Matthew T. Marino

Making Informed Assistive Technology Decisions for Students with High Incidence Disabilities

individualized education program (IEP) team members throughout the country are struggling to make appropriate decisions regarding assistive technology (AT) for students with high incidence disabilities. Although numerous authors and organizations have developed tools to assist IEP teams when considering AT, the task can be overwhelming. Successful AT programs utilize preassessment, collaborative problem-solving, effective implementation, and systemic evaluation. Each of these issues present different challenges to special education teachers. This article is designed to simplify AT consideration for students with high incidence disabilities by highlighting several comprehensive resources that IEP teams can use to inform their decision-making process. Prior to our discussion of each resource, we identify barriers the IEP team may face when making AT decisions. It is our intention that the tools and resources presented herein should be used collectively by IEP teams to ensure that the AT needs of students with high incidence disabilities are addressed. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Pub. L. No. 108-446, Part A, Sec 602, pp. 11–12) defines an AT device as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability.” Federal law mandates the consideration of AT when writing a student’s IEP. This means that it is a special education team’s responsibility to ensure that AT is considered for all students, including those with high incidence disabilities. This task can be overwhelming due, in large part, to a critical shortage of AT specialists who help IEP teams make decisions regarding assistive technology for students with disabilities (Edyburn, 2004). Research indicates that members of IEP teams often have limited expertise regarding the types of AT that are available to students because of a lack of adequate training for preservice teachers entering the field (Cavanaugh, 2002). Despite this, there has been little to no increase by school districts in hiring AT professionals who can plan and supervise the effective implementation of AT (Edyburn, 2004). In some cases, experienced special education teachers have limited knowledge of basic types of AT (Puckett, 2004). Even special educators who strive to stay current in the AT field have difficulty ascertaining current, appropriate information from the diverse resources that are available. For example, a special educator conducting

UDL in the middle school science classroom: Can video games and alternative text heighten engagement and learning for students with learning disabilities?

This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities (LD) from four middle schools. Students were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines during other units. Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means of representation and expression. The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement. There were no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD. Students’ performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular materials. Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units. Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.

Using Universal Design for Learning in Synchronous Online Instruction

Evidence suggests that students with disabilities increasingly choose to participate in online courses at higher rates then other student populations. Research examining factors that influence the success of these students is inconclusive. This article addresses a national need for additional research by identifying challenges faced by special education teachers and students with learning disabilities in online environments; describing extant literature related to online learning and students with disabilities; and summarizing findings from a recent study that examined Universal Design for Learning (UDL) during synchronous lessons. The article concludes with interviews with leaders in virtual schools who bring to light the challenges and concerns facing the industry. Implications for professional development activities also are discussed.

The Scaled Arrival of K-12 Online Education: Emerging Realities and Implications for the Future of Education

Dramatic increases in K–12 online education for all students, including those in traditionally underserved populations, necessitate a reconceptualization in the way educators plan and implement instruction. In this article the authors examine the complex array of variables and implementation models that must be accounted for during the pivot from a purely brick-and-mortar educational system to one that makes use of both virtual and blended environments. The authors call for enhanced emphasis on instructional goals and design principles, rather than the capabilities of available technology. They conclude that educational leaders and researchers must play a role in three key areas: using technology to enhance the accessibility and usability of curricular materials to meet the needs of different types of learners, advancing the understanding and practices of in-service and pre-service teachers through preparation that focuses on online learning, and fostering collaboration between educational researchers and technology innovators and developers to build a research base that will inform K–12 online education.

