Digital learning seems to positively influence the learning results of all students. This is shown by research results concerning digital learning among regular students and students with learning disabilities of secondary education. Thus the positive influence goes for students with learning disabilities as well.

Students with learning disabilities seems to experience comparable learning problems like vulnerable adults. Therefore the research result could be indicating that digital learning can be a suitable way of learning for vulnerable adults in order to obtain a successful learning result.

Revolution of digital learning

Direct attempt for this project was the revolutionary experience with students with learning disabilities during digital learning of mathematics and numeracy. Meanwhile during discussions between teachers, it appears that students with learning disabilities, for example, autistic features, don't experience the learning problems during digital learning as they experience during face to face learning.

That's why The Merlet College (school for secondary education) would like  to realise suitable education for their students by offering a digital learning environment. Because of this also these students can obtain successful results in language- and numeracy  lessons.

First of all the research focuses on exploration of the success of the students in secondary education, who joined learning in a digital environment. But results can be used for adult learners with comparable disabilities. Furthermore for the students with learning disabilities we will explore if the digital learning environment influences a successful learning result. Therefore we developed an instrument that measures the quality of digital learning processes of regular students and students with learning disabilities.

About the student with a learning disability

Question is if digital learning can successfully contribute to be an offer to education for students with a learning disability. First of all the student with learning disabilities will be seen as a student who:

"besides the regular offer in education and guidance needs care to follow an (adequate) education and to accomplish this successfully in the period of time that institutions and legal rules require".

The accompanying educational offer adapts to the following problems:

-  cognitive problems

- learning problems

- problems in behaviour

- social-emotional problems (social problems and upbringing and raising problems)

- physical problems

- problems in development

- problems with communication

According to learning problems adult learners often experience similar learning problems comparable with barriers they experience during learning. Also for them the question rises if digital learning can be successful and useful.

Result 1: Learning success for a student (with or without learning disabilities) by using a digital learning environment.            

In order to investigate the learning results of the different categories of students and the accompanying influential and authentic factors of the learning process on the learning result the we developed and validated a research instrument, called:  "Learning Quality in the Picture" .

Next step was an investigation by using the LQP-instrument among approximately 300 students concerning their results on mathematics and numeracy.  Hereby, for the first time, an answer has been obtained to the question which successful learning process the students have achieved. Is it so that the students after joining the learning process achieve a successful learning result?

In depth analysis of the research results pointed out that practically all students with learning disabilities as well as the regular students had a better test result after joining the digital learning process. Thus it can be concluded that digital learning, also for students with learning disabilities, is an adequate way of education.

Motivation for this research was to show if digital learning can be used in classrooms for students with learning disabilities besides the regular students and could improve the test result and if possible the attitude concerning study and motivation. Eventually that's the case. Besides an improved test result also side effects were established concerning motivation, concentration and planning.

More concrete our research results showed progress in these areas for approximately 40% of the regular students as well as the students with learning disabilities with exception of the students with learning disabilities concerning motivation, which makes clear that 50% of the students with learning disabilities got a better motivation.

Besides this we noticed that approximately 60% of the students who need more time, respectively 65% of the students with dyslexia got a better motivation and 50% of the students with a LWOO indication (indication for adapted learning process in secondary education) got better planning skills. On the other hand just approximately 25% of the students with dyslexia got better concentration skills.

Result 2: Successful factors for a successful learning result

After analysis of the results for the different groups, next step is to explore if the digital learning process is one of the success factors for a successful learning result for the students with learning disabilities. In sum our analysis showed that the digital learning environment (including the belonging learning contents and the learning program) has indeed have an influence on the side effects beside the test result, which in this research is part of the learning result.

More concrete the digital learning environment influences a successful learning result and especially for students with learning disabilities. Digital learning, in short, is also an adequate way of learning for students with learning disabilities.

Summary

We can conclude that digital learning is a suitable way of learning for adequate education for students with learning disabilities. However there has to be made a small restriction. The results of this research are based on "self reports" of the students of one organisation in secondary education. Therefore in order to be able to speak of a general model for all schools the research should be conducted in several schools.

Although this research has been conducted in secondary education, results can be comparable for adult education due to the fact that level of education is comparable with adults experiencing learning problems or disabilities. Our results point out that besides an improved test result the attitude concerning study and motivation of students with learning disabilities will be improved after joining a digital learning process.

In the Netherlands nowadays there are lot of examples of digital learning environments for vulnerable adults. For example learning environments, which use specialised programs for adults, like learning language during daily life, or like learning how to use daily medical terms in order to prevent health literacy.

Digital learning can be a possible solution for vulnerable adults in order to increase their language or numeracy skills and increase their functioning in daily life. Besides the strength of face to face learning digital learning can be a "helping hand" for vulnerable adults during learning in order to optimise their learning results.

For more information contact: Malouk van der Burgt: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or visit the website: www.passenddigitaal.nl

Dr. Maurice de Greef

With assistance of: Henk van der Burgt, Ron Ghijssen, Frans Guelen and Hen Willemse