| history | web evaluations | research journal | home |working with sources |media literacy |thesis |future | |Online Peer Review of Paragraph |ethics |standards |paper|
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| history | web evaluations | research journal | home |working with sources |media literacy |thesis |future | |Online Peer Review of Paragraph |ethics |standards |paper| |
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Assistive Technology in Special Education and Inclusion Sophia Berruz Tricia Ryan Using Information Effectively in Education (ISTC 202) May 3, 2005
Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to examine how assistive technology can enhance education and provide alternate learning opportunities for all students, especially students with special needs. Outline I. Introduction A. Questions concerning Special Education B. Bring technology into the education of children II. What is Special Education? A. Defining Special Education B. IDEA discussion of special education C. Different abilities, different needs III. Inclusion A. Definition of Inclusion B. Benefits of inclusion in a mainstream school C. Personal experience with inclusion A. Change in times calls for new technology B. Definition of Assistive Technology in education C. Benefits of Assistive Technology D. Discussion of Specific Technology How technology can be used in many different subjects: A. Science B. Math C. Social Studies D. Foreign language VI. Technology for Special Education A. Modern Classroom technologies B. Physically Impaired Students C. Communication Problems D. Visually Impaired Students E. Hearing Impaired/ Deaf F. Benefits of the technology use in Special Education VII. Virtual Reality/Simulations A. Life skills course engages in many real-life situations B. How technology can enhance these experiences for the student VIII. Internet: Making the Connection A. Finding what you need: benefits of the Internet B. Parents can benefit C. Parent and Teacher Connection D. Online Ethics A. Importance of knowledgeable teachers in technology B. Teacher’s role in students education C. Technologies to assist teachers in the classroom. X. Conclusion A. Thesis B. Hopes for the future XII. References
When discussing the issue of Special Education, what identifies a child as being “special”? Are there different types and degrees of Special Education students? What are the most effective methods of teaching these students? And as new technologies develop, can they be used to assist students? To answer these questions, it is important to identify many different groupings of students and issues in Special Education, along with the essential use of technology in education. The purpose of this paper is to examine how assistive technology can enhance education and provide alternate learning opportunities for all students, especially students with special needs. What is Special Education? Before covering the main idea behind how technology can enhance learning of special students, it is important to discuss what qualifies a student as “special”. Special Education is identified as, “the education of children who deviate socially, mentally, or physically from the average to such an extent that they require major modifications of usual school practices,” (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2005, p.1). According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, “students with disabilities include those with mental retardation, hearing impairments, speech or language impairments, visual impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities,” (Warger, 1999, p.1). Since there are so many different types of disabilities, each student needs to be assessed to determine the best type of learning environment for them (Ralabate, 2002, p. 13-14). This is a very important part of helping special education students from the very beginning of their education. With the right leadership from teachers, and knowing what works best with teaching each unique student, they can reach their full potential in learning. “Children who learn together, learn to live together” (Renaissance Group, 1999, p.1). Resurfacing the issue of different teaching methods in Special Education, many schools educate students in an Inclusive environment. Inclusion refers to the placement and participation of students with special needs into a general education environment such as classrooms and extra curricular programs (Lewis & Doorlag, 1999, p.5). Many find the use of inclusion in schools very beneficial to both special and general education students. For example, The William S. Baer School in West Baltimore is a special education school with a “reverse inclusion”. This school accepts students into the classrooms without any disabilities to provide an inclusion program for “normal” students. These students may attend for any reason, but mostly because their parents find the interaction between them and special students imperative, not to mention to 1:2 teachers to students ratio (Loh, 2004, p. 1B). Lewis and Doorlag emphasize the importance of the special students remaining with their peers and not being excluded from normal activities in school. They also discuss the reduction of labeling these students in the mainstream environment (1999, p.12). Special students develop socially with their peers and become comfortable working with “normal learners”, which prepares them for life experiences such as finding a job, working with others, or getting involved in the community. In my personal experience, I attended a high school with an inclusion program and have had many opportunities to interact with these students. Not only were they present and participating at a majority of the schools’ events, they were interacting with the rest of us. It also made the general education students more aware of others, realizing how well we can all work together. Timmy, a student in the inclusion program, participated in the school musical production. A girl in the inclusion program took a jazz dance class, and performed in two dance numbers at the spring performance. These opportunities for all students will help in