The Views of Special Education Teachers about a Mobile Writing Application

Abstract

Students’ acquisition of writing skills plays a key role in their academic life. Approximately half a normal school day is covered by writing activities. Although writing is such an important skill in education, there are students who have difficulties. One of the specific learning disabilities, dysgraphia, can be defined as writing impairment. Educational technology is a promising solution for students with dysgraphia. Mobile devices in particular offer a wide spectrum of opportunities for students with dysgraphia to learn with their unique qualities. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the views of special education teachers on a mobile writing application after its use. Previous studies have developed a mobile writing application (Hopcan et al., 2019) and examined its effectiveness (Hopcan & Tokel, 2021). In this current study, a qualitative method was used to reveal the views of special education teachers on the mobile writing application after its use. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the application with seven special education teachers. Teachers perceived the mobile writing application as easy to use. In addition, teachers found the application useful in terms of improving students’ writing skills, teaching how to write accurately, and maintaining students’ attention more than traditional writing practices. They perceived the mobile writing application as enjoyable for students. Some of the teachers had suggestions for improving the application.

Keywords

• Dysgraphia
• Mobile technologies
• Handwriting

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