Cheryl A. Wissick

Video-Based Simulations: Considerations for Teaching Students with Developmental Disabilities.

The use of video-based multimedia simulations for teaching functional skills to persons with developmental disabilities remains an unexplored application of technology for this group. This article examines the historical literature in this area, and discusses future considerations, design issues, and implications of using multimedia simulations. Implementation issues are presented, and suggestions regarding design, development, and application of multimedia simulations are offered. Considerations address the importance of appropriate role modeling and the combination of video-based simulation and in vivo training to foster generalization and maintenance in the context of transition to the real world.

Enhancing Interdisciplinary Instruction in General and Special Education Thematic Units and Technology

This article discusses interdisciplinary thematic units in the context of special and general education curricula and focuses on ways technology can be used to enhance interdisciplinary thematic units. Examples of curriculum integration activities enhanced by technology are provided in the context of productivity tools, presentation and multimedia tools, contextual themed software, and Web-based activities.

Enhancing Thematic Units Using the World Wide Web: Tools and Strategies for Students with Mild Disabilities.

Thematic units are one way that the World Wide Web can be used to support curriculum accommodations and enhance instruction for students with mild disabilities. This article presents key principles to consider when using Web-based activities. Strategies and resources to develop thematic units that use Web-based activities are recommended. Tools that enhance web-based learning for all students are identified. Together these tools, resources, and strategies represent items in a toolbox that help teachers construct thematic units that are meaningful and Web-enhanced.

Conducting Assessments in Technology Needs: From Assessment to Implementation

Practitioners with an expertise in assistive technology and technology assessments are in demand to be full participants in the selection, planning, and implementation of instruction for students with mild disabilities. Frequently, practitioners with knowledge of assistive technology are assigned to evaluate students with sensory, physical, language, or severe disabilities. Our article highlights aspects of technology assessments and progress monitoring that can be used for students with mild disabilities. Given the impact that technology integration can have on the access that students with mild disabilities have to the general education classroom, we argue that all practitioners should be cognizant of protocols for assistive technology assessment and evaluation and that all evaluation teams should include an assistive technology specialist.

A Learner's Permit to the World Wide Web

If you are a newcomer to the World Wide Web (WWW), you are prob. ably filled with both wonder and confusion: What is generating all the excitement? What do all those new terms mean? If you have had the opportunity to spend time cruising Web pages, you might be questioning whether the Web can increase your productivity or teaching ability when it seems like one can easily be sucked into a black hole of time.

Book and Software Review.

I want to welcome you to the Software and BookReview column. In each issue of JSETwe will feature a combination of reviews on books, software, or websites. Book reviews on educational, instructional, and assistive technology texts and references books will include a special education perspective. Although we will review published educational software, we would like to focus on software developed for teacher training or software to enhance the professional and productivity skills of special educators. I also envision this column as a forum to discuss the design process of software that has been developed by special educators or their students. I would like to feature information on the instructional design aspects and formative evaluation of the software. Frequently special educators use authoring tools to create specialized instructional software that they will never market commercially. Why do special educators choose to take the time to develop these materials and what are the underlying learning and design theories used in the development process? Given that this is a journal dedicated to the field of special education technology, I would like to feature those special education teachers, researchers and developers. For those of you who find a need to create your own technology products in order to conduct a study or provide a specialized learning tool for your students, I would encourage you to write an article discussing the software design features. If you have ideas or would like to submit a review of a book or software, please feel free to contact me at cwissick@sc.edu. Our first column will feature a review of the design process used by JuHye Yook, as she developed educational software for her dissertation research. Although a doctoral candidate from the University of South Carolina, she conducted her study in Korea. In the process of developing her study she found a need to create her own software. Her article that follows, reflects [a] her decision to develop software, (bl the considerations for instructional design, and [c] reflections of the evaluation of the software.