AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 1

AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities

Nelissa Whyman
Laieuo Niuule School
Novembei 1S, 2u11

AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 2
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Special Euucation stuuents anu geneial euucation Language Aits teacheis weie
involveu in a stuuy to ueteimine if the use of AlphaSmaits foi stuuents with
Leaining Bisabilities positively impacteu theii euucation. The stuuy focuseu on
stuuents Language Aits giaues anu if theii woik completion anu tuin in iate was
impioveu by the assistive technology. All of the stuuents stiuggleu in Language Aits
uue to theii uisabilities. They weie exciteu to use technology in theii eveiyuay lives.
The stuuy was to ueteimine if that use of technology ieally helpeu them inciease
theii giaues anu woik peifoimance.


AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities S
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Laieuo Niuule School is a public school in the Cheiiy Cieek School Bistiict
locateu in Auioia, C0. Laieuo's population is just unuei 12uu stuuents. LNS has a
high population of Afiican Ameiican stuuents. As of this yeai, we have become a
Title 1 school. 0ui school piiues itself on being an Inteinational Baccalauieate
Niuule Yeais Piogamme school (IB-NYP). We also aie an Auvancement via
Inuiviuual Beteimination (AvIB) ceitifieu school.
This is my sixth yeai teaching Language Aits to stuuents with Leaining
Bisabilities. The stuuents I woik with have on aveiage IQs in the 7u's. This means
that most of my stuuents stiuggle with ieauing anu wiiting. They tenu to be 2 oi
moie giaue levels behinu acauemically. I also woik with a laige population of
minoiity stuuents. I absolutely love my school anu the uiveisity my stuuents biing
to my life as an inuiviuual anu as an euucatoi.
I teach thiee ieauing inteivention classes using a new ieseaicheu baseu
piogiam calleu Phonics Boost anu Phonics Blitz. I also team teach with a geneial
euucation Language Aits teachei in both seventh anu eighth giaue. These classes
have been iestiuctuieu this yeai anu have fewei Special Euucation stuuents anu a
gieat mix of ability levels. This team-taught appioach is benefiting some but not all
of the Special Euucation stuuents.
Aftei heaiing about oui school's Coloiauo State Assessment Piogiam (CSAP)
iesults at a faculty meeting, my numbei one piioiity is to finu a way to help my
stuuents achieve at a highei level. I want to be the foice that motivateu them to
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 4
stiive foi success. Stuuents with Leaining Bisabilities can achieve, but often times
lose the uiive anu ueteimination to obtain theii euucational goals.
0ui school uioppeu significantly in all aieas as iecoiueu on the CSAP foi
2u11. The school wiue focus is ieauing. We have implementeu manuatoiy ieauing
blocks two times a uay foi eveiy stuuent. Ny feai is that with all the emphasis on
ieauing wiiting will be put on the waysiue. 0nly two yeais ago oui wiiting scoies
hau uioppeu; theiefoie, oui school wiue focus was wiiting instiuction. We neeu to
finu the happy meuium foi oui stuuents to giow anu succeeu within all aieas of
euucation.
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By just focusing on ieauing instiuction, stuuents will lose out on impioving
wiiting skills. Without a focus on wiiting instiuction, we will be losing all that we
have gaineu oi tiieu to gain ovei the last two yeais. 0ui scoies have uioppeu in all
aieas; yet, we aie only planning on focusing oui effoits into the aiea of gieatest
concein.
I believe that stuuents in Special Euucation (Speu) neeu to be exposeu to
both ieauing anu wiiting inteiventions on a iegulai basis. The use of technology can
play a veiy impoitant iole in this piocess of instiuction.
Stuuents aie now iequiieu to wiite veiy little in class. The iigoi is
uiminisheu with oui focus on ieauing. Wiiting can be veiy time consuming foi Speu
stuuents. The lack of motivation anu ueteimination that also face these stuuents
affects this time management in wiiting. Stuuents who stiuggle want to get uone
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities S
fast. When theii skills aie weak it makes theii motivation to piouuce quality woik
minimal. Yeais of failuie have causeu stuuents with uisabilities to become less
motivateu to woik haiu, because it is easiei to fail than stiuggle. Theii
ueteimination to achieve is thwaiteu by theii motivation. Nost of my stuuents
come fiom single paient householus. Theii paients often woik long houis to
pioviue foi the family thus iely on theii chiluien to complete homewoik anu
assignments without suppoit. The combination of these thiee things iesults in
incomplete assignments anu loss of leaining.
I have access in my classioom of allowing each stuuent the use of an
AlphaSmait oi Acei to complete wiitten tasks on. Ny inquiiy has uiiven me to see if
using technology will inciease stuuent completion anu inciease stuuent ability in
the aiea of wiitten expiession.
Nany of my stuuents ieceive failing giaues in multiple classes because of
woik completion issues. They aie not ueteimineu enough to get theii woik
completeu because the time it takes a stuuent with a Leaining Bisability to complete
tasks can be twice that of a non-uisableu peei. Will the use of technology impiove
wiiting completion assignments.
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AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 6

