Using Voice To Print Technology to Improve Student Writing

The purpose of studying the effects of technology on students was to help teachers of students with disabilities use the most effective tools to assist students in the area of writing. The researcher undertook this study because in her sixth grade classroom she had a student with a disability who struggled with writing. Handwriting was a difficult task for her and when asked to write a paragraph she wrote one to two very basic sentences. The study took place from December 2010 to June 2011 within the sixth grade writing block as well as during a half hour once a week intervention time in a quiet distraction-free environment. All pieces of writing were done at school in the general education environment within the general education curriculum under the direction of the general and special education teachers. The intervention that occurred was teaching the student to use Dragon Dictate Naturally on her iPad