Technology for Dyslexic Students

I chose to explore some content specific technologies over the information literacy option because it will help me with my current students, and it will help me support other teachers to meet the needs of students with dyslexia.  Our district is providing ipads for the teachers and we are encouraged to find useful apps to utilize these ipads in our classes.  I know that by providing ideas for teachers they will be much more willing to use the ipads they have been given. 

I am currently an instructional facilitator working with students with dyslexia.  It is nice that I am working with small groups, however my curriculum is VERY structured and I do not have a lot of time or flexibility in what I teach.  Therefore it is extremely important that I use the technology that I have wisely to make the most of my time with my kids. 

I explored a variety of apps and websites to use with my dyslexic students.  Many of them were drill and practice, which is a huge need for a student with dyslexia.  Repetition is key when helping them develop strategies to cope with struggling with reading, spelling and writing.  Some of my favorites are Lakeshore’s Phonics Tic Tac Toe (great practice with phonemic awareness skills…better for younger elementary students), ABC Ninja (great for letter recognition and the kids LOVE it), Spelling City (fun for spelling review…you have to enter the words and then students can choose games to help them practice those words), Cursive Writing and Cursive Words (good for practicing cursive handwriting), the video camera on the iPad is great for helping students hear themselves read and then determine what goals they want to set for improvement.  I also really like Explain Everything for practice with coding.  I also want to use online jeopardy board templates for review for our concept review cards.  Any e-book reader is great too for dyslexic students to listen to stories.  For the most part these are easy to use tools that can be pulled out quickly and the kids love the practice.  My one hang up I have is with spelling city.  Several times I have tried to input lists and the lists seem to have disappeared.  I’m sure I did something wrong, but if the kids don’t have the words that defeats the purpose of this tool. 

This is challenging to discuss TPACK with these tools because I am not using a specific pedagogy.  I am using the Multisensory Teaching Approach in my classroom with dyslexic kids which involves auditory, kinesthetic and verbal practices to help students build skills that will help them be successful in reading, writing and spelling.  My curriculum is very repetitive and we review every single day.  The content includes everything from alphabet practice, to reading/coding techniques, new learning, spelling, handwriting, verbal expression, review, and listening.  We follow the same schedule every day and each section takes between 3-10 minutes.  I would incorporate these apps to improve some of these specific parts of the days learning.  For example, in alphabet we do upper and lower case letter recognition.  Instead of using our flashcards I would let my students play ABC Ninja.  In reading, we do fluency/comprehension pages on occasion and I would record my students reading aloud and allow them to watch themselves and set a goal for their next read aloud.  In handwriting I would let students practice using their finger and the Cursive Writing app on the ipad to build big muscle memory.  They would then go write with a marker on the white board to show what they practiced on the ipad.  All of the apps I mentioned could be incorporated into my lessons (not all in one day or even in one week, but as needed and as a nice change).  When I allow one or two students to use my ipad, I am working with another student individually on a specific skill.  We then switch and I will work with a different student.  We are constantly working through rotations in my class (one student works with the ipad, one or more at the white board, and one at the table with me).  This way, I am able to individually instruct my students while keeping the others engaged and on task.  For this, I am very thankful for the technology that has been provided.

I realize that this looks very different than using technology in a regular classroom.  It has been a challenge to figure out how to best meet the needs of my students with such a scripted curriculum, however I believe that the students are definitely benefitting from the technology they use in class.  Many bring their phones or tablets and I help them download different apps and e-books to enjoy at home.  We also share a calendar to help keep up with when we have class and when we don’t due to field trips, assemblies and other school events.  I enjoy working with small groups because it is much easier to individualize instruction for smaller numbers of students, however I miss the classroom and the projects and fun ways I would like to use technology.  One day soon I will be in the library and I will face even more challenges with incorporating technology that will benefit the entire school.  I am thankful for classes like these that give me so many wonderful ideas and challenge me to never stop learning!