LITERACY DRAFT
Sandra Salifu
FIQWS Literacy Essay
When I grab my favorite gel pen and spiral notebook and fill out the pages with words, it’s like how an artist feels when they are in their studio. It’s a beautiful thing, I find joy in writing and photography. There are various things that people are interested in such as sports, performing arts,etc. And those things eventually turn into their passion. Since I started college, this question often pops up, “What do you want to major in?” My reply is always “I don’t know” I used to say “english and photography.” But as of now, I am uncertain. I know it has to be something I am passionate about, however, would my passion support me in the future?
As I was growing up I never wrote much. When I did, I had my grandmother by my side yelling at me to write a letter correctly. It wasn’t fun. When I came here at the age of 7, my english was terrible, I couldn’t express myself. My mother and step dad bought me math and reading workbooks to practice and learn some of the things in this country’s education system, before I began school. I started school when I was 8 and I was sent back a grade, probably because I couldn’t speak english fluently. But in my country, Ghana, I was one of the top students in my charter school and I was going to the third grade.
I struggled in everything! Doing homework was always dreadful, long and hard. But overtime as I practiced reading books, speaking english and writing I got the hang of it. I developed a passion to write when I was in 6th grade, in my ceramics class. My friend had a notebook she was so engrossed. I asked her what it was and she said “I’m writing a story.” I immediately was interested. I thought I would grow up to become a professional writer. I always said I would be, But I was always doubtful when I said. Whenever I said that it was more of a confirmation to myself. I was never good at math or science. I still am not, So I thought writing would be the best and easiest way to go.
I began to write my own stories. Although they didn’t make sense at the time. I was able to create my own world. A place where everything goes. Where I can spill out my emotions and thoughts. Within the lines of a notebook new characters are brought to life. New places are made up, and new scenarios are brewed. The first book I attempted to write was about a group of teenagers who were friends in college, and after graduating college they moved in together and there everyday life is partying. I must admit my first writing did not have a good plot nor did it have a purpose. But I was really proud of it because it was my work.
When I turned fifteen, I downloaded an app called Wattpad. It is a reading and writing app that has countless supplies of books from writers my age. On this app wrote my second book, And this one was much better, I wrote about 20 chapters, and then I gave up. I still use this app, and I plan on rewriting my second book soon.
(Eventually)I started high school and I saw a different side of my step dad and the world. Writing became my escape and my support. Whenever I felt sad or angry I would write down my emotions through poetry. I still do it to this day. As I wrote, I noticed that my writing skills improved, and I realized that almost every notebook I used in school had a poem I wrote in the last page of the book, or even ideas of a story I end up not finishing.
As for photography I became interested two years ago. I was in a musical and everyday after rehearsals when I stepped out of the school building, the sky. And I’ll take pictures of it. As time went on. I moved to flowers, trees, cars, people and more. I felt proud of the pictures I took. Photos themselves are memories frozen in place for later references, well for me at least.
I’ve never heard of assistive technology until I started this course.

