Blogging+and+Written+Expression+Disaibility

Written Expression Disability and Blogging: As a special education teacher, I work with students with specific learning disabilities, witnessing the frustrations and obstacles they face on a daily basis. Licensed clinical psychologists, Dr. John and Pamela McCaskill, stated, __“//a//__ //specific learning disability reflects specific difficulties with the fluent, consistent learning and application of specific types of mental skills; however, this is a separate issue from general intelligence//.” (Jaleh, 2010) These disabilities can impact a student’s reading, writing, math, listening, reasoning, speaking skills, and often a combo of more than one. A specific learning disability in Written Expression involves significant, neurologically-based difficulties with writing skills and output. Written expression requires the effective coordination of both cognitive information processing and motor skills. These difficulties can negatively impact a student’s ability to: organize words into meaningful thoughts/sentence cohesion; write spontaneously; accurately use grammar, spelling, and punctuation; and handwriting development. (University, 2005-2010) The mere introduction of a writing assignment stirs up negative emotions (frustration, stress, anxiety) causing students to give up easily and/or shutting down to avoid writing assignments altogether. (Jaleh, 2010) Innovative internet technology and digital communication tools have increased students’ interest and participation in social media participation. Web 2.0 tools have changed the internet from a “read-only” web to a “read-write” web. Among the Web 2.0 tools, blogs have become an online journaling tool giving all students a voice while interacting with an authentic audience. In the classroom, blogs can be utilized to promote stimulating discussions, reflection, social networking and writing across content areas. Web 2.0 tools provide students the opportunity to become communicators, authors, artists, and presenters. (Education, 2008) Blogs can academically and socially benefit students with written expression deficits. Online blog discussions provide extended response while allowing students to generate, plan, and organize ideas before responding to writing prompts. With this extended planning time, students can use resources and tools such as speech-to-text, word prediction, or graphic organizers. (Hatton & Hatton, 2012) Normally resistant and struggling these writers are willing to write more often, thus improving their language, reading skills, and written expression. Many students with writing deficits also struggle with attention or auditory processing issues. Teachers can use a classroom blog to provide an accessible location for assignments, classroom notes, video lectures, journaling, access handouts/worksheets and other relevant learning materials. Blogging reduces rigorous writing conventions, resulting in entries filled with increased expression, humor, and playfulness. Incorporating Web 2.0 tools, like Blogs, increases students’ motivation to learn, and lessons can be personalized to the individual needs of each student. Assistive technology and the use of Web 2.0 tools provide students with learning disabilities a connection to typical students and achieve their potential like never before. (Education, 2008)