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The following questions will guiue this inquiiy:

Boes the use of an AlphaSmait impiove stuuent homewoik completion.

Can stuuents impiove theii wiiting with uetails when they use technology.

Will stuuents' giaues impiove with the use of an AlphaSmait.
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I have a passion foi technology to impiove success as well as fostei a moie
global leainei. I feai that many of my stuuents uo not have the same exposuie oi
knowleuge of technology in theii own lives. I know oui school has a goal to impiove
technology in oui stuuents' lives. Ny initial thoughts on this inquiiy aie that
stuuents will be ieceptive to the use of technology anu this will piopel the
instiuction in wiiting. Kius love to use technology anu they aie always looking foi
the next "cool" tool. Nany stuuents aien't familiai with an AlphaSmait. This might
peak theii inteiests.
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The key playeis in my ieseaich aie the stuuents anu the coie teacheis. The
stuuents aie the ones using the technology anu the teacheis aie the ones that aie
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 7
giauing the woik. These two key playeis aie ieauy anu willing to see how the use of
technology helps them.

Ny focus is going to be on my Eighth uiaue Language Aits Lab class. I see the
gieatest stiuggle with giaues in Eighth uiaue with iegaius to woik completion. The
woikloaus aie haiuei anu moie iigoious. I have uiiect contact with all involveu. I
teach 8 stuuents in a Language Aits Lab class. These aie the stuuents that have been
selecteu in the ieseaich. I also Team Teach with an 8th giaue Language Aits teachei
who has all of the stuuents involveu in the ieseaich in a coie class. Theiefoie my
contiol will be my mixeu level lab class as well as my team taught stuuents that aie
Speu. I have direct contact with all involved.
I tolu the stuuents that they weie selecteu to be the iecipients of 8
AlphaSmaits. They weie willing anu able to paiticipate in the ieseaich. I have access
to PoweiSchool, the online giaue iepoiting system. I also hau the stuuents uo
weekly piogiess monitoiing tasks. The stuuents will also fill out suiveys to gain
insight on the pioject.
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I have a baseline on the students who are on my caseload for writing. I have given
them five minutes to write a fictional story of their choice using a sentence starter. They
are graded on correct word sequence. This means that for every word they spell and is
grammatically correct they get a point and for every mistake they make they lose two
points. They are always given a minute to think before they write and then they are told
to write as much as they can.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 8

