Students in Action Profiles
Students Improve Skills With Help From the Writing Center
Class Year: 2003
Test anxiety, nonexistent typing abilities, poor organizational and note-taking skills-these are just a few of the problems Vermont Tech students come seeking solutions for from the college's Writing and Communication Center. Of the estimated 300 students who use the center's services each year, approximately 10 percent come with documented disabilities. The field of assistive technology is no longer just the domain of professionals working with the disabled community. It is showing exciting promise as a tool in helping all students achieve academic success.
The innovative work being done at Vermont Tech's center was recently recognized by the Vermont Women in Higher Education. That organization bestowed this year's Jackie M. Gribbons Leadership Award on the center's director Dawn Carleton for her work in creating the center. It is a center that started as a way to meet the needs of just a handful of students and has now expanded to provide contracted assistance to working professionals through the Assistive Technology Training Institute.
Three key software packages undergird the work of the center. Read and Write Gold is a word prediction and reading program. Students using the software receive word suggestions as they write, while Microsoft Word provides a grammar and spell check. The program also can read back to the users what they have written, as well as any document brought into the program.
"It was designed to help people with dyslexia, but it's also a great tool for people who have typing dexterity problems or trouble with word selection," explained Center Director Dawn Carleton. "Once the program suggests a word, the user can select a suggestion and the word is automatically inserted into the document. This cuts down on the actual physical text typing and helps people overcome language mix-ups."
nspiration is a brainstorming and organizational software that helps students take confusing and disorganized notes and organize the material for writing projects, presentations, or just for studying. (see illustration)
For students whose verbal skills exceed their writing skills, the center uses a voice recognition program originally designed for busy medical doctors and lawyers. Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred allows users to verbally dictate their thoughts and then create and edit a printed version of the dictation.
"We had a non-traditional aged student come to us his second day of class ready to quit because he couldn't type," recalls Carleton. "He had returned to school to study mechanical engineering following a workplace injury. His first day in class his English professor assigned a short essay. Since he couldn't type, creating the essay was a major hurdle. We taught him how to use Dragon and loaned him the program. By the end of the semester, the student was on the honor roll."
The expertise of the center's staff is frequently tapped by other colleges and universities seeking to learn more about their work. Employers are also beginning to contract with the center to assist working professionals. For example, center staff recently trained a professional with carpal tunnel syndrome on how to use the Dragon program. She is now back on the job working productively.
The work of the center is supported by the college and a four-year Perkins grant. The center will soon be moving to larger office space on the Randolph Center campus to accommodate the growing demand by students for center services, which are available to all faculty, staff and students.