EXPLORATORY DRAFT
The article Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities: A glimpse of the livescribe pen and its impact on homework completion, by  Kelly A. Harper, Kristin Kurtzworth-Keen and Michele A. Marable, discusses the effectiveness of the assistive technology known as the LiveScribe Pen. The technology is created to help those with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading. The authors’ research was focused on elementary students with this disability. They focused on how the LSP impacted the lives of the students who used it. According to the article, The LSP, founded by Jim Marggraff in 2007. The LSP was invented to be utilized in dyslexic elementary students academic life, however, according to the review it did more than improve the students’ academic skills; it improved their nonacademic skills as well such as an increase in independence. It made way for more social activities, and the ability for homework success. The most important impact of the technology was that students were inspired to do more things. They had a sense of hope because of a pen.
The LiveScribe Pen is a mid-tech assistive technology because as stated in the article, to the Peer Review it contains “a microphone to enhance audio recording, a playback speaker, an infrared camera, and internal flash memory that can store handwritten notes, audio and images.” Although the LSP looks like a regular pen it has many things that help dyslexic students. Further down in the article the authors write about the LSP impact on high school students. The students stated that “the LSP to be a powerful study aid, especially given that more time could be spent listening and learning than on note taking with the playback feature”. The students loved the fact that the pen seemed to be a regular pen to their classmates.I think that this assistive technology is quite beneficial to the students, and the parents. It allows the students to have a sense of independence and they are able to enjoy learning as well as having a social life. The parents don’t have anything to worry or stress about. I think the study was actually good, for the elementary students they used a year to do the study and find out the effectiveness of students. And as for the high school students they did the study for six weeks. Both were a good amount of time to study and see how the LSP worked. I also think that the technology is  really good, it isn’t too big for the student. It is durable and it looks like an ordinary pen which is also good, no classmate can bully the student for having a disability.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ESSAY DRAFT
Abstract
Issues related to dyslexia and the impact assistive technology has on those who use them. Dyslexia is a learning that is characterized by difficulty reading in children and adults who have the intelligence, motivation and the academic resources needed for accurate and fluent reading “Dyslexia is perhaps the most common neurobehavioral disorder affecting children”(Shaywitz, 1998). Various researches have been held to figure out what would be helpful to those with dyslexia. The smartpen known as the LiveScribe Pen has been used in all of these research, reason being to see the effectiveness of this assistive technology in the lives of the dyslexic students. An Assistive Technology is any item, piece or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capacities of individuals with disabilities.(Tech Act-Pub. L. 100-4-7). The LSP is an assistive technology that was invented to specifically help those who struggle to read. It might look like an ordinary pen to onlookers, but it does so much more than being used to write notes.

Key words: Assistive Technology, Effectiveness, Dyslexia, students 

Sandra Salifu
FIQWS Exploratory Essay
12/12/19

The article Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities: A glimpse of the livescribe pen and its impact on homework completion, by  Kelly A. Harper, and co, discusses the effectiveness of the assistive technology known as the LiveScribe Pen. The technology is created to help those with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in  reading. “The condition is commonly believed to be originated in the visual-spatial system. It’s presence is considered to be signaled by mirror writing and letter reverse.” (Vellitino, 1987). Around the age of five or six years old, while children are beginning kindergarten and/or first grade, learning how to read and write, the symptoms of dyslexia becomes more apparent. In this particular research the authors’ were focused on elementary students with this disability and how assistive technology helped the students and the parents.
The focus of the research was on how the LSP impacted the lives of the students who used it. Assistive technology was invented to help individuals who are disabled. There are various types of assistive technology and each technology has its own unique function. For example the LiveScribe Pen is for Dyslexic individuals. According to the article, The LSP, sometimes referred as “the pen that never forgets”, was founded by Jim Marggraff in 2007. The LSP was invented to be utilized in dyslexic elementary students academic life, however, 

according to the review it did more than improve the students’ academic skills; it improved their nonacademic skills as well such as increase their independence. As children at the age of five and six they truly value their recess times, so why should learning hold them back from being social? The LSP made way for more social activities, and the ability for homework to be completed successfully. For students who used the LSP; the most important impact of the technology was that it allowed the students to be inspired to do more things. They had a sense of hope because of a pen. Having the knowledge that there is a device that allows them to live a normal life seemed to have been a big push for them.

PUBLISHED ESSAYS

LITERACY ESSAY

Sandra Salifu

FIQWS Literacy Essay

When I grab my favorite gel pen and spiral notebook and fill out the pages with words, it’s like how an artist feels when they are in their studio. It’s a beautiful thing, I find joy in writing. There are various things that people are interested in such as sports, performing arts, and other physical and nonphysical activities. And those things eventually turn into their passion. Since I started college, the question often asked to me is, “What do you want to major in?” My reply has always been “I don’t know” I used to say “I want to major in English.” But as of now, I am uncertain. I know it has to be something I am passionate about, however, I can’t help but wonder whether my passion would support me in the future.