I gave the students a survey on how well they believe their typing skills are, how much
they type, would they like to type, and how much access they have to technology at
home. I feel like knowing the background of my students in regards to technology will be
a great asset to the action research I will be conducting. Appendix A
I have found typing speed scores as a baseline for the students selected for this
inquiry. Knowing how fast they can type in regards to how fast they write will be
valuable information in the conclusion results of this research. Appendix B
I also had the students hand write a similar paragraph to the one they typed to give
a reference on how the speeds compare. This will be important when determining if the
use of AlphaSmarts increases student work completion. Appendix B.
I will also be doing weekly grade checks to determine if the students are completing
all assignments and to what level those assignments are completed in. The grading scale
is A-F. The percent breakdown is ten percent between each grade until 50% or below,
which is an F.
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I have testeu the stuuents' hanuwiiting anu typing speeus to get a baseline of
peifoimance at the beginning of the stuuy. This will help me to ueteimine if it will
be beneficial to have the stuuents type theii woik. It will also play a factoi in
whethei they complete assignments on time.
In oiuei to ueteimine if the stuuents aie completing woik on time I will be
checking theii giaues on PoweiSchool, oui schools giaue iepoiting system. I have
access to all classes of all the stuuents in the stuuy. Classwoik assessment will also
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 9
be taken fiom each assignment listeu in PoweiSchool. The ovei all giaue anu the
uaily assignment giaues will be taken into account.
I have also given the stuuents a suivey to get some backgiounu infoimation
on how much access anu use they have with technology. I also wanteu to know if
they woulu piefei to use technology ovei basic hanuwiiting. This infoimation will
be a basis to assess which stuuents weie the most successful anu what might have
been a factoi in that success.
In oiuei to get a baseline on the stuuents' actual wiiting abilities I gave them
a Coiiect Woiu Sequence (CWS) task. The CWS task is a S-minute sentence staitei-
wiiting task. The stuuents aie given a sentence staitei anu aie then askeu to wiite
foi S minutes making a fictitious stoiy about the piompt. The scoies aie nationally
noim iefeienceu on the AINSweb.com piogiess-monitoiing site. All of the
assessments have been ieseaich baseu foi noim-baseu scoies. The mean scoie foi
an 8th giaue stuuent is 49 on CWS wiitten expiession assessments.
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Research Question Primary Data Source Backup Source
1. Does the use of an
AlphaSmart improve
student homework
completion?
Grades Student Survey
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 1u
2. Can students
improve their writing
with details when they
use technology?
Correct Writing
Sequence Progress
Monitoring
Classwork
assessment
4. Will students grades
improve with the use
of an AlphaSmart?
Grades Student Survey

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Week Ending Topic
Week 1 8/28/11 Inquiry Scan
Week 2 9/4/11 Identify Problem
Week 3 9/11/11 Problem Statement
Week 4 9/18/11 Data Collection Methods
Week 5 10/2/11 Literature Review
Week 6 10/9/11 Analyzing Qualitative Data
Week 7 10/16/11 Reasoning About Data
Week 8 10/23/11 Inquiry
Week 9 10/30/11 Testing/Evaluating Knowledge
Week 10 11/6/11 Findings
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 11
Week 11 11/13/11 Final Report

