Technology in Special Education

1. Technology in Special Education Shannon Luppens and Myra English

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Computer’s help students’ with • Math literacy • Reading Literacy • Obtain a Voice if needed • Participate in normal classroom activities.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. Learning Disabilities • Talented and Gifted • Social – Emotional • Dyslexia • Dyscalculia • ADHD • Dysgraphia

10. 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

11. Common Problems • Input devices • Keyboard • Mouse • Disk Drive • Monitor and Screen

12. Adapting for Visual Impairment • Simple Text Program • Macintosh • Claris-works • Close View • IBM • Microsoft Word 6.0 • Text to Speech • Claris Emailer

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

14. 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

15. 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.

16. Complex Technology • Computers that talk • Speech recognition • Talking calculators • Word predicting software

17. 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.

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

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

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

21. Dragon-Dictate Great for children with physical disabilities: • Controls any Windows application using their own voice.

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

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

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

25. Inspiration Great for LD students: • Organizes main ideas and supporting details • Transfers into outline form

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

27. Coin-U-Later • This product makes coin counting easy and fun!

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

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

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

31. 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

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. The End