Growing up I never wrote much, mostly because English wasn’t my first language. It was difficult to speak English, you can imagine how difficult writing was. When I attempted to write, I had my grandmother by my side yelling at me to write a letter correctly. It wasn’t fun. At the age of 7, my mother bought a ticket and flew me to New York to live with her. I stayed in her apartment for a year before I started elementary school. For that year that I stayed home my mother and step dad bought me math and reading workbooks to practice and learn some of the things in this country’s education system, before I began school. I started school when I was 8 and I was sent back a grade, probably because I couldn’t speak english fluently. 

I struggled in everything once school started! Doing homework was always dreadful, long and hard. But overtime as I practiced reading books, speaking english and writing I got the hang of it. I developed a passion to write when I was in 6th grade, in my ceramics class. My friend was scribbling away in her notebook. I asked her what it was and she replied that she was writing a story. I immediately was interested. That night I began writing a story and I thought I would grow up to become a professional writer. Whenever I said that, over the years it became more of a confirmation to myself. I was never good at math or science. I still am not, So I thought writing would be the best and easiest way to go. To have an easy flow of money and an enjoyable career.

My stories, although they didn’t make sense at the time. I was able to create my own world. A place where everything goes as I want it. Where I can spill out my emotions and  thoughts. Within the lines of a notebook new characters are brought to life. New places are made up, and new scenarios are brewed. The first book I attempted to write was about a group of teenagers who were friends in college, and after graduating college they moved in together and they partied everyday. I must admit my first writing did not have a good plot nor did it have a purpose. But I was really proud of it because it was my work. When I turned fifteen, I downloaded an app called Wattpad. It is a reading and writing app that has countless supplies of books from writers my age. On this app I wrote my second book, And this one was much better, I wrote about 20 chapters, and then I gave up. I still use this app, and I plan on completing my second book soon. 

When I started high school and I saw a different side of my step dad and the world. Writing became my escape and my support. Whenever I felt sad or angry I would write down my emotions through poetry. I still do it to this day. As I wrote, I noticed that my writing skills have improved, and I realized that almost every notebook I used in school had a poem I wrote in the last page of the book, or even ideas of a story I end up not finishing.

In life people have passion in certain things. As for me I am passionate about writing. I want to have a career that has to do with something I truly love. In writing I am able to express what I feel through the characters, the plot and the word choices, even through the theme. My writing can possibly change someone’s perspective in certain things.

EXPLORATORY ESSAY

The Effectiveness of the LiveScribe Smartpen on Students

Sandra Salifu

FIQWS, Professor Casey Ellis

Sandra Salifu

FIQWS Exploratory Essay

11/12/19

The article Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities: A glimpse of the livescribe pen and its impact on homework completion, by Kelly A. Harper, and co, discusses the effectiveness of the assistive technology known as the LiveScribe Pen. The technology is created to help those with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in reading. The authors’ research was focused on elementary students with this disability.

They focused on how the LSP impacted the lives of the students who used it. According to the article, The LSP, was founded by Jim Marggraff in 2007. The LSP was invented to be utilized in dyslexic elementary students’ academic life, however, according to the review it did more than improve the students’ academic skills; it improved their nonacademic skills as well such as increased their independence. It made way for more social activities, and the ability for homework success. The most important impact of the technology was that students were inspired to do more things. They had a sense of hope because of a pen.

