TECHNOLOGYIN SPECIAL EDUCATION

by Halima Jno-Baptistefor EDTE 430 Current Trends in Curriculum & Instruction

University of the Southern Caribbean

Learning Technology

• Defined as “technologies that can be used to support learning, teaching and assessment in education” in addition to “information and communication technology (ICT) which can be used to develop new knowledge and skills in all kinds of educational fields, including special education,”

(Liu and Huang, 2010, as cited in Liu, Wu and Chen, 2013, p. 3619)

• Includes smartboards, computers and tablets, as well as web based activities.

• Research shows that blended learning, that is, using technology and traditional teaching strategies, yields greater results than using only traditional strategies. (Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2010).

SMARTBOARDS

Smartboards are large

whiteboards which are

interactive.

The large white board is also a

touchscreen on which the

teacher or student could draw or

write.

SMARTBOARDS

Benefits:• helpful for students who may be unable to grip a pen to write; they can

use their finger to present information.

• useful as the teacher can use them to present visual images to students during lessons.

• ideal for students with special needs as they “support inclusive classrooms by offering students many ways to learn information, express ideas, and demonstrate understanding…

• allows teachers to address different learning styles - visual, auditory and kinesthetic,” (Torreno, 2012)

COMPUTERS

Computer use is beneficial in enhancing

social interaction among students.

COMPUTERS

• In a study on children with ASD, it was seen that using the computer in the classroom changed their “interactivity” and it “seemed to encourage more positive social interaction, requiring less instruction from the teacher to yield a positive response.”

• Research also shown “that increasing the intensity of graphic information, when providing computer-generated geometry instruction to students with ADHD, helps increase their ability to perform better on geometry problems”

(Short, Labine, Bruner, Cardoso, & Trick, n.d., pp. 6-7)

TABLETS

Tablets are also helpful in the inclusive classroom.

TABLETS

Benefits:

• They “can empower students with special needs, promote inclusion, and mitigate behavior management challenges,” (Gurley & Meath, 2018)

• Tablets are useful for students who need assistance with their motor skills.

• Teachers can also integrate tablet use in the classrooms for more interactive discussions.

TABLETS

• There are a wide variety of apps available for tablets which can be beneficial in the classroom and also function as additional activities for students. These apps can assist students with their arithmetic and reading, as well as help to develop their motor, cognitive, auditory and visual processing skills.

ONLINE QUIZZES

• Online quizzes can be particularly helpful as they offer the teacher many choices.

• Quizzes can include printed text as well as images which can be beneficial for students with varying abilities.

• Platforms such as Quizmaker and QuizStar are useful in creating online quizzes.

• Many online quizzes provide analyses which enable teachers to swiftly identify areas in which students have difficulties.

OTHER WEB BASED ACTIVITIES

The internet is a wonderful tool to get students engaged in learning.

•

• According to Lapp, Fisher, Frey and

• Gonzalez (2014), using the internet in

• activities allows students to move from

• consumers of information to creators of

• information.

OTHER WEB BASED ACTIVITIES

Ways teachers could help students produce information:

• using their tablets and the app ShowMe to create a screencast/ video

• having students collaborate on a Wiki project

OTHER WEB BASED ACTIVITIES

• using Google Draw to design memes

• creating a website on Weebly

OTHER WEB BASED ACTIVITIES

• Teachers could also present lessons to students via a WebQuest.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Assistive technology is “a generic term that embraces assistive, adaptive,

and rehabilitative devices for persons with disabilities and embraces

virtually anything that might be used to compensate for lack of certain

abilities,”

(Ramoutar, 2018, p. 2)

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

•Grip pens

•Graphic organizers

•Highlighters

Low-tech

tools

•Glasses

•Wheelchairs

Mid-tech tools

•Text readers

•E-books

High-tech tools

In Closing…

• 36% of people with severe disabilities use a computer, and 29% of them access the Internet.

• Technology helps these individuals to :• communicate more effectively

• increase their levels of independence

• control their environments

• have greater mobility

• gain access to information (Ramoutar, 2018)

Special education teachers embrace technology as the various forms have proven to be beneficial in the inclusive classroom, giving each child a chance to achieve success.

REFERENCES

Gurley, M. & Meath, S. (2018). How classroom devices can foster social and academic growth. Retrieved from https://www.esparklearning.com/webinars/tablets-in-sped

Liu, G., Wu, N., & Chen, W. (2013). Identifying emerging trends for implementing learning technology in special education: A state-of-the-art review of selected articles published in 2008- 2012. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34. 3618- 3628.

Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Barbara Means, Yukie Toyama, Robert Murphy, Marianne Bakia, and Karla Jones, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Ramoutar, A. (2018). SPED205_3: Issues in Special Education, week 5 notes [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://elearn.usc.edu.tt/moodle/pluginfile.php/265979/mod_resource/content/1/Unit%205.pdf

Short, J., Labine, S., Bruner, J., Cardoso, C., & Trick, C. (n.d.). Benefits of technology in special education. San Bernadino: California State University.

Torreno, S. (2012, December 7). Using smartboards in special education classrooms. Retrieved from https://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusion-strategies/55013-advantages-of-using-smartboards-for-students-with-special-needs/