Technology in Special Education

1
Technology in Special Education

• Shannon Luppens
• and
• Myra English

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Assistive Technology

• Classroom modifications can be made to help
  regular education students, but it is a must with
  special education students.
• Over the past 30 years, almost all students with
  motor or sensory impairments can access computers

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Assistive Technology

• Refers to any device or method which makes the
  environment more accessible to a person with a
  disability.
• Braille lettering on elevator
• Hearing aid
• Ramp
• Glasses

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Assistive Computing

• Method which incorporates a method or device
  which makes the computer more accessible for a
  user with a disability.
• Text to speech translation systems
• Speech to text translation systems

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Computers help students with

• Math literacy
• Reading Literacy
• Obtain a Voice if needed
• Participate in normal
• classroom activities.

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Special Needs and the Law

• IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• A free and appropriate education
• Least restrictive environment
• Exposure to the same curriculum
• Provide assistive technology to help disabled
  students access curriculum

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What does that mean?

• Basically, students with special needs are
  expected to participate in as much of the regular
  school day as possible with their peers.
• Teachers have to provide a curriculum that match
  a students ability level using assistive
  technology if needed.

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Types of Disabilities

• Intellectual Disabilities
• (MID) Mild Intellectual Disability
• IQ range 70 to 55
• (MOID) Moderate Intellectual Disability
• IQ range 55 to 40
• (SID) Severe Intellectual Disability
• IQ range 40 to 25
• (PID) Profound Intellectual Disability
• IQ range 25 and below

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Learning Disabilities

• Talented and Gifted
• Social Emotional
• Dyslexia
• Dyscalculia
• ADHD
• Dysgraphia

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What can help?

• Computers
• Software
• Electronic gadgets
• All these things can be customized to how a child
  needs to access the information reaching
  different modalities

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Common Problems

• Input devices
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Disk Drive
• Monitor and Screen

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Adapting for Visual Impairment

• Simple Text Program
• Macintosh
• Claris-works
• Close View
• IBM
• Microsoft Word 6.0
• Text to Speech
• Claris Emailer

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Apple Computers

• Plain Talk
• Voice to text
• Text to speech
• Different languages
• English
• Spanish
• http//www.speech.apple.com/

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Adapting for Motor Impairment

• Switches can be designed so that it may be
  controlled through eyebrow movements or other
  body parts.
• Keyboards can be modified
• Easy Access
• Key Guard

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Learning Disabilities

• The term "learning disability" describes a
  neurobiological disorder in which a person's
  brain works or is structured differently. These
  differences in brain structure affect a person's
  ability to speak, listen, read, write, spell,
  reason, recall, organize information and do
  mathematics.

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Complex Technology

• Computers that talk
• Speech recognition
• Talking calculators
• Word predicting software

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Factors to Remember

• Adaptations that one has to make in the classroom
  should be unobtrusive as possible. This
  minimizes the differences in the students and
  enables the student with the disability to blend
  in with the regular education students depending
  on the severity of the disability.

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Scholastic Software

• Wiggle Works- provides support for reading and
  writing.
• Create stories
• Makes audio tape version
• Read back to child

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eReader

• Talking browser
• Helps reading and sight disabilities
• Adds extra toolbar to computer that works with
  any digital text

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Co-Writer

• Predicts words students might type when composing
  a sentence.
• Helps with grammar and sentence structure.

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Dragon-Dictate

• Great for children with physical disabilities
• Controls any Windows application using their own
  voice.

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Write Outloud

• Talking word processor that uses multisensory
  approach to writing.
• Listen to their stories
• Talking spell checker
• Helps revise work

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Intellikeys

• Helps with students who have motor difficulties.
• Alternative keyboard with switch access

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EZ Keys

• Wonderful for physically challenged children and
  enables them to control the keyboard.
• Mouse simulation
• Next word prediction

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Inspiration

• Great for LD students
• Organizes main ideas and supporting details
• Transfers into outline form

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Time Pad

• Helps people remember what to do next.
• Holds five recorded messages that can be
  activated by a timer

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Coin-U-Later

• This product makes coin counting easy and fun!

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Mathematical Software

• Basic Fractions provides graphics of
  unprecedented variety and richness which will
  engage and stimulate learners of any age

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Voice Pen

• Record notes or play back helpful cues. Features
  up to ten seconds of recording time divided
  between two messages

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Word Wise

• Functional literacy with speech recording
  Combines pictures, words, speech and print
  features to form a comprehensive language
  enrichment package

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Online Resources

• LD Online www.ldonline.org
• Center for Applied Special Technology
  www.cast.org
• Closing the Gap www.closingthegap.com
• National Information Center for Children and
  Youth with Disabilities www.nichcy.org
• Through the Looking Glass www.lookingglass.org

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Online Lesson Plans

• http//www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6727/lessons
  .html
• Great Thematic Units and Lesson Plans that will
  help you incorporate technology into your
  classroom. These plans are designed for Special
  Education children but can be used for regular
  education children.

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Online Lesson Plans

• http//www.awesomelibrary.org/spec-ed.html
• This site covers lesson plans, resources for
  teachers, articles, discussion boards, papers,
  and periodicals covering the different areas of
  Special Education.

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Conclusion

• The advance of technology in our environment
  ensures that almost everyone has access to
  knowledge, even students with cognitive,
  physical, sensory, and learning disabilities. We
  as teachers need to ensure that this technology
  is used to give ALL students an equal opportunity.

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Resources

• Integrating Computer Technology into the
  Classroom. 1999. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Instructor. Every kid can!. April 2001.
• Teaching Learners with Mild Disabilities. 2nd
  ed.. Integrating Research and Practice. 2001.
  Wadsworth/Thomas Learning. Belmont, CA.

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The End