            The LiveScribe Pen is a mid-tech assistive technology because as stated in the article, to the Peer Review it contains “a microphone to enhance audio recording, a playback speaker, an infrared camera, and internal flash memory that can store handwritten notes, audio and images.”(Harper,2016) Although the LSP looks like a regular pen it has many things that help dyslexic students such as “ audio and visual feedback, as well as substantial memory for handwriting capture, audio recording, and additional applications.”(Schaack, 2009)

            Further down in the article the authors write about the LSP impact on high school students. The students stated that “the LSP to be a powerful study aid, especially given that more time could be spent listening and learning than on note taking with the playback feature”. (Harper,2016) The students loved the fact that the pen seemed to be a regular pen to their classmates. This assistive technology is quite beneficial to the students, and the parents. For example, the price is below two hundred dollars, it allows the students to have a sense of independence and they are able to enjoy learning as well as having a social life. According to Min Mook Ok “For example, Johnson (2008) and Higgins and Raskind (2005) found that reading pens helped students with reading difficulties improve reading accuracy and comprehension” (Mook Ok,2017). Parents don’t have to stress about how expensive the LSP is or how their children are doing in school.

 I think the study was actually good, for the elementary students they used a year to do the study and find out the effectiveness of students. And as for the high school students they did the study for six weeks. Both were a good amount of time to study and see how the LSP worked. I also think that the technology is really good, it is durable and it looks like an ordinary pen which is also good, no classmate can bully the student for having a disability. It also doesn’t drastically change the students’ lives like a cochlear implant would’ve done to a deaf student. Cochlear implant is a high-tech assistive technology for people who are hearing impaired.

However, there are those who believe that this assistive technology is not as effective as it should be. According to LiveScribe Smartpen by Caryl Frankenberger, “she did not find listening to classroom discussions helpful. In fact, she found it too challenging…” (Frankenberger) Students who have auditory difficulties don’t find the LSP helpful as students who can hear properly. In this case she needs another assistive tech that would be beneficial to her. Furthermore, in an article written by Simon Ahern, a research that had 38 students with a learning disability, who were given Livescribe pens for over one week to see the effectiveness of the Livescribe Pen.

The positive aspects of the pen were that the pen “improved quality of notes,greater enjoyment to lectures, works well with online slides, better workload management, increased confidence on course, persistent use over time, and grades have benefited.” (Ahern, 2016) Students benefited greatly just by using the tech. However, the negative aspects were the “bulkiness of the pen, the memory limit, ink cartridge replacement, and having to request permission.” (Ahern, 2016). Just like anything that is invented, there are flaws. After the research some of the students gave good feedback about how the pen really helped them and some said that although it was helpful, “the only downside to using this pen is that when listening back to the recording you can hear yourself writing on the page.”(Ahern, 2016). In the conclusion of the research it was found that students feared that the Livescribe Pen would make them stand out more in the classrooms.

In another research students from kindergarten to the twelfth grade were also given some time to try the Livescribe pen to see the effectiveness of them academically. On the graph that was provided, students were asked to rate how useful the smartpen was. Number one not being useful and number seven being very useful. The average number was 6.2 (Schaack, 2009) Students find that the assistive tech is quite useful to them.

Overall it seemed like the positive effects the livescribe has outweighs the negatives effects. It is good to know that there are technologies invented just to help students with disability feel normal and not as an outcast. Technologies that gives the students the confidence to pass their classes and do academically well, as well as having the time to be social as well.

References

• Harper, Kelly, et al. “Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Glimpse of the Livescribe Pen and Its Impact on Homework Completion.” Education and Information Technologies, vol. 22, no. 5, 2017, pp. 2471–2483.
• Ahern, S. (2016). THE LEARNING IMPACT OF SMART PENS ON STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. [online] Resna.org. Available at: https://www.resna.org/sites/default/files/conference/2016/pdf_versions/cac/ahern.pdf
• Van Schaack, A. (2009). LIVESCRIBE IN K–12 EDUCATION: RESEARCH SUPPORT A Review of Scientific Evidence Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Smartpen Technologies for Improving Teaching and Learning. [online] Livescribe.com. Available at: http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/media/pdf/education/Livescribe_K-12_Research_Support.pdf
• Frankenberger, C. and M., E. (2017). Livescribe Smartpen – Yale Dyslexia. [online] Yale Dyslexia. Available at: https://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/tools-technology/tech-tips/livescribe-smartpen/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].
• wook ok, m. and rao, k. (2017). Using a Digital Pen to Support Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities – Min Wook Ok, Kavita Rao, 2017. [online] SAGE Journals. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1053451217692567 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

