Using Edtech Tools to Support Neurodivergent Learners

I have dyslexia. I didn’t know this in school, but I knew all too well what didn’t work for me in classrooms.

The heavy decoding of textbooks and long novels would often be the reason I couldn’t get started, causing me to give up or be late on almost every assignment. My teachers believed that if I just read again, or took notes about my reading, I would get it. They didn’t understand how I processed information, and that led to lots of late assignments and tears.

What I could not articulate then, I now understand.

The problem was not my brain—it was the format. Everything that was being handed to me was in the wrong format for how my brain processed information.

Tools like Google Notebook and Snorkl change the format in ways that help students succeed. I believe they belong in the individualized education program of every neurodivergent learner. 

Changing the format for neurodivergent learners

Gemini Notebook (previously named NotebookLM) is Google’s AI research and learning tool. It is grounded in the content that the teacher adds to the notebook and uses AI to make interactive learning possible. Importantly, it uplifts students who process information differently by handing them a format that meets them where they are.

When you upload dense, text-heavy material into Google Notebook, you can use the Studio to create content that meets the needs of neurodivergent learners. With this one move, you are removing a critical barrier for some. Suddenly, students can listen to an audio podcast of the material. They can be given an infographic rather than having to wade through the heavy decoding needed for the same content in text only. They can listen to a video overview of the content that will help them build background knowledge that can fuel deeper comprehension of the material later. All without the decoding load stopping them cold the way it did me.

Teachers can create these new assets and download them and share them via their learning management system for students to use as needed.

The next tool, Snorkl, is a platform for students to record and share their learning and thinking, then receive instant AI feedback, which can drive learning and help keep students feeling supported in their work. Students can draw, write, or speak their answers on a digital whiteboard. Same thinking, but, importantly, in a different format.

Snorkl can be used for writing things like CERs (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning responses) and other writing assignments. It doesn’t write anything for the students; it just gives the feedback a teacher might not have time to give for every student in real time. This is highly supportive. The feedback might prompt students to provide more details in certain areas, or it might ask questions to get students thinking more critically about what they are writing.

Support across subjects

And it is not just for writing. In math, a student can solve a problem by drawing on the whiteboard and, at the same time, record the why. This requires the student to think about why they are doing what they are doing to solve the problem. It opens up a new format with new lines of communication about what the student actually understands about the problem. With this rich information, the teacher is no longer taking answers on paper as proof. They’re not assuming the student understands when they don’t, or missing a learning gap. The thinking becomes visible and is, additionally, supported by instant feedback.

Worksheets and practice problems don’t help a student who is not ready to do them. You can’t effectively practice something you don’t grasp yet. With tools like Snorkl and Google Notebook, students get the format change and support they need to understand first. They get to engage meaningfully with the practice event. This is why the technology is so valuable.

The instant feedback is especially critical. Struggling learners often won’t raise their hand or call attention to being lost, and they might not understand exactly why they are confused. But with Snorkl, they get the support they need. The feedback isn’t simply corrective. It keeps them engaged, and it keeps them in the learning, instead of checking out. This type of format change would have saved me as a struggling reader and writer.

We worry about students using AI to circumvent work, but tools like Snorkl and Google Notebook can give students the support they need to stay engaged—to continue working and thinking by using the format that works for them.

These tools are not hindering thinking or short-cutting learning. And they are not changing the way we are teaching. They’re changing the format so thinking can happen.