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.