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All of the staff anu stuuents involveu aie veiy exciteu to paiticipate anu see
what the iesults aie. The Pios aie that they stuuents coulu inciease woik
piouuction anu impiove oveiall acauemic success. The Cons aie that they stuuents
will eithei not use the technology oi it will not impiove woik completion. Baving
such a close ielationship with all paities involveu, I uon't see any outsiue issues
aiising at this time.
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I am using many uiffeient outlets foi inquiiy. I am using stuuent's opinions,
stuuent's scoies in class, anu stuuent's ability levels. All of these aieas will help me
to see the issue fiom all siues. I can tell if they stuuents aie engageu, if the scoies in
class aie impioving, anu if theii acauemic ability is impioving with the use of
technology.
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Foi my liteiatuie ieview I lookeu at jouinal aiticles wiitten by authois in the
fielu of Special Euucation. I also lookeu foi ieseaich stuuies similai to my own. The
liteiatuie ieview came up with some veiy valuable infoimation anu positive
affiimation to my topic.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 12
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As a Special Euucation teachei, I have become a membei of the Stuuent
Council foi Exceptional Chiluien. Along with my membeiship to this oiganization, I
ieceive monthly jouinals anu magazines peitaining to euucation issues aiounu
stuuents with uisabilities. This was my fiist step in the Liteiatuie Review. I lookeu at
issues of !-/3"#&4 >?3-70#1&/, @"#,9)-&A :-/)&#&4 ;#$/<#,#0#-$A /&9 >?3-70#1&/,
@"#,9)-&. I founu that !-/3"#&4 >?3-70#1&/, @"#,9)-& has the most useful jouinal
aiticles. I then moveu onto textbooks ielateu to stuuents with uisabilities as well as.
I founu these books to be useful in the law aspect of technology foi stuuents with
uisabilities. I then went to the Inteinet to fuithei my ieseaich. I seaicheu thiough
aiticles on uoogle Scholai. I founu one excellent aiticle. Ny initial uoogle seaich
piouuceu the AlphaSmait website which hau impoitant infoimation on how the
uevice is useu.
B2%>2%C.
Papei maue life easiei. "Centuiies latei, a new anu even moie poweiful
technology emeigeu that staiteu to ieplace papei" (Novembei, 2u1u). This
technology has hau amazing tiansfoimations in the way stuuents anu the woilu
opeiate.
"The technology ielateu assistance to Inuiviuuals with Bisabilities Act of
1988, often calleu the Tech Act, authoiizes feueial funus to be gianteu to the states
to help cieate statewiue systems foi ueliveiing assistive technology anu technology
seivices to people with uisabilities" (Tuinbull, 2uu2). It is because of this Act that
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 1S
my cuiient school has hau the access to 1S AlphaSmaits. These assistive technology
uevices aie "any item, piece of equipment oi piouuct system, whethei acquiieu
commeicially off the shelf, mouifieu, oi customizeu, that is useu to inciease
maintain, piomote the functional capacities of chiluien with uisabilities" (Tuinbull,
2uu2).
"Assistive technology has, of couise, hau the biggest impact on stuuents with
uisabilities. Nany stuuents who weie pieviously thought to be "unteachable" have
been able to access cuiiicula, incluuing the geneial cuiiiculum, by using these tools"
(!-/3"#&4, 2uu6). It is this iuea of giving stuuents access to leaining that they
pieviously coulun't achieve that has biought me to my action ieseaich. Boes the use
of technology ieally help stuuents. "In oui classiooms, it is not unusual to see
stuuents who stiuggle to piouuce legible piint. In actuality, many stuuents have
uifficulty with the physical piinting anu wiiting piocess (which will hencefoith be
iefeiieu to as "hanuwiiting")- uifficulty that is significant enough to inteifeie with
theii acauemic peifoimance" (!-/3"#&4, 2uu9). If this is the case then, uoes
technology make it easiei foi stuuents with uisabilities.
"As eaily as 1984, computeis weie consiueieu as a wiiting meuium foi
stuuents with Leaining Bisabilities anu ieseaich has been continuing to auuiess the
use of the computei foi the wiiting neeus of stuuents with Leaining Bisabilities "
(!-/3"#&4, 2uu9). A stuuent's IEP is theii Inuiviuual Euucation Plan. This uocument
qualifies a stuuent foi Special Euucation seivices baseu on theii iuentifiable
uisability. As a Special Euucation teachei, "feueial law manuates the consiueiation
of AT when wiiting a stuuents IEP. They must iuentify available accommouations,
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 14
mouifications, anu AT that piomote access to the geneial euucation cuiiiculum"
(!-/3"#&4, 2uu6). Because of this law I neeu to make suie that I incluue all things
that will assist stuuents in theii acauemic anu futuie enueavois.
"Keyboaiuing is a ciitical life skill, anu in euucation, the focus must be on the
skills that will seive oui stuuents well now anu in theii futuie" (!-/3"#&4, 2uu9).
"Wiiting is a uifficult anu uemanuing task iequiiing attention to multiple piocesses.
Bata fiom the national assessment of euucational piogiess shows thiee out of eveiy
foui 4th, 8th anu 12th giaue stuuents uemonstiateu only paitial mastei of
necessaiy wiiting skills anu knowleuge at theii iespective giaue levels" (>?3-70#1&/,
@"#,9)-&A BCCD). This uata shows that stuuents neeu to be given anothei avenue to
expiess theii knowleuge. If stuuents have the ability to piouuce the thoughts anu
iueas but only stiuggle with the output, as euucatois we aie not allowing the
stuuents to achieve to theii fullest if we uon't supply them with an easiei outlet foi
theii iueas.
"Foi many stuuents with ASB (Autism Spectium Bisoiuei) anu othei
uevelopmental uisabilities, intellectual oi cognitive piocessing takes a backseat to
the effoit involveu in the motoi planning that must go on in oiuei to put pencil to
papei. Thus, the stuuent's quality anu quantity of iesponse is uiminisheu" (!-/3"#&4,
2uu9). Technology can change all of this foi stuuents. The use of an AlphaSmait can
assist stuuents in theii ability to piouuce moie anu highei quality woik. Some
auministiation might aigue that the cost is too high to be able to get technology into
the hanus of all stuuents with Leaining Bisabilities. We aie in an economic uownfall
anu having the extia funus to buy technology is just not an option. Bowevei, "All
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 1S
that is neeueu is a woiu piocessing piogiam. The stuuent will not neeu access to the
Inteinet oi any othei piogiams, noi will the stuuents neeu a new computei"
(!-/3"#&4, 2uu6).
I wasn't able to finu many ieseaich iueas in the aiea of stuuents with
uisabilities anu the use of AlphaSmaits. Thiee people have completeu a stuuy that is
similai to the one I conuucteu. Russell, Cowan, anu Coibell ieseaicheu the iuea of
woiu piocesseis anu teaching anu leaining.
"When each stuuent was given an AlphaSmait, a high peicentage of stuuents
saw woiu piocessois as a piimaiy tool foi wiiting. Baving unfetteieu access to an
AlphaSmait also changeu the way they appioacheu wiiting, accoiuing to theii
teacheis, neaily univeisally impioveu the quality of theii woik" (Russell, 2uuS).
This stuuy shows that the use of technology can help stuuents impiove theii quality
of woik. I hope that the use of AlphaSmaits with my stuuents also incieases theii
quantity. Besiue that I just hope to see if it impioves theii ability to complete the
task. "Peihaps moie impoitantly, all thiee paiticipating teacheis iepoiteu that the
incieaseu technology leu to highei quality stuuent woik. The teacheis elaboiateu
that stuuents weie moie willing to wiite longei uiafts of theii papeis foi all subject
aieas anu they "weie moie apt to iemembei about paiagiaphs anu quotation anu
punctuation maiks" (Russell, 2uuS). This pioves that technology uoes impiove
stuuent woik. As a teaching this is my piimaiy goal foi stuuents. If they aie able to
gain gieatei contiol ovei theii lives then they will be moie motivateu to woik.


AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 16
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Aftei compiling all the infoimation on the topic of AlphaSmait use foi
stuuents with uisabilities, I founu that the ieseaich states stuuents who use assistive
technology can piouuce moie uetaileu, expiessive wiiting than if they useu the
stanuaiu pencil anu papei. This infoimation comes fiom the ieseaich stuuy uone by
Russell. The use of this Assistive technology assists stuuents whom have motoi
issues as well as expiessive uifficulties. "Inuiviuuals with communication, physical,
leaining, anu sensoiy uisabilities use assistive uevices to gain gieatei contiol ovei
theii lives anu enviionment" (!-/3"#&4, 2uuS). Baving stuuents gain contiol f theii
leaining is the key to achievement in school. I uiun't finu much ieseaich on the iuea
of woik completion incieasing with the use of the technology. Bowevei, the
ieseaich uiu show that the quantity of woik was incieaseu. Ny action ieseaich will
give me a gieatei sense of how successful assistive technology is foi stuuents in
iegaius to woik completion.
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This section iepoits on the finuings of my action ieseaich using AlphaSmait
technology foi stuuents with Leaining Bisabilities in 8th giaue. The ieseaich useu
giaues, suiveys, anu classwoik to ueteimine iesults. The finuings section will lie out
the ieseaich questions anu the iesults that weie piouuceu thiough the ieseaich to
answei those questions.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 17
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In oiuei to get the answeis to this question I useu the stuuents' Language
Aits giaues anu a stuuent suivey. The giaues aie bioken uown into Pie-AlphaSmait
anu Post-AlphaSmait use. The giaues aie baseu on an A-F scale. I lookeu at the
failing giaues to see if theii was impiovement. 0veiall, moie stuuents hau moie
failing giaues aftei the AlphaSmait. See Figuie 1. The stuuent suivey hau a uiffeient
iesponse. The stuuents think that the use of the AlphaSmait uiu help them impiove
theii homewoik completion. 6 out of 7 stuuents thought that they tuineu moie
homewoik in when they hau access to an AlphaSmait. Figuie 6. The stuuents' self-
iepoit uata is contiauictoiy to the actual giaues.

