CHAPTER 15 – TECHNOLOGY IN SPECIAL

EDUCATION

Chelsea Pogar, Morgan Jones, Daisha Batts, Ashley Lynch, and

Dyche Randolph

Technology Integration Example – Helping Students with disabilities blend in -

There are 6 Phases to helping students with disabilities blend in with technology.

Phase 1: Assess technological pedagogical content knowledge

Phase 2: Determine relative advantage Phase 3: Decide on objectives and

assessments Phase 4: Design integration strategies Phase 5: Prepare the instructional

environment Phase 6: Evaluate and revise

Introduction

Education for students with special needs encompasses strategies for BOTH those with physical and mental deficits and those with special gifts or talents.

The term impairment, disability and handicap are often used synonymously.

Differences among these concepts have important implications for the use of technology in the classroom.

…Introduction continued…

Impairment: involve abnormality or loss of function in a physical, anatomical, or psychological structure. May be congenital or acquired through accident of disease.

Impairment limits an individual from performing an activity in a manner normally expected for human being (communicating with others, hearing, movement, manipulating objects, hearing, movement, manipulating objects, etc.) we refer to this as a disability.

In the United States, federal law recognizes several types of disabilities.

Most citizens know one or more individuals who have been affected by a disability in some form: deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, mental retardation,

multihandicapped, orthopedically impaired, other health impaired, seriously emotionally disturbed, specific learning disability, speech impaired, or visually handicapped.

…Introduction Continued…

A handicap arises when an individual is unable to fulfill a role due to an impairment or disability.

Special education technology has been a part of the United States educational system since at least 1879 1879- The United States Congress made a $10,000

grant for the production of Braille materials by the American Printing House for the Blind.

1958- funding was provided for captioning films for the deaf

… Introduction Continued…

Federal government established two Special Education Instructional Materials Centers (SEIMCs) Purpose was to explore ways to make

educational technologies more accessible to special education teachers

The two original eventually expanded to a network of 14 regional SEIMCs, the Council for Exceptional Children ERIC Clearinghouse, four Regional Media Centers for the Deaf, and a Network Coordinating Office.

They were all disbanded later

… Introduction Continued…

The emphasis on technology for individuals with disabilities had been though of as assistive technology— Extending the abilities of an individual in ways that

provide physical access (wheelchairs, braces and sensory access (Braille, closed captioning).

General goals of specific application technology is to harness the potential of technology in ways that offer an individual with a disability increased opportunities for learning, productivity, and independence-opportunities that otherwise would not be available.

What does TPACK look like in Special Education?

TPACK: technological pedagogical content knowledge In any discipline is the perfect union of three

knowledge domains (content, pedagogy, and technology) to develop a knowledge base from which a teacher can view a lesson and understand how technology can enhance the learning opportunities and experiences for the students while also knowing the correct pedagogy to enhance the learning of the content.

…TPACK Continued…

In special education, a teacher is incorporating the TPACK principles when he or she reviews a lesson plan and, without hesitation, thinks about the pedagogy and technology that can be used to meet the unique needs of each student in his or her caseload and what adaptations might be needed to be made to that pedagogy and technology.

Issues and problems in Special Education

A number of issues affect the delivery of special education services.

There are six current issues that have an impact on uses of technology in special education: Legal and Policy Directives Implications of the No Child Left Behind Act for

Special Education Need for Trained Personnel Requirements for Inclusive Classrooms Universal Design for Learning Web Accessibility

Legal and Policy Directives

Special Education, more than any other areas of education, is governed by laws and policies.

Teachers, administrators, and special education technology specialists must be well versed in federal and state law, policies, and procedures.

…Legal and Policy Directives Continued…

The following laws promote the use of technology by individuals with disabilities: The Technology-Related Assistance Act for

Individuals with Disabilities (Public Law 100-407), passed in 1988, provided funding for statewide systems and services to provide assistive technology devices and services to individuals with disabilities.

Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA) in 1997 (Public Law 105-17) mandates that every individualized education program (IEP) team consider assistive technology when planning the educational program of an individual with a disability.

Implications of the No Child Left Behind Act for Special Education

Has had significant influence in special education

One of the most important components of the law focuses on Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) Requires documentation that each school is

meeting specific performance criteria established in the law

Benefit of these new AYP requirements is that they focus public attention on the persistent underachievement of students with physical disabilities.

Need for Trained Personnel

Most teachers begin their career with minimal experience using technology in ways that Enhance their own productivity Enhance the effectiveness of instruction and the

success of all students Enable them to acquire and use assistive technology

for students in need of performance support. Current assistive technology delivery system

was originally developed to respond to the needs of students with low-incidence disabilities. The size of the high incident population requires a rethinking of service delivery systems.

Requirements for Inclusive Classrooms

• Students have been Mainstreamed (placing special education students in separate classes) but since the 1990s Students have been included in general education classes known as Inclusion

• Although students with disabilities have been included in classrooms, general education is still limited.

