As a special education teacher I find word processing programs to be a valuable tool for working with my students. Most, if not all of my students are reluctant writers. They all have different issues related to the task, but withminimal exceptions the use of a word processing program motivates them to try and they experience success (sometimes in spite of themselves). For some students fine motor skills to firmly grasp the writing instrument is the major dysfunction in the process, so for them a basic WP program is sufficient. A basic WP program can be used for visual impairments as well, by simply using a larger font. For others, spelling is a major problem, which can be overcome with a word prediction add on, such as co-writer. In other situations I have needed to use other assistive technology to accomodate eye gaze control and scanning programs to facilitate the writing process.
This past week I introduced students in my Reading/Writing class to the use of online word processing. It is in the early stages yet, and they are experiencing frustration because it works differently than the Microsoft Word format they are so used to. They do appreciate that I can edit for them while they are online and they get feedback from me much quicker than the "print a draft and hand it in" method used in the past. I did have one disturbing experience too. A student accessed the document from home and had a parent "edit" it for them. It was very clear that it was not the work of my student. This has been an issue over the years, which I have minimized by not assigning homework, but now will need to be addressed in a more proactive manner.
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I never thought of the LD students. I only have one so maybe that is why. I did not think about their fine motor skills and being able to hold a writing instruments. I do think that spell check is a valuable tool for special needs, regular ed. and adults.
Yea, I guess that's the unfortunate part of Google Docs, which is the reality that parents can now do their children's homework with the use of technology. I guess that's the logical step up from receiving the student's homework in handwriting that totally doesn't match. There's always going to be that issue of trust, and someone's always going to abuse it. Hopefully the majority isn't though...
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