OF WRITING TOOLS
High Tech tools include
oDevices that turn your spoken words into text. Examples of
this are
1. SpeechRecognitionSoftware 2. Speech to Text
3. VoiceRecognitionsoftware
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is one of the most commonly used
software for this type of tool. Dragon Naturally Speaking has helped people
around the world Christopher Null says that “Dragon Speech Recognition
software is better than ever at letting you speak freely.” “These technologies
help level a playing field for individuals who would not be able to demonstrate
their capabilities as learners,” says Brant Parker, director of learning
and innovation technology for the Calgary Board of Education in Canada. In his
district, at least 90 public schools are using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a
voice- recognition program that does the typing for you.
High Tech Tools continued
While software is a crucial tool to assist with writing
solutions, don’t forget that there are multiple assistive technology devices
that can help you with your writing and reading strategies. One example of an
AT device for writing is the Livescribe Pen. This pen is designed to work and
write just like your average pen. However this piece of AT uses Bluetooth
technology to send everything you write to your tablet or mobile device. These
pens use a special notebook that works with your pen to detect what you have
written or drawn. These pens use a thing called conversion technology to
organize and simplify all your written notes.
In an interview with students and teachers from Pinellas
& Collier County talking about how the Livescribe pen has changed their
classrooms they said “Its not just your notes its your teacher taking you
through step by step of everything they taught you that day.” Markus Phox Students
were still able to listen to the teacher but they also have the benefit of being
able to work independently as well as work at their own pace. Not only did the
students love it but the teachers couldn't stop praising it either, saying “its
not just efficient for our students but its just as efficient for us, making it
a win win situation.”
Mid Tech tools
oOne mid tech
tool that is accessible to anyone with a smart phone or tablet is voice to text
applications. Voice Dream Writer is one of the most common used app for note
taking and jotting down ideas. This app proof reads your writing, it will read
your grammatical errors and other writing mistakes out loud using text to
speech so you can easily spot your errors.
oWhile there
are millions of apps available for notetaking recording for notetaking still
remains one of the most popular solutions for capturing notes and ideas. “Tape
recorders/players allow a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture
spoken information (e.g., a classroom lecture) and play it back later. Variable
speed control (VSC) tape recorders speed up or slow down the playback rate
without distorting the "speaker's" voice.” Kristin Stanberry
Low Tech Tools
One of the most commonly used low tech tool for writing
would be the pencil and pen grips. These tools come in a variety of styles and
materials to best suit your levels of comfort. They allow you to hold onto your
writing instrument securely. These grips can eliminate fatigue and assist with
pressure control while writing.
“A pencil grip can help kids hold a pencil properly. A slant
board raises the writing surface to give more leverage for handwriting. And
lined or graph paper can help kids write in straight lines.” The Understood
Team These are all low to no tech options to accommodate our students
needs.
MEET AND GREET WITH DON
Don is a man who came into our class this semester and is
someone who really had the huge impact on me. Don doesn't have the use of
anything below his neck, so everything he did just blew my mind. He controlled
his wheelchair by the sensors on his head rest, and one of the most amazing
things that I learned about Don was that he made the best out of his situation.
Despite his disabilities he has done 1,000 names in indexing, I was so
astonished when I heard this, I wondered to myself how? Well he did all of
these names with the help of a sensor that was at the top of his computer and
then with a little tiny reflective dot that his dad would place on his nose.
This is just an AT tool but it became a writing tool when you found out that,
that is how he would type. He would move his nose to his desired key and would
have to stay still for it to click the letter, this seemed like a tedious task,
but it was something that he strived to do. This writing tool was so eye
opening to me, it made me think that yes he is disabled but that doesn't mean
he has to be limited. Don will always be an inspiration to me
SUCCESS STORIES/ SUCCESSFUL USES
•In a case
study of Michael Riccioli, he noticed that his teenage son wasn’t
comprehending a novel that was assigned in class. Riccioli took the book and
transformed it into a MP3 file for his son, his son then listened to the file
on his iPod while reading along. Riccioli had an interest in voice enabled
technology. “this is a textbook example of universal design for learning”
In another case study on the livescribe pen a educator Brian
Licata from St Johns School, New York, in this study the teacher used the
smartpen in math class for over a year and he found that the students overall
notetaking didn't improve even though the class averages increased. He said
“Overall I think that the pen has led to student’s success based on its current
usage. Looking back I would use the pen more for assessment of students than
students own notetaking. If the students are relying on my notes for notetaking
and not watching their own notes, it defeats the purpose of using the pen to
take notes.” Brian Licata
WORK CITED
ØGuernsey, Lisa. “High-Tech Help.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/09tech-
t.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDisabilities&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version
=search&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection.
ØLicata, Brian . “Livescribe Pen Pilot Program Year 1.” Sept.
2010, www.livescribe.com/en-
us/media/pdf/solutions/St.%20Johns%20School%20Case%20Study.pdf.
ØNull, Christopher. “Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 review:
Better than ever at letting you speak freely.” PCWorld, PCWorld, 28 July
2014, www.pcworld.com/article/2458363/dragon-naturallyspeaking-13-review-better-than-ever-at-letting-you-speak-freely.html.
ØPhox, Markus . YouTube, YouTube, 12 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlQNQKgKaY.
ØStanberry,
Kristin. “Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview.”
Reading Rockets, 6 Sept. 2017,
www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview.
ØTeam, The Understood. “Assistive Technology for Writing.” Understood.org,
www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-
technology/assistive-technologies-basics/assistive-technology-for-writing.