• Appropriate modifications have to be made for students with, physical, mental and psychosocial disabilities

• Assistive Technology is needed for students in Special Education to help them to gain high scores with the NCLB expectations

Universal Design

Universal Design is the understanding of the design for physical environments of the disabled

One successful example of Universal Design are curb cuts

Universal Design has evolved into a wider range of accessibility for the disabled.

Recently, computers have been programmed with software with universal design concepts

Accessibility panels are available on every computer

Applying Universal Design for Learning

The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) believes that Universal Design is a critical tool in helping students with disabilities to access the general education curriculum

CAST and the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Programs established the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum to help create practical approaches for improved access to the general by weaving together new curricula, teaching practices and policies.

Link to CAST website http://www.cast.org/index.html

Universal Design of Learning guidelines

Universal Design of Learning guidelines(cont.)

Web Accessibility

Refers to the push to make websites usable for people with disabilities

Just like Universal Design of Learning, the purpose of web accessibility is to provide greater access of information for all users by designing websites for accessibility from the ground up

Criteria1. Text equivalents with screen readers2. Large or enlargeable images for people with low

vision3. Underlining and coloring links for the colorblind4. Making website navigable with the keyboard only

Summary of Technology Integration Strategies for Special Education

I. Students with physical disabilities A. Use alternate keyboards such as intellitools’

intellikeys B. They use joysticks or switches instead of

keyboards C. And they use voice recognition software

such as Dragon Talk’s Dragon Naturally Speaking

  II. Students with Sensory Disabilities Use text to speech readers such as JAWS for

Windows They also use optical character recognition

software or CCTV

Summary of Technology Integration Strategies for Special Education

III. Students with Communication Difficulties Also use text-to-speech products such as

WizCom’s Quicktionary pen Use talking word processors such as Don

Johnston’s Write: OutLoud   IV. Students with Cognitive Disabilities Use digital cameras to capture images of objects

and environments Use specialized calculators such as

Programming Concepts’ Coin-U-Lator

Strategies for Students with Cognitive Disabilities

A variety of conditions may impair an individual’s cognitive abilities. These disabilities are often referred to as cognitive disabilities, developmental disabilities or mental retardation.

  Mild disabilities are considered to be the most prevalent

type of disability. They include learning disabilities, serious emotional disabilities and mental retardation. The important issue for these students is not physical access to the technology, but reading, writing, memory and retention of the information. As a result, educators planning for the needs of students with mild disabilities often use productivity software as well as other software materials and online resources that can be used with many low performing students.

Using Multimedia to Help Meet Students’ Special Needs

I. Reading skills A. A characteristic associated with many disabilities is

difficulty learning how to read and in developing grade level reading skills. AS a result, special education teachers tend to devote a great deal of time and energy to the teaching of reading and are likely to use a variety of software products to remediate students’ reading abilities.

II. Writing Skills Many tools have been developed to support students who

struggle in various phases of the writing process. For students who are unable to write by hand, who have illegible handwriting, or who find handwriting extremely tedious, voice recognition software may be an option. Some students who are slow typists or have difficulty spelling can benefit from word prediction software.

Using Multimedia to Help Meet Students’ Special Needs

III. Math Skills Calculators are an important intervention

for students with disabilities. A specialized calculator, the Coin-U-Lator, was developed to assist students having difficulties counting coins and making change. Other strategies have been developed around simple graphing software materials, as well as drills,

Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities

I. For individuals with moderate and severe cognitive disabilities, considerable effort is devoted to ensuring that they acquire daily living skills such as personal hygiene, shopping, and use of public transportation. Software is available to help teach functional skills such as money management and employability skills must also be taught.

Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities

Teachers working with students with moderate and severe cognitive disabilities need to be familiar with an array of devices that provide an alternative means for accessing the computer since the typical keyboard may be problematic for the students. Alternate keyboards such as the Intellikeys keyboard can be used to create customized keyboards.

Strategies for Special Education Instruction

Students with physical Disabilities Use alternative keyboards such as

Intellitools’ IntelliKeys Use joysticks or switches instead of

keyboards Use voice recognition software such as

Dragon Talk’s Dragon Naturally

Strategies for Special Education Instruction

Students with Sensory Disabilities Use text to speech readers such as JAWS

for Windows Use optical character recognition (OCR)

software or CCTV

Strategies for Special Education Instruction

Students with Communication Difficulties Use text to speech products such as

WizCom’s Quicktionary pen Provide a wide range of tools to support

student writers Use talking word processors such as Don

Johnston’s write: OutLoud

Strategies for Special Education Instruction

Students with Cognitive Disabilities Use digital cameras to capture images of

objects and environments Use specialized calculators such as

programming Concepts’ Coin-U-Lator

Strategies for Students with Gifts and Talents

The primary issue surrounding and shaping education for gifted students is how to identify students who merit these “special services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school”.

“…The increasingly sophisticated use of technological tools and related methods will provide gifted students with greater connectivity and independence in the future.”

Strategies for Students with Gifts and Talents

-Electronic Communities -Research