CRITICAL RESEARCH ANALYSIS ESSAY

Abstract

Issues related to dyslexia and the impact assistive technology has on those who use them. Dyslexia is a learning that is characterized by difficulty reading in children and adults who have the intelligence, motivation and the academic resources needed for accurate and fluent reading “Dyslexia is perhaps the most common neurobehavioral disorder affecting children”(Shaywitz, 1998). Various researches have been held to figure out what would be helpful to those with dyslexia. The smartpen known as the LiveScribe Pen has been used in all of these research, reason being to see the effectiveness of this assistive technology in the lives of the dyslexic students. An Assistive Technology is any item, piece or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capacities of individuals with disabilities.(Tech Act-Pub. L. 100-4-7). The LSP is an assistive technology that was invented to specifically help those who struggle to read. It might look like an ordinary pen to onlookers, but it does so much more than being used to write notes.

Key words: Assistive Technology, Effectiveness, Dyslexia, students

Sandra Salifu

Critical Analysis Essay

12/12/19

The article Assistive technology for students with learning disabilities: A glimpse of the livescribe pen and its impact on homework completion, by  Kelly A. Harper, and co, discusses the effectiveness of the assistive technology known as the LiveScribe Pen. The technology is created to help those with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in  reading. “The condition is commonly believed to be originated in the visual-spatial system. It’s presence is considered to be signaled by mirror writing and letter reverse.” (Vellitino, 1987). Around the age of five or six years old, while children are beginning kindergarten and/or first grade, learning how to read and write, the symptoms of dyslexia becomes more apparent. In this particular research the authors’ were focused on elementary students with this disability and how assistive technology helped the students and the parents.

The focus of the research was on how the LSP impacted the lives of the students who used it. Assistive technology was invented to help individuals who are disabled. There are various types of assistive technology and each technology has its own unique function. For example the LiveScribe Pen is for Dyslexic individuals. According to the article, The LSP, sometimes referred as “the pen that never forgets”, was founded by Jim Marggraff in 2007. The LSP was invented to be utilized in dyslexic elementary students academic life, however, 

according to the review it did more than improve the students’ academic skills; it improved their nonacademic skills as well such as increase their independence. As children at the age of five and six they truly value their recess times, so why should learning hold them back from being social? The LSP made way for more social activities, and the ability for homework to be completed successfully. For students who used the LSP; the most important impact of the technology was that it allowed the students to be inspired to do more things. They had a sense of hope because of a pen. Having the knowledge that there is a device that allows them to live a normal life seemed to have been a big push for them.

The LiveScribe Pen is a mid-tech assistive technology because as stated in the article, to the Peer Review it contains “ a removable ballpoint ink cartridge, a microphone to enhance audio recording, a playback speaker, an infrared camera, and internal flash memory that can store handwritten notes, audio and images.” (Harper,2016) Although the LSP looks like a regular pen, it has various attributes  that help dyslexic students such as “audio and visual feedback, as well as substantial memory for handwriting capture, audio recording, and additional applications.” (Schaack, 2009). With the LiveScribe Pen students did not have to struggle to keep up with the teacher, or struggle to remember certain information. The pen did all of that for then. So when the students are going over what was taught in class, the pen replays the recording. It is clear that the LSP has a really good effect on the elementary students. They are more sociable and independent.They do not constantly have their parents, or teachers on their shoulders trying to make them understand the content. They are able to learn on their own without any hassle. 

