A study of applications of microcomputer technology in special education in western Massachusetts schools.

The purpose of this study is to survey microcomputer applications in special education in Western Massachusetts Schools and, in particular, to assess the extent to which special education is moving beyond drill and practice software with special needs students. Data were collected from 185 special education teachers by a questionnaire and follow-up interviews from eleven special education teachers in Western Massachusetts. Results showed that computers and software are generally integrated in special education teachers\u27 curricula. They used the microcomputer as a compensatory tool to sharpen students\u27 mathematics skills, language arts and reading comprehension. Some special education teachers also used computers for language assessment, speech training, eye-hand coordination and communication. Apple computers were the most popular brand used in this study. Adaptive devices such as firmware cards, switches, and speech synthesizers were used to help special needs students access computers. Computer-assisted instruction, word processing and games were the most popular software used. Students worked on computers generally alone, or in a small group, or in combination; the amount of supervision required depended upon students\u27 functioning level and physical limitations. Most special education teachers did not teach and computer language; only a few teachers explored Logo or BASIC with their students. Special education teachers realized that the computer is a good tool to motivate students and to increase self-esteem and attention; they received some inservice training on computer uses, but complained that it was not enough to help their students. Factors making it difficult for special education teachers to use computers were: lack of appropriate software, teachers being behind the trend, not enough class time to use computers, and perceptions of computers as dehumanizing. The study concludes with recommendations for increasing special education teachers\u27 computer training via input from hardware and software experts, and for requiring special education teachers to take introductory computer courses such as Logo, BASIC programming, authoring language systems and software evaluation. Also, it recommends that school administrations give financial and technical support for such training in order to use microcomputers and related devices more effectively

A survey of microcomputer usage and the perceptions of special educators in the instruction of mildly handicapped students within selected school systems of Georgia, 1986

RATIONALE The purpose of the study was to survey the use of microcomputers as instructional assisted tools in the education of mildly handicapped students from selected school systems of Georgia. Specifically, the study addressed the following issues: (1) identified instructional uses of microcomputers in special education; (2) areas of exceptionality wherein instructional micro computer usage is evidenced; (3) perceptions of special educators toward microcomputer applications; and (4) future implications. SIGNIFICANCE The study will greatly expand the literature base and identify factors related to the use of microcomputers in the instructional process of educating mildly handicapped students. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Data for the study were generated from Directors of Special Education and Teachers of Mildly Handicapped Students from selected public school sys tems of Georgia. The chief data collection method used was the questionnaire with the interview/participant observation technique being secondary. The question naire used was a modified version of the instrument developed in 1982 by Henry Jay Becker to obtain data for his study, "School Uses of Microcom puters." Items for the revised instrument addressed demographic, usage and perception information. Both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. Sections I and II of the questionnaire stimulated cate gorical data which produced percentages. The Chi-square statistical method at the .05 level was used to determine the statistically significant dif ference of the nominal data and to test one hypothesis. The Analysis of Variance statistical method was used at the .05 level to accept or reject five of the hypotheses. The secondary method of data collection involved the interview/partici pant observation methods. Items for the interview questions and the observa tion checklist were original. Sites for the field research were randomly selected to include visitations to the three different size school systems based on student population. Data for this phase of the study were reported in case studies. RESULTS The findings from the study reveal from a broad perspective that Direc tors of Special Education and Teachers of Mildly Handicapped Students demon strated great support of microcomputer usage in the instruction of mildly handicapped students. Special educators found the most productive use of this strategy in drill and practice and tutorial dialog activities. The area of mathematics was considered strongest with language arts being second rela tive to fundamental instructional use. Most computer time was scheduled during class periods. Strengths in the instructional applications included individualization, alternative approaches to learning, provisions for immediate feedback, flexi bility in management, increased student/teacher contact, student motivation, and increased student attention span. Problemmatic concerns include: limited and incompatible software, inadequate inservice, student/computer ratios and human interaction. The .05 confidence level was used to determine statistical significance. The null hypotheses formulated and tested on the variable groups were accepted at the .05 level. CONCLUSIONS Special education administrators (directors/coordinators) and teachers of mildly handicapped students strongly support the use of microcomputers as instructional assisted tools in the education of mildly handicapped students. Increasing use and versatility are evidenced; however, expanded efforts are needed for budgetary support, staff development, time management and sched uling. As improvements are made based on continued research the use of this technology will continue to enhance the educational opportunities of handi capped students

Microcomputer word processor versus handwriting : a comparative study of writing samples produced by mildly mentally handicapped students

Differences between letters of adolescent mildly mentally handicapped (MMH) students written by hand and those composed on a microcomputer using a word processor were examined in terms of amount of time a subject spent completing a letter, the length of a completed letter, the number of words written per unit of time needed to complete a letter, the number of revisions made while composing a letter, and the judged quality of a completed letter. It was hypothesized that MMH students would spend more time completing letters, would produce longer and better-quality letters, and would make more revisions when writing letters on a microcomputer than when completing handwritten letters. Four adolescent MMH students, who had completed a one-semester typing course and had at least one year of experience using a microcomputer, were studied separately in a single-subject, repeated-measures, counter-balanced (i.e., crossover) design. Each subject completed a total of 24 letters; 12 handwritten and 12 composed using a microcomputer

A rationale and design of a microcomputer system for schools and colleges

Imperial Users onl

COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING AND LEARNING DISABILITY: AN EVALUATION

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the use of computer-assisted learning with people who have severe and profound learning disabilities. Theories of learning are central to our understanding of learning disability and contributions from the cognitive and behavioural schools are reviewed and related to methods of education and training for people with learning disabilities. This framework provides a rationale for understanding the premises of computer-assisted learning. A review of the literature reveals a lack of evidence for the efficacy of computer-assisted learning. Evaluation studies to date appear to be characterised by a lack of a methodologically sound framework. An evaluation survey of software designated for use with people with severe learning disabilities is presented which finds that much educational software lacks a sound grounding in established and effective principles of learning and teaching, although its use is still supported by instructors. Thus, the need for empirical research investigating the use and efficacy of computer-assisted learning in learning disability is identified. Psychological models provide an appropriate method of such an inquiry, though methodological problems inherent in evaluative research with a special population appear to act as a barrier to the development of effective knowledge in the area. Within these limitations, three experiments are presented. The first compares conventional teaching with computer-assisted teaching. The computer was as effective as the teacher, though the conventional measures of achievement used were not sensitive to any differences between the two methods. The second developed a more finegrain analysis which revealed a difference between the quality of participants' interaction with computer and teacher instruction. Specifically, attentional behaviour was increased in the computer-taught condition, yet there was no concomitant increase in learning. The reliance of educational software on sensory reinforcement was postulated as underlying the ability of computer-assisted learning to maintain attention to the task. The third experiment directly addressed the ability of three different sensory reinforcers typical of those found in educational software to support learning a simple discrimination task. It was found that sensory reinforcers were not effective in supporting learning, though they did maintain attention and performance on the task. It is suggested that the multiple modalities used by software may interfere adversely with the coding of relevant information involved in the discrimination of stimulus dimensions and that this may account for the discrepancy between measures of performance and measures of learning on computer-assisted tasks.South Western Regional Health Authority and Plymouth Community Services NHS Trus

Central Washington University Bulletin Summer Session Catalog 1981

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/catalogs/1234/thumbnail.jp