their development as aware, patient individuals. A World of Technology With a proper understanding of the many different aspects of Special education and Inclusion, it is time to examine the world of technology. As times change, the development of more advanced technology will continue to benefit students of all kinds. Research has proven that technology has a positive effect on students academically and socially (Schacter, 1999, p. 3-9). This technology used in education called Assistive Technology is described as “any high- or low-technology device, piece of equipment, or product system …that is used by persons with disabilities to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities, assist them in learning, enable them to participate in the workplace, or otherwise improve their quality of life (ERIC Thesaurus, 2002). The integration of technology into the curriculum offers a multitude of new approaches to lessons and learning. When not only introducing advanced technologies, but instruction on how to use them, students are able to expand to a more visual, creative, and knowledge-seeking level. In a study on technology-enhanced curriculum versus traditional teaching, “Students moved beyond the incorporation of text and graphics to consciously stretch the capabilities of the software to create a form that mirrored the dynamics of their ideas and the messages they wished to convey (Fisher, Dwyer, & Yocam, 1996, p.174). Technology can be incorporated everywhere in a curriculum to enhance a child’s experience in the classroom. Technology encourages students to work collaboratively with others, analyze information, and assists in the multiple representations of ideas (Fisher, Dwyer, & Yocam, 1996, p.174). Using a Power Point for example, can unite many ideas on a topic into one visually- appealing, organized, and effective presentation for teachers and students alike. There are a multitude of technologies available and developing for our classrooms today and in the future. To begin, technologies such as overhead projectors, computers, TV’s, and CD-ROM’s are common in classrooms. But as technology advances, so do our classrooms. Multimedia Presentation Software can “incorporate sounds, text, pictures, images, graphics, animation, videos, and even links to Websites” (Male, 2003, p.6). A commonly used presentation technology is called Power Point. Spreadsheets are charts with rows and column used to display information collected in research. Word processors can create documents, charts, and graphs to collect and record data in an organized fashion (Male, 2003, p. 8-18). Across the Curriculum Across the curriculum, students can benefit from the use of technology. Tomei’s view on how technology can be used in every subject supports the idea of technology enhancing every aspect of learning. In science, there is scientific software, which can simulate different ideas in contemporary science topics. For example, to see how boiling and freezing works, a microscopic simulation of what is occurring to the molecules can re-emphasize what the teacher is saying with a visual. In mathematics, advanced graphing calculators provide quick short cuts to many extensive problems. Parabolas, slope-graphs, scatter plots, box and whisker plots, and histograms are available right at a student’s fingertip. There is also a technology used in Calculus, where the screen of the teacher’s graphing calculator can be projected through an overhead so students can see step by step the teachers keystrokes. In a Social Studies curriculum, technology can be used to inform students of other cultures, maybe even have multimedia software that tests the student’s knowledge on State Capitals, or Countries in other Continents. In Foreign Language, software that provides extra practice on grammar, culture, or vocabulary is used in all levels of instruction (Tomei, 2003, p. 90-210). General Education students can greatly benefit from technologies across the curriculum. Technology for Special Education The technologies available for Special Education students are growing immensely. “Individuals with disabilities use these and other specialized technologies (assistive technology devices) to maximize independent functioning, increase mobility, help with communication, and increase school and career success and job related abilities (Scherer, 1999, p.3). In the classroom, common examples include computer hardware, software, communication systems, listening systems, and environmental controls such as special seating and positioning devices (Massachusetts Department of Education, 1998, p.3). But with the diverse nature of disabilities, there is an array of assistive technologies for students with specific needs. Lewis and Doorlag discuss the use of technologies for several different disabilities. For the physically impaired, motor and battery powered scooters, wheelchairs, electronic page-turners, and for someone who has trouble writing, tape recordings of lectures/lessons can be the student’s “notes”. Students with communication problems can use electronic communication devices which can pre-record messages with assistance from a family member, or friend. Also, there are devices with speech synthesizers that can be typed into and the machine reads the words that written aloud. For visually impaired students, machines such as print enlargers can zoom on a document to make it easier for them to read. Learning through listening to books on tape, and other hearing-friendly options also can be helpful to someone who has poor sight. For hearing impaired students, hearing aids, cochlear implants (device surgically placed into the cochlea to intensify sounds), and Telecommunication devices that display what people are saying into words on a screen for the person (Lewis & Doorlag, 1999, p. 222-226). Male discusses the benefit of assistive technology on developmentally disabled individuals. She suggests computer-assisted instruction, which breaks down concepts into smaller steps, with opportunity for repetition and practice, with feedback on how to improve for the next time (2003, p.66). “Graphic programs such as inspiration are useful to