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

Price, Geraldine A. (2006) Creative solutions to making technology work: three case studies of dyslexic writers in higher education. Alt-J - Association for Learning Technology Journal, 14 (1), 21-38. (doi:10.1080/09687760500479894).

Abstract

Research into the behaviours manifested by the dyslexic condition has often focussed 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 and Suritsky, 1994; McNaughton et al., 1997; Hatcher, 2001; Singleton and Aisbitt, 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 the data from semi-structured interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate dyslexic students and 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 softward can provide the best solutions and that students combine features from software programs in a creative way to compensate for weaknesses in their cognitive profile.

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