Further down in the article the authors write about the LSP impact on high school students. This way the research is not bias. The students stated that “the LSP is a powerful study 

aid, especially given that more time could be spent listening and learning than on note taking with the playback feature”. (Harper,2016) The students loved the fact that the pen seemed to be a regular pen to their classmates. They wanted to fit in with their classmates This assistive technology is quite beneficial to the students, and the parents. For example, the price is below two hundred dollars, it allows the students to have a sense of independence and they are able to enjoy learning as well as having a social life. According to Min Mook Ok “For example, Johnson (2008) and Higgins and Raskind (2005) found that reading pens helped students with reading difficulties improve reading accuracy and comprehension”(Mook Ok,2017). Parents don’t have to stress about how expensive the LSP is or how their children are doing in school.

 I think the study was actually good, for the elementary students they used a year to do the study and find out the effectiveness of students. And as for the high school students they did the study for six weeks. Both were a good amount of time to study and see how the LSP worked. I also think that the technology is really good, It is durable and it looks like an ordinary pen which is also good, no classmate can bully the student for having a disability. It also doesn’t drastically change the students’ lives like a cochlear implant would’ve done to a deaf student. Cochlear implant is a high tech assistive technology for people who are hearing impaired. Having the Cochlear implant, the student is at risk of “Numbness around the ear, Attacks of dizziness, Injury to the facial nerve,” (FDA,2018) and students may not “May not be able to understand the language well, and lifestyle changes.” (FDA,2018). Although this technology must have good benefits it has really serious life changing risk than the LiveScribe Pen on any student, whether in elementary school or even high school.

However, there are those who believe that this assistive technology is not as effective as it should be. According to LiveScribe Smartpen by Caryl Frankenberger, “she did not find listening to classroom discussions helpful. In fact, she found it too challenging…”(Frankenberger) Students who have auditory difficulties don’t find the LSP helpful as students who can hear properly. In this case she needs another assistive tech that would be beneficial to her. The LiveScribe Pen is not for every disabled student. Furthermore, in an article written by Simon Ahern, a research that had 38 students with a learning disability, were given  Livescribe pens for over one week to see the effectiveness of the Livescribe Pen.

After the research study was finished the positive aspects of the pen were that the pen “improved quality of notes, greater enjoyment to lectures, works well with online slides, better workload management, increased confidence on course, persistent use over time, and grades have benefited.” (Ahern, 2016) Students benefited greatly just by using the technology. However, the negative aspects were the “bulkiness of the pen, the memory limit, ink cartridge replacement, and having to request permission.” (Ahern, 2016). Just like anything that is invented, there are flaws. After the research some of the students gave good feedback about how the pen really helped them and some said that although it was helpful, “the only downside to using this pen is that when listening back to the recording you can hear yourself writing on the page.”(Ahern, 2016). In the conclusion of the research it was found that students feared that the Livescribe Pen would make them stand out more in the classrooms. But that wasn’t the case at all, the LiveScribe looks like a pen, a really cool looking pen.

In another research students from kindergarten to the twelfth grade were also given some time to try the Livescribe pen to see the effectiveness of them academically. On the graph that was provided, students were asked to rate how useful the smartpen was. Number one not being useful and number seven being very useful. The average number was 6.2 (Schaack, 2009) Students find that the assistive tech is quite useful to them. 

In this final research study, the participants were forty college students who each have different physical and learning disabilities. They had to participate in a program called DSP’s (Disabled Students Program) Pilot Program. They were provided LiveScribe Echo smartpen for taking notes. The span of the research study was only one week, which isn’t enough time to gather enough information. A positive effect that is famously known is the confidence the pen gives the student. “the new sense of confidence that the smartpen seemed to provide. Many of the students reported that the pen reduced their classroom anxiety and freed them up to pay better attention.” (Berkley,2016). A student with Anxiety and ADD said “ When I miss something, it creates an enormous amount of anxiety for me,”(Berkley,2016) and “When you’re trying to learn, suffering from anxiety is really not good!”(Berkley,2016). So the LiveScribe pen impacted with student with Anxiety and ADD positively. Another student referred to the LiveScribe Pen as “back-up ears”(Berkley,2016) because “when she uses the pen to record lectures, she doesn’t have to worry about missing important information, she said.”(Berkley,2016). By the end of the one week, they found out that the LiveScribe Pen can be used in various different ways, the main reason being that they each have their own learning styles. For example “One student would go back and rewrite the notes he had taken in class, while re-listening to the lecture recording. 