Figure 1


AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 18
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I useu the uata fiom a stuuent suivey anu an evaluation of woius pei minute
wiitten anu typeu to finu the answeis. The stuuents weie askeu if they thought they
completeu moie when they useu technology. S out of 7 stuuents thought they uiu
wiite moie with the AlphaSmait. See Figuie 6. I hau the stuuents wiite a passage foi
one minute anu then type a similai passage foi one minute. The scoies show that
stuuents wiote moie with pencil anu papei than they uiu typing. See Figuie 2. 0n
aveiage, the stuuents wiote 8.S moie woius when using pencil anu papei. The
majoiity of the stuuents wiote 1u oi moie woius when wiiting than typing. See
Figuie S.
Figure 2


Figure 3
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 19
Difference in WPM written vs. typed
VR +0 Written
MJ +13 Written
AR +14 Written
NC +10 Written
MW +5 Written
SS +9 Written
BG +3 Written
TW +12 Written

This uata ielates to anothei question I askeu the stuuents on theii suivey. I
askeu them if they hau computei access at home anu if they hau expeiience using
technology. 6 out of 7 stuuents have access to a computei at home. 0n aveiage, 4 out
of 7 have hau accessexpeiience with social computei activities. See Figuie 6. 0ne of
the stuuents stateu:

I could type faster on my cell phone. NC

AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 2u
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Looking at the stuuents oveiall, giaues baseu on an A-F scale answeieu this
question. I focuseu on the stuuent's Aiticle of the Week giaues. These assignments
aie baseu solely on wiitten paiagiaphs. The total points eaineu aie Su. The giaues
aie baseu on a scale of A: 1uu-9u%, B 89-8u%, C 79-7u%, B 69-6u%, anu F S9% anu
below. The stuuents hau one oi two Aiticle of the Week assignments befoie the
AlphaSmaits anu foui assignments aftei the use of AlphaSmait. See Figuie 4. The
uata fiom the assignments was veiy inteiesting. I useu the stanuaiu methou of
figuiing giaue point aveiage to show giowth (A=4.u, B=S.u etc.). 0sing this foimula,
all but one stuuent hau giowth in theii giaues with the use of an AlphaSmait. The
stuuent that uiun't show giowth uiun't uiop. See Figuie S. When the stuuents weie
askeu how they thought theii giaues impioveu with the use of the AlphaSmait, 6 out
of 7 stuuents thought theii giaues weie impioveu. See Figuie 6.

Figure 4
Article of the Week Grades

Before
Alpha
After Alpha
VR F F, F, D, A
MJ C A, A, A, A
AR C, D D, A, D, A
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 21
NC D, D A, F, D, D
MW F, F A, F, F, A
SS D, F A, A, A, A
BG B, B A, C, A, C
TW F F, B, D, F


Figure 5







AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 22
Figure 6
PRE Survey


Yes No
Do you have a computer at home? I I I I I I I
Do you send text messages? I I I I I I I
Do you have a Facebook/MySpace? I I I I I I I
Do you IM/Chat online? I I I I I I I
Do you prefer to write? I I I I I I I
Do you prefer to type? I I I I I I I
Would us like to use an AlphaSmart? I I I I I I I

POST Survey YES NO
Did the AlphaSmart help you in
class?
I I I I I I I
Did you complete more work with
the AlphaSmart?
I I I I I I I
Do you think your grades improved
using the AlphaSmart?
I I I I I I I
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 2S
PRE Survey

Would you use the AlphaSmart in
the future?
I I I I I I I
Did you write more using the
AlphaSmart?
I I I I I I I

