19 research outputs found
Assistive Technology User Groups and Early Childhood Educators
This article explores the potential of User Groups as a professional development venue for early childhood educators in developing operational and functional competence in using hardware and software components of an Assistive Technology (AT) Toolkit. User Groups are composed of varying numbers of participants having an interest in technology, and are led by one or more skilled facilitators who meet with participants across time to help them acquire and demonstrate new technology skill sets. A series of these groups were conducted with seven early education professionals serving young preschool children who were at risk or who had disabilities. The impact of these User Groups was examined using self-reports subsequent to User Group participation. Specific data were collected regarding the types of technologies that had been used, and the types of classroom instructional products that had been created and implemented in classrooms using the technologies. A discussion of the value of User Groups is presented
Assistive Technology for Students with Mild Disabilities: What’s Cool and What’s Not
Professionals on IEP teams increasingly are considering the potential contributions of assistive technology as they develop programs for students with disabilities. However, a significant technological “generational gap” may exist between the members of these teams and the young people they seek to serve, as the quality and quantity of student interactions with technology may differ dramatically from those of IEP team members. This gap may manifest itself in the selections of technology that may impair social acceptance of students with disabilities by their peers, or that students will not use. In this paper we suggest a variety of both low-tech and high-tech tools that hold unique dual promise to (a) facilitate successful access to the general education curriculum, and (b) enhance social acceptance by nondisabled peers
Special Education Professionals and Assistive Technology: Requirements for Preparation in a Digital Age
This article presents contextual background for the preparation of teachers to effectively use assistive technology (AT) with students with disabilities. A brief description of student uses of technology is presented, noting how students have changed in their understanding and use of information technologies. The role of AT is then presented, linking the role of special education professionals in today’s schools with current teacher preparation practices. Discrepancies are noted between what is needed to best serve Digital Age students in the schools, and the manner and extent to which teachers are prepared. Using existing standards and addressing emerging AT training needs, the authors propose three distinct levels of preparation: an AT (a) practitioner, (b) specialist, and (c) leader. Specific roles of each of these personnel are delineated. The instructional potential use of hybrid models of professional development classroom instruction combined with computer-based learning) is recommended as particularly promising approach
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