students With LD in Higher Education:Use and Contribution of Assistive Technology

Students With LD in Higher Education:Use and Contribution of Assistive Technology and Website Courses and Their Correlation to Students’ Hope and Well-Being


J Learn Disabil July/August 2012 45: 308-318, first published on January 20, 2011

1. Tali Heiman, PhD
2. Dorit Olenik Shemesh, PhD1

1. ¹Open University of Israel, Ra’anana, Israel

1. Tali Heiman, Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, 108 Ravutski Street, Ra’anana 43107, Israel Email: talihe@openu.ac.il

Abstract

This study examined the extent and patterns of usage of web courses, and their contribution to the academic and social perceptions of 964 undergraduate students with and without learning disabilities studying in higher education. Students were asked to complete four questionnaires examining the usage patterns of various adaptive technologies and their contribution to the student. The questionnaires assessedPerceptions of Learning through Online Usage; Accessibility of Campus Computing; Hope Scale and Subjective Well-being Scale. A detailed examination of the usage patterns of online courses revealed that, compared to the comparison group, students with LD log more often into the course sites, going into the forum more frequently and leaving significantly more messages on the forum than students in the comparison group. Findings indicated that students with LD are more familiar with assistive technology and use it more than the comparison group. Students with LD reported higher scores on the Hope scale, they felt an increased drive to find different pathways to attain their goals, as well as being motivated to pursue those goals, and their subjective well-being was higher that of the students in the comparison group.

• affective domain
 
• postsecondary
 
• learning disabilities
 
• higher education
• website course
 
• assistive technology
 
• hope
 
• well-being