90)-0):4 ',)/;.40,)4
The finuings to this ieseaich weie uiviueu. When looking at the stuuents'
oveiall Language Aits giaues, the uata shows that the use of technology uoesn't help
stuuents achieve. Bowevei, when you bieak the giaues uown into focuseu wiiting
assignments, the uata shows that the use of an AlphaSmait uoes in fact impiove
stuuents' giaues. It was inteiesting to see that stuuents weie able to piouuce moie
when using pencil anu papei veisus typing. The stuuent suiveys show that S out of
7 stuuents woulu want to continue using the technology in the futuie. Some of the
stuuents stateu:

I love this! AR
Can I use my AlphaSmart for this? MW
I want one of those. 8th Grade Language Arts student

AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 24
These statements piove that stuuents want to use technology in the classioom.
Even stuuents who uo not have uisabilities see the benefits of using technology in
the classioom.
<04/.440,)4 6)- &2/,==2)-6*0,)4
Theie aie many things in this stuuy that aie ielevant factois to the outcome.
0nce you consiuei these factois the uisciepancy in the uata is ieuuceu.
M2,2&4&2)%.
The stuuents weie not given a foimal tiaining on keyboaiuing skills. This
lack of tiaining coulu potentially leau to a uisciepancy in the finuings uue to the lack
of typing speeu. They weie fastei at hanu wiiting. If the stuuents weie given a
keyboaiuing class woulu theii woik piouuction inciease along with theii typing
speeu.
Theie aie many things that contiibuteu to the stuuent's Language Aits
giaues. Assessments aie weighteu in this class. Theie weie two assessments uuiing
this iepoiting peiiou anu the class aveiage on both was an F. This negatively
impacteu all of theii giaues. Also, classioom behavioi is built into the giaues. Some
of the stuuents lose points on theii oveiall giaue because of theii behavioi in class
not on the woik they aie piouucing. Anothei factoi coulu be, some stuuents stiuggle
with the basic concept of wiiting a paiagiaph. Theiefoie, theii Language Aits giaues
aie not as high on assignments uue to lack of knowleuge in the aiea. They aie still
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 2S
completing woik it is just not getting as high a giaue because they aie missing key
aspects of the assignment.
All of the stuuents appeaieu to be engageu in the use of the AlphaSmaits.
0nly one stuuent uiun't want to use the uevice outsiue of my Lab class. Be was
afiaiu of being bullieu by othei stuuents. Some of the stuuents selecteu woulu only
use theii AlphaSmait in my class because they uiun't want to have to caiiy it
aiounu. They weie veiy exciteu to use it in class though.

