Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education

Research into the behaviours manifested by the dyslexic condition has often focused upon younger dyslexic pupils and the lower-order skill difficulty in decoding and encoding. A surge in interest in the writing process has shifted the focus to higher-order skills, and a growing body of research is e...

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Main Author: Geraldine A. Price
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association for Learning Technology 2006-12-01
Series:Research in Learning Technology
Online Access:http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/article/view/10940
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author Geraldine A. Price
author_facet Geraldine A. Price
author_sort Geraldine A. Price
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description Research into the behaviours manifested by the dyslexic condition has often focused upon younger dyslexic pupils and the lower-order skill difficulty in decoding and encoding. A surge in interest in the writing process has shifted the focus to higher-order skills, and a growing body of research is emerging within the higher education context (Hughes & Suritsky, 1994; McNaughton et al., 1997; Hatcher, 2001; Singleton & Aisbett, 2001; Farmer et al., 2002). Students are expected to be ‘expert' writers, and the mark of a good student is the ability to use writing as a tool for thinking. Drawing upon data from semi-structured interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate dyslexic students and their real-time writing logs, three case studies are presented and used to explore creative ways of using technology to manage dyslexia. The students demonstrate how they use different types of software to overcome writing anxiety, ‘fear of the blank page' syndrome and issues of plagiarism. The experiences of the students within the case studies demonstrate that often simple software can provide the best solutions, and that students combine features from software programs in creative ways to compensate for weaknesses in their cognitive profile.
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spelling doaj.art-65ee1932522248e5bf761ded0d548f652022-12-22T01:25:04ZengAssociation for Learning TechnologyResearch in Learning Technology2156-70692156-70772006-12-0114110.3402/rlt.v14i1.10940Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher educationGeraldine A. PriceResearch into the behaviours manifested by the dyslexic condition has often focused upon younger dyslexic pupils and the lower-order skill difficulty in decoding and encoding. A surge in interest in the writing process has shifted the focus to higher-order skills, and a growing body of research is emerging within the higher education context (Hughes & Suritsky, 1994; McNaughton et al., 1997; Hatcher, 2001; Singleton & Aisbett, 2001; Farmer et al., 2002). Students are expected to be ‘expert' writers, and the mark of a good student is the ability to use writing as a tool for thinking. Drawing upon data from semi-structured interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate dyslexic students and their real-time writing logs, three case studies are presented and used to explore creative ways of using technology to manage dyslexia. The students demonstrate how they use different types of software to overcome writing anxiety, ‘fear of the blank page' syndrome and issues of plagiarism. The experiences of the students within the case studies demonstrate that often simple software can provide the best solutions, and that students combine features from software programs in creative ways to compensate for weaknesses in their cognitive profile.http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/article/view/10940
spellingShingle Geraldine A. Price
Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
Research in Learning Technology
title Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
title_full Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
title_fullStr Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
title_full_unstemmed Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
title_short Creative solutions to making the technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
title_sort creative solutions to making the technology work three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education
url http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/article/view/10940
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