make story webs and other graphic organizers for the visual learner” (Tomei, 2003, p. 285). Special Education students no longer have such a “disability” with all the extra assistance from technology. Virtual Reality and Simulation can be a great teaching tool for students with learning disabilities and mental retardation. In my personal experience, the “Life skills” course given at my high school gave special education students an opportunity to practice real-life situations and discuss what to do in certain situations. They practiced counting money, going out in public, how to contact the police if they were in serious trouble, how to ride public transportation, how to manage their money, and how to address adults and peers in a respectful way. Given this situation as a class, using virtual reality and simulations could greatly assist these students. Simulations of situations at the grocery store, the bank, a bus stop, or in danger can help a child understand and be familiar with the different possible life scenarios, so when they actually have to do them, it comes more naturally. In virtual reality, “the viewer experiences realistic, 3-D images, and the responses of the user create a feedback loop with a computer, which makes an individualized experience for each user possible (Male, 2003, p. 115-116). Simulation and Virtual Reality, although very time consuming and case-specific, are great and effective tools for assisting special students to perform in real-life situations. Internet: Making the ConnectionThe World Wide Web has grown over the past decade into one of the most easily accessible sources of information for all ages. “One of the great things about the Internet is the ease with which minority, unpopular and individual views can be expressed - almost all of the barriers to publishing are removed” (Internet for Education, 2005, p. 4). For students of all kinds, but especially Special Education students, the Internet can bring a new world to a child’s eyes with only a click of a mouse. There are many interactive websites children can use in school and at home that can assist them with extra practice on a lesson, or provide more instruction (Special Education Resources on the Internet, 2001, p. 1). With the direction of a teacher, students can create online websites or classrooms to display all of their work and accomplishments throughout the year. Not only does the Internet benefit the special education students, but the parents of these students can greatly benefit also. With the online websites or classrooms, parents can see what their child is learning in school, and know what to practice at home. Parents and teachers can communicate quickly and effortlessly through E-mail, or other chatting options, to discuss the strengths/weaknesses of the students, upcoming school events, or even parent volunteer opportunities. Although the Internet does contain tons of great information in only a matter of seconds, there are many things one should look out for, especially in such a sensitive audience like Special education students. There are many inappropriate sites that kids can stumble upon, or even pop up on their screens. Also, there is always the question about the validity of the sources. With a close eye on the legitimacy of the author and sponsors of the site, many mistakes in information can be foreseen and discarded. With the right “netiquette”, the Internet can provide students and teachers with numerous ways to benefit the classroom. Tools for Teachers Learning through the use of technology in a Special Education environment can only be accomplished with one key component: the teacher. Teachers needs to be well educated themselves, in how to properly operate technology before he or she can instruct any other students (Special Education Programs, 2000, p. 3-5). “The teacher’s most important role is the implementation of the special students general education program. This process sometimes requires adaptation of classroom procedure, methods, and/or materials to guarantee success for the student with special needs” (Lewis and Doorlag, 1999, p. 23). With a knowledgeable teacher, the tools available to the students can be used to their potential. There are many different technologies that can be used to help out teachers. For many, computers and the Internet provide much appreciated assistance to teacher. Using these tools, they can Email, keep record of messages sent to and from parents, keep files on each student and their personal needs, or keep student’s grades organized and chronological (Friend and Bursuck, 2002, p.23). Tomei discusses the assistance of graphic software such as Inspiration, which can create story webs and other visually enhanced graphic organizers (2003, p. 285). Most everyone agrees that technology is imperative to educating special education students, but with all this support and spreading of new legislation for special education programs, some have a few doubts. Some believe that principals and other general educators are not prepared with proper knowledge on the subject to be making vital decisions for the programs and that with more resources for teachers and administrators discussing the growing Special Education programs, they would be more resourceful and make better decisions (Zoepf, 2003, p. B4). Teachers can incorporate technology into every aspect of educating special needs children while utilizing it into their own personal organization of the classroom. Special Education students can greatly benefit from the ever-changing world of assistive technology. Day by day, new technologies introduced to the world are replacing those of yesterday, offering enhanced quality and a multitude of opportunity for the future. Hopefully in the future, every student’s desks will be equipped with technology that will allow them to explore and discover endless amounts of new information. Special Education will hopefully dive into technology; seeking all the interactive, virtual aspects technology has to offer.
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Send comments or questions to sberru1@towson.edu Last updated on May 3, 2005 by Sophia Berruz |