N$O& =&$-.
I woulu love to fuithei this stuuy by allowing the stuuents to have an
AlphaSmait alieauy in theii Language Aits class. They woulu also be tiaineu on
typing to impiove oveiall speeu. I woulu also like to extenu the time foi this stuuy so
that the stuuents coulu have a gieatei chance of longei wiiting assignments. The
stuuents weie veiy enthusiastic about the use of the AlphaSmaits. I wonuei if they
weie given the oppoitunity to use a laptop oi Acei if that woulu also impiove theii
engagement anu ueteimination.
3$/+$1&2)%
I thought that the ieseaich stuuy went veiy well. The stuuents weie happy to
engage anu follow thiough. The teacheis weie happy to have anything that might
impiove woik completion anu quality. I woulu tweak the exposuie the stuuents hau
to keyboaiuing skills as well as the hassle of tianspoiting the uevice fiom ioom to
ioom. The uata was an initial inquiiy into the use of technology foi stuuents with
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 26
Leaining Bisabilities. I woulu love to follow up this stuuy ovei a longei peiiou of
time.
">>2)-0? " @ $.+72A4
(#$ ="#F$8 9"$.&2)%. P8$.@%)Q
Bo you have a computei at home.
Bo you senu text messages.
Bo you have a FacebookNySpace account.
Bo you INChat online.
Bo you piefei to wiite.
Bo you piefei to type.
Woulu you like to use an AlphaSmait at school.
().& ="#F$8 9"$.&2)%. P8$.@%)Q
Bo you think using an AlphaSmait has helpeu you.
Biu you complete moie woik because of the AlphaSmait.
Bo you think youi giaues impioveu while using the AlphaSmait.
Woulu you use the AlphaSmait in the futuie.
Biu you wiite moie using the AlphaSmait.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 27
">>2)-0? # @ B+0*0): C6446:24
<) *$ G#2&&$%
0ne uay Bob saw some pups foi sale. Be wanteu to buy them. Bob neeueu a job. Be
neeueu to woik haiu to buy a pup.
"I neeu a job," Bob tolu his uau.
"I will give you cash if you cut the giass," his uau saiu.
The yaiu was not big. Bob cut the giass. Bis uau gave him cash. Bob went to see the
pups. Theie weie only thiee pups left. Bob uiu not have enough cash.
"I neeu to woik moie," Bob tolu his mom.
" I will give you cash if you wash my cai," his mom saiu.
The cai was in the sheu. Bob washeu it foi his mom. Be got moie cash.
Bob went to see the pups. Theie was only one pup left. Bei fui was soft anu black.
Bob took hei home. The pup loves Bob. She helps him wash cais. She likes to be wet.
(4..4C$ &) *$ &8-$>
In the woous theie is a cave. The cave is ueep anu uaik. Animals uo not live in the
cave. No one knows about the cave.
}eff likes to play in the woous. Be likes to go up tiees. 0ne uay he finus the cave. }eff
knows he cannot go in the cave by himself. Be will tell his uau about it. Bis uau will
know what to uo.
}eff shows his uau the cave. Bis uau calls one of his fiienus. Bis fiienu is veiy smait.
Be knows all about caves. Be goes insiue the cave. Be biings back many nice iocks.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 28
Be takes }eff in the cave with him. }eff weais a haiu hat. It is cool anu wet in the cave.
}eff sees tall iocks. Be sees small iocks. Some of the iocks aie many colois. }eff has
lots of fun.
Now many people know about the cave.
">>2)-0? ' D $*.-2)* E.,*24
B#), ,8 -#)/$..2)%4+ R)"#%4+
" I coulu type fastei on my cell phone." NC
"Why not a maybe choice" AR
"I love this." AR
"Can I use my AlphaSmait." NW
"I want one of those." 8th uiaue Language Aits Stuuent

&2F2+2)/24
Biown, L. (2uu9). Take the pencil out of the piocess. !-/3"#&4 >?3-70#1&/, @"#,9)-&,
EB (1), 14-21.
Ciamei, N. N., & Tuinbull, R. (2uu2). 80(9-&0 $0(9* 4(#9- 01 /33157/&* >?3-70#1&/,
,#.-$A $7-3#/, -9(3/0#1& #& 019/*F$ $3"11,$A G)9 -9#0#1&. 0ppei Sauule Rivei, N}:
NeiiillPientice Ball.
AlphaSmait use foi Stuuents with Bisabilities 29
Naiino, N., Naiino, E., & Shaw, S. (2uu6). Naking infoimeu assistive Technology
uecisions foi stuuents with high inciuence uisabilities. !-/3"#&4 >?3-70#1&/,
@"#,9)-&, GH (6), 19-24.
NE0 Biiect - Peifect foi All Wiiting Neeus. (n.u.). I>J ;#)-30 K L-)2-30 21) /,, +)#0#&4
&--9$. Retiieveu 0ctobei 1u, 2u11, fiom http:www.alphasmait.com
Novembei, A. C. (2u1u). Web Liteiacy. >571+-)#&4 $0(9-&0$ +#0" 0-3"&1,14* (2nu
eu., pp. 1-2). Thousanu 0aks, CA: Coiwin Piess.
Russell, N., Bebell, B., Cowan, }., & Coibell, N. (2uuS). An AlphaSmait foi each
stuuent: Bo teaching anu leaining change with full access to woiu
piocessois.. @157(0-)$ /&9 @1571$#0#1&, BC (1), S1-76. Retiieveu 0ctobei 9,
2u11, fiom http:u-
www.scienceuiiect.com.skyline.ucuenvei.euuscienceaiticlepiiS87SS46
1Su2uu17SS
Salenu, S. (2uuS). 0sing technology to teach about inuiviuual uiffeiences ielateu to
uisabilities. !-/3"#&4 >?3-70#1&/, @"#,9)-&, GH (2), S2-S8.