In my class I am seeing more and more auditory processing disorders. According to the National Institute on Deaf and Communication Disorders auditory processing is ” a term used to describe what happens when your brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around you”. When a student has an auditory processing disorder that students may not hear what I say as a teacher correctly and may not then understand what I have said. This disorder has a huge impact on academic performance. As a teacher that loves to use technology I know there may be an answer to this problem using technology.
I read an article this morning by Robert Marzano that discusses the use of interactive white boards in the classroom and how academic performance is improving by the use of these boards. I think that article could also be expanded and we would see that technology use in general, if applicable to student learning, will increase test scores as well – especially in students with auditory processing disorders. Most teachers only teach to auditory learners, but we know through research that most students ARE NOT 
auditory learners. The reason test scores are improving with the use of the whiteboard is because we are finally reaching all of the other learners in our classroom – especially the visual and the kinesthetic learners!
When my student’s create a wordle they are interacting with words and visualizing patterns with words which is so much more powerful than me saying vocabulary words over and over. When I use voicethread to help my students with vocabulary words, they are seeing a picture of a word and hearing the word, so I am helping visual learners again! By giving all of our students opportunities for success our academic performance can only rise.
Technology enhances learning and allows students to visualize what they are seeing, not just hear the words. It is important for educators to promote the use of technology for those students who need the extra visualization in class.
A Teacher and Technology 