LD Online.org - ILA Newsletter Effective Literacy Website Exploration by Norly Cabrera-Balbin

Website: LD Online

URL: http://www.ilonline.org

LD Online (www.ldonline.org/contentfinder?search=reading%20and%20literacy) is a website that serves young children and adolescents with learning disabilities. The website features "hundreds of helpful articles, expert interviews, videos, columns by noted experts, first-person essays, children’s writing and artwork, and a comprehensive resource guide to teaching reading effectively," according to LD Online. The link above leads directly to articles specifically for educators interested in adequate literacy overall and providing literacy support for students with learning disabilities.

 I have chosen this website because beyond teaching and learning how to speak, read, and write well for the average student, there are students with an added layer of struggle in their learning journey. This website is a resource for educators and families of children with an educational disability to understand the disability and teach literacy effectively. For example, a section that is helpful for teachers under the For Educators tab is a list of instructional strategies that include Teaching Writing, Assessment, and Language and Reading Skills.

         Within that same For Educators page, I found an article highlighting individuals with dyslexia who are bright, creative, and talented individuals with difficulties processing written language. The article is “Celebrating Strengths and Talents of Children with Dyslexia: An Educational Model.” Identification, a section of the article that mentions methods for identifying the talents or strengths of children, and the Thematic Curriculum section, in which the Differentiated-Integrated Curriculum Grid Model developed by Sandra Kaplan for gifted students of grades K to 8 is the approach that leads the way. The differentiated curriculum or interdisciplinary instruction provides exposure to various hands-on experiences, emphasizing products for portfolios such as poems and artwork, among others.

     Further, focus on effective literacy that educators or parents should explore are articles in the Educators tab entitled “Whole Language Lives On the Illusion of Balanced Reading Instruction,” “Strategies for Composition and Self-Regulation in the Writing Process,” “Adolescent Literacy: Where We Are - Where We Need to Go,” “Knowlege and Skills for Teaching Reading, ” and “Children with LD as Emergent Readers: Bridging the Gap to Conventional Reading.” Additional articles may be searched on the left side, where category boxes indicate a specific audience, content type, and topic.

You can easily navigate LD Online through the subject tabs at the top-right: ☝☝Getting Started Topics, For Educators, For Families, and Your Stories. Two separate tabs, just above the exploratory ones, are for guests who seek a better understanding of LD Oline’s purpose or for those who are bewildered about educational disabilities. About Us and Finding Help tabs lead guests to understand more about the site’s purpose and help find the information, resources, and support needed for the child or student with learning disabilities or ADHD. Links there lead to organizations and websites to commonly asked questions, to get expert advice, and to books for parents and professionals.

     Finally, the WETA logo at the center-right leads to WETA’s home page. LD Online is powered by WETA, which holds a collection of educational online services. According to WETA, they are the leading public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital and serve our community with educational, cultural, news, and public affairs programs and services.