Blogs,+Wikis,+and+Text+Messaging

__Blogs, Wikis, and Text Messaging: What are the Implications for students with learning disabilities__, //by Center for Implementing Technology in Education// This article was informative and interesting for many reasons. The article clearly explained the various uses of web 2.0 and the tools that are beneficial for all students, but specifically for those students with disabilities. The article also clearly explains the various web tools that are used and explains basics for each of them. Tools discussed included, blogging, text messaging and Wikis. The article also explains potential safety and monitoring concerns. When viewing web 2.0 as a whole, it has opened doors for students with disabilities. As far as the internet meeting the needs of these students, there are many opportunities. Speech-to-text has given students with dyslexia a new voice and the ability to hear what they have written for editing purposes. Students with LD have been given the change through blogging to become better writing and not feel the stress of being put on the spot. Blogging has given many students with learning disabilities an avenue express their thoughts and ideas with peers and have a feeling of equality. Wikis are another web 2.0 tool that give students with disabilities the confidence to feel like they are experts on certain subjects and share their knowledge with other peers. According to this article, experts believe that this kind of activity is likely to boost self-esteem with these students. Working documents such as a Wikis give all students an opportunity to communicate effectively on a common topic. The last Web 2.0 topic discussed in this article was text messaging as an educational tool. According to the article very little research has been done for the benefits on learning through use of texting for students with and without disabilities, however, texting has been viewed as a tool for short writing activities and simple reminders for students. Some teachers use texting as a tool to remind students of upcoming test, etc. Another helpful feature of texting is the Google SMS that allows students to get immediate definitions for words, etc. However, all this technology is not without some safety risks for inappropriate use. With anything on the internet, teacher monitoring is essential for success. Potential bullying is of reasonable worry. It is easy to misunderstand a text or message that is without facial expression and gestures as in spoken communication. **Blogs, Wikis, and Text Messaging: What are the Implications for students with learning disabilities**, //by Center for Implementing Technology in Education// [|http://www.brainline.org]

Beyond safety risks, how about the issues with poorly formatted pages that do not work with screen readers, etc? In my research, I've noticed that there still are many barriers to equal access. My resources stated that some companies are still trying to make paper brochures accessible to all, forget thinking about the formats of blogs, wikis, and text messaging. In a perfect world we would be able to meet the demands of all, but technology changes so quickly, I'm not sure that could ever happen. ~Amy Dowell