Another participant with a physical disability limiting his fine motor control found the pen especially useful; his notetaking is restricted to writing a single word to describe each part of the lecture.”(Berkley,2016) The LiveScribe Pen took away the student’s anxiety during class knowing that they could actually go back and listen to the lecture. Another benefit is “Students who learn by listening can benefit from relistening to the pen’s audio recording outside of the commotion of the classroom.”(Berkley,2016) However the same cannot be said for students with auditory disability “ students who have an auditory-processing problem and learn best by reading are unlikely to benefit from the pen.”(Berkley,2016). Although this was the only hiccup in this research, the turnout of this research was a great success. 

Overall it seemed like the positive effects the livescribe has outweighs the negatives effects. It is good to know that there are technologies invented just to help students with disability feel normal and not as an outcast. Technologies that gives the students the confidence to pass their classes and do academically well, as well as having the time to be social. 

References

• Harper, Kelly, et al. “Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Glimpse of the Livescribe Pen and Its Impact on Homework Completion.” Education and Information Technologies, vol. 22, no. 5, 2017, pp. 2471–2483.
• Ahern, S. (2016). THE LEARNING IMPACT OF SMART PENS ON STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. [online] Resna.org. Available at: https://www.resna.org/sites/default/files/conference/2016/pdf_versions/cac/ahern.pdf 
• Van Schaack, A. (2009). LIVESCRIBE IN K–12 EDUCATION: RESEARCH SUPPORT A Review of Scientific Evidence Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Smartpen Technologies for Improving Teaching and Learning. [online] Livescribe.com. Available at: http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/media/pdf/education/Livescribe_K-12_Research_Support.pdf 
• Frankenberger, C. and M., E. (2017). Livescribe Smartpen – Yale Dyslexia. [online] Yale Dyslexia. Available at: https://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/tools-technology/tech-tips/livescribe-smartpen/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].
• wook ok, m. and rao, k. (2017). Using a Digital Pen to Support Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities – Min Wook Ok, Kavita Rao, 2017. [online] SAGE Journals. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1053451217692567 [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].
•   Winn, W., Berninger, V., Richards, T., Aylward, E., Stock, P., Lee, Y.-L., & Lovitt, D. (2006). Effects of Nonverbal Problem Solving Treatment on Skills for Externalizing Visual Representation in Upper Elementary Grade Students with and without Dyslexia. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34(4), 381–404 
• Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA. “Benefits and Risks of Cochlear Implants.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 2018, www.fda.gov/medical-devices/cochlear-implants/benefits-and-risks-cochlear-implants.
• Computerized pen helps students with disabilities in unexpected ways. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/news/2011/computerized-pen-helps-students-disabilities-unexpected-ways.

REFLECTIONS

LITERACY

Writing my literacy essay wasn’t difficult at all. Since it was mainly focused on what I enjoy doing. And since writing and reading are something I do often, It wasn’t hard writing them down. It was much easier since I had written a literary essay during the summer. In that literary essay I also wrote about my love for reading and writing and a little more about myself.  It was hard to include this class in the essay because I never heard of Assistive Technology. But when I heard that It didn’t have to include that I was relieved. During the writing process I had a classmate looked over my draft and comment on them. My tutor also helped with grammar and helped me add on a few things as well. I had wanted to add my love for photography but I wrote mostly about writing, so he told me not to add that since it wasn’t mentioned throughout my essay. which was a good advice. It honestly did not take me long to finish this essay since I basically had an outline. The difficult part was structuring the essay so that it followed nicely.

