Josue Mena Ochoa

Professor Flowers
Edu 214-101
April 12, 2021
Patricia M. Barbetta and Linda A. Spears-Bunton describe seven technologies and
various products that are available to assist struggling students with the complex mechanical and
organizational tasks of writing in a secondary English classroom. These technologies can support
students in becoming more effective and more confident writers.The English teacher said, I have
209 kids in my five classes, some of them say they hate writing; more than half do not read on
grade level. Eleven kids are labeled with specific learning disabilities; four have mild cognitive
disabilities, and three others have behavior disorders. Many fear writing and associate it with
failure. People are always talking about technology as if a few clicks will cure all that ails my
students and me. Well, what buttons should I click? I have a computer in my classroom and the
media center has thirty. But what should I do with them? Are there technologies that I can use to
help my students develop a writing life, particularly my students with disabilities?
Many of the writing requirements in inclusive, secondary English classrooms are
daunting to students, especially to those with disabilities. Each stage of the writing process
presents unique challenges, and success in writing lies in the English teacher's ability to provide
appropriate instructional adaptations and accommodations. Fortunately, there are technologies
available. Many of them are useful to other struggling students, such as English language
learners and typicallearning students who are resistant to writing. This article reviews seven of
the technologies: digital text, text-to-speech, word prediction, cognitive organizational,
electronic reference, speech or voice recognition, and alternative writing (see fig. 1).
Digital Text Technology
A digitized document allows English teachers to modify a document to meet the needs of
students. Text can be digitized by using a scanner with optical character recognition (OCR)
software, copying text from a Web site and pasting it into a word-processing program (e.g.,
Microsoft Word, AppleWorks), or by using other, more specialized software programs (e.g.,
IntelliTools III, Kurzweil 3000) Once a page is digitized, the software allows the English teacher
and students to make within- and across-media transformations (Doore). Within-media
transformations are changes in the digitized page such as adjusting font size, style, and color;
adjusting page background color; highlighting key words; and including pictures or images.
Although these modifications may seem basic, for some students with disabilities they make a
significant difference. With digitized text, students also can use AutoSummarize, a tool in
Microsoft Word that reviews a document and selects main-idea sentences. AutoSummarize helps
students identify the main ideas when they need to study a digital document or when they want
to select key points for a presentation. Another way to digitize text is by using the InfoScan
electronic note taker (WizCom Technologies; see fig. 2). Students use this mobile scanning
device just like a yellow highlighter. They simply highlight the key points from almost any
printed document. Then the scanned text can be transferred into a PC and becomes a fully
editable document on MS Word or any Windows application. This would be useful when
students are doing library research for a paper or when they want to copy direct quotations. With
across-media transformation, text is presented in a different medium such as auditory (Doore).
When written digital text is converted to spoken audio, it is referred to as text-to-speech (TTS).
Most TTS programs allow for adjustments in the voice used and the speed of the spoken text.
TTS technology works with word-processing programs, Internet browsers, and email and
chatting systems, making this technology valuable for students who prefer text be read aloud,
who are struggling readers and writers, or who are visually impaired. (Note: TTS features vary
by program.) Some programs (e.g., Texthelp Read&Write, Texthelp Systems) provide students
with a floating toolbar for use with word-processor or Web-browser programs. As the student
types, text is read back by each word, sentence, or paragraph, or by selected text only. In some
programs, digital documents can be read with color highlights (i.e., the word being read is
highlighted in a color as it is read), offering audio-visual reinforcement that may help students
develop recognition of new vocabulary words. Other programs (e.g., TextAloud) convert text
to .wav or MP3 audio files so that students can listen to the material on an MP3 player, such as
the Apple iPod.