Blogging+and+Learning+Disabilities

Blogging and Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are a group of disorders that can have a negative impact on learning. They can affect a student’s ability to speak, listen, think, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. Learning disabled students have difficulty learning with traditional teaching methods. This disorder affects the brains ability to receive and process information making it difficult to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone not affected by a learning disability. Blogs can benefit students both academically and socially depending upon how they are used. For a student with a learning disability, a blog can be used to post assignments, notes, video of lectures, and any other classroom materials. Although the entire class can benefit from a blog, a learning disabled student benefits more by being able to review and process the class material as often as needed. LD students often misplace or forget schoolwork so a blog is a great place for them to put their thoughts and assignments into a central location without losing it.

The particular type of learning disability can hinder a student’s use of blogging in the classroom. Dyslexic students have difficulty with reading, writing, and spelling. By using assistive technology such as a computer with print-recognition software or speech recognition system that can turn oral language into written text, a student will be able to get beyond the learning barriers and use a blogging as a web 2.0 tool to assist in learning. Many times a text books reading level is beyond that of a students reading level. The teacher can create a blog to “rewrite” the text at the student’s level thus making it easier for the LD student to understand. The blog can also help to motivate the student because it is using technology and it can provide up-to-date information.

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