EXPLORATORY

Reflection

Writing my exploratory essay, The Effectiveness of the LiveScribe Smartpen on Students took time and research. I thought it would’ve been simple, but I thought wrong. It was hard to find the right sources that would support my claim. I wanted the essay to focus on the effects the Livescribe on students and how students and parents felt about it. When we were first discussing the exploratory essay I was wondering what my essay would’ve been about, the kind of assistive technology I would focus on, but then I figured I should use the article I chose for the other class because It had a lot of information as well as the research was interesting to me, How the smartpen was invented to help students with learning disabilities. A pen that looked normal, but with so much hidden secrets that improves students’ academic performances. It took a while to find articles that were not biased and articles that had an opposing side to my claim. When I did find those articles, organizing the essay was also difficult, figuring out which article would go first and how to start each paragraph, but I think I did well. I didn’t do this alone I had help from my tutor who helped me with finding good sources and where to find the sources. It wasn’t easy writing but with time and patience I was able to finish the essay.

CRITICAL

Reflection

Writing my research analysis essay, The Effectiveness of the LiveScribe Smartpen on Students took time and research. It was much easier since I had my Exploratory essay ro guide me.. It was hard to find more sources that would support my claim. I wanted the essay to focus on the effects the Livescribe on students and how students and parents felt about it. When we were first discussing the research analysis essay I was wondering how I would be writing my essay. I figured since my exploratory essay was focused on one assistive technology, I should just elaborate my thoughts and try to organize my thoughts well on the page. When I did find more articles I found it hard to place them in places that would make sense, I didn’t do this alone I had help from my tutor who helped me with finding good sources and where to find the sources. He also said that if I needed any help I could still go to the PAL center to get help from other students, in case he wasn’t there. But I figured his help was more than enough.While writing this paper I would zone out for a few minutes before I would resume writing. I felt like I was repeating myself, and I felt like I wasn’t bringing out the important information. But overall it came out well. 

SELF

Sandra Salifu

With completing the first term in the FIQWS class, I was able to benefit from a variety of new things from the class, as well as refresh my memory on things that I already knew, just needed a reminder about. The biggest hurdle in the class for me was having to sit in the class for almost three hours and time management. I am not used to sitting in one room for that long just for a class. It would usually be for exams, I am also a procrastinator and always have been, so when it came to waiting to the last minute to complete my work I would  stay up two days before the due date to complete the assignment . I have not come to a full result to this problem yet, but I did make changes in my life as to how I can manage time management. I found that it was easier for me to focus on homework if I was not home, because when I am home I would usually use my phone and occupy my time with unnecessary things rather than the homework I have to focus on. So I would usually do my work at the PAL center or even the public library before heading home. I don’t think I will get over procrastination anytime soon, but I can manage it and I can keep trying to get over it.

As for highlights and insights, I can’t really think of any. To be honest, this class didn’t really give me any new skills about writing papers. I had taken AP English during my junior year of High school, so most of the strategies mentioned in class was like review to me. However I did learn about Assistive technology in this class as well as the other FIQWS class. Before attending this class it never came to my mind that there were technologies that helped disabled people. It was really interesting when I did research  on assistive technology and how it is so helpful to the disabled community. 

I was not  aware of most of the issues we discussed in class, such as assistive technology, 

And the advantages and disadvantages of the technology. So learning and discussing them in both class enlightened me and my understanding on this topic.

 I honestly did not have any expectations for this class because I did not know what to expect in one of my first year college course. I was actually nervous. I thought it would’ve been difficult. I thought that you were going to be a harsh professor. Which now that I’ve taken your class was totally wrong) You were pretty cool and really understanding. You helped us in anyway you could, and you clearly taught us what you had to in this course.

 I completed every writing assignment to the best of my abilities and my understanding, considering that I never knew anything about assistive technology. I have a strong feeling that I passed this term with either and A or a B.