Enhancing Secondary Science Content Accessibility with Video Games

T EA C H IN G E xc ep ti on al C hi ld re n , V ol . 47 , N o. 1 , pp . 27 –3 4. C op yr ig ht 2 01 4 T he A ut ho r( s) . D O I: 1 0. 11 77 /0 04 00 59 91 45 42 76 2 Ms. Kendrick is a certified special education teacher in an underperforming high school. This year, the administration moved her from a self-contained classroom at the elementary school to the high school because her initial degree in economics provided enough credits for her to be considered highly qualified to teach secondary mathematics. She teaches three remedial math classes and spends an additional three periods each day in a resource room, working with students who are at risk or have already failed the district end-of-course science exam. Ms. Kendrick feels unprepared to help them succeed in science. She often has to use howjsay.com before she can even pronounce terms in their textbooks, and despite her best efforts, she rarely has time to connect with her students’ science teachers. Over the past few months, Ms. Kendrick noticed that her students struggle with two broad aspects of their science curriculum: inaccessible content and communicating understandings. For example, Tammy has a learning disability in reading. Her difficulties stem from the inaccessible nature of the content. Even though the school district has audio versions of the textbooks, Tammy struggles with the complex vocabulary and often cannot transfer what she learned (i.e., through listening to the text) to the problems that her teacher gives her to solve. Huan, a student with autism spectrum disorder, has a different problem. He excels with conceptual design problems related to physics and engineering but struggles to communicate effectively with peers and the teacher during group activities. As a result, his lab scores and group project grades are often low. Tammy and Huan have the potential to be successful in science. In fact, both are interested in careers related to science. Tammy would like to develop her own line of cosmetics, and Huan would like to work for an aerospace company. Unfortunately, both are disenfranchised with the content in their secondary science classes, and as a result, neither will have the grades or skills necessary to pursue career goals unless something changes. The next day, Ms. Kendrick walks into the resource room a few minutes after the bell because of an individualized education program meeting that ran late. As usual, the students are not doing their science work. Instead, they are playing games on their phones, which, according to school rules, are supposed to be put in their lockers at the beginning of the school day. Suddenly, Ms. Kendrick has an idea . . .

Fifth Graders as App Designers: How Diverse Learners Conceptualize Educational Apps

Abstract Instructional designers are increasingly considering how to include students as participants in the design of instructional technologies. This study provides a lens into participatory design with students by examining how students conceptualized learning applications in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by designing paper prototypes of a learning application related to circuits and electricity. Eighty-nine fifth grade students, including students with learning disabilities and English language learners, participated in this study. Findings of this study indicated that all students conceptualized learning applications as a game and built scaffolds into the gameplay to encourage both content mastery and advancement in the game. Each of the paper prototypes that the students developed provided opportunities for progressive complexity of gameplay related to electricity and circuits as well as options for customization and building background knowledge. Finally, this article identifies implications of these results and considerations for future research.

Virtual Learning Environments for Students with Disabilities: A Review and Analysis of the Empirical Literature and Two Case Studies.

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show varying levels of impairment in social skills situations. Interventions have been developed utilizing virtual environments (VEs) to teach and improve social skills. This article presents a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles focusing on social interventions in VEs involving K-12th grade students with ASD. This exhaustive analysis across four major online databases was guided by operational terms related to intervention type and K-12 students with ASD. The empirical search yielded a very narrow body of literature (n=19) on the use of VEs as social skill interventions for students with ASD. Two case study examples of experiments exploring the use of VEs and students with ASD are presented to illustrate possible applications of this technology.

Functional Analysis in Virtual Environments

Functional analysis (FA) is an assessment procedure involving the systematic manipulation of an individual’s environment to determine why a target behavior is occurring. An analog FA provides practitioners the opportunity to manipulate variables in a controlled environment and formulate a hypothesis for the function of a behavior. In previous studies, researchers have attempted to train practitioners who have no experience with FA to implement the conditions with procedural integrity. In these studies, researchers used a traditional professional development model (e.g., didactic training, role-play). To date, simulation and virtual environments have not been used to enhance FA training procedures in the preparation of teachers and behavior analysts. In the current investigation, we sought to train educators to implement two test conditions of an analog FA (i.e., attention, escape). The intervention package included a didactic training and individual and group-rehearsed FA trainings in a virtual environment (i.e., TeachLivE™). Teachers demonstrated an increase in their fidelity of implementation within three sessions and generalized performance to a classroom setting. The implications for rural teachers are considerable as the results suggest we can train teachers on complex assessment techniques at a distance.

Establishing Content Validity of the Quality Indicators for Classrooms Serving Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Instrument

The purpose of this study was to provide content validation for quality indicators included in an observation instrument developed to evaluate classrooms serving students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A panel of 103 subject-matter experts consisting of a mixture of field personnel (n = 64; 59 classroom teachers, five school administrators) and university faculty (n = 39) provided feedback regarding construct validity. Results were analyzed using two approaches: a simple aggregation of responses in the form of averages, with an a priori threshold for the determination of what will be considered acceptable, and Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio methodology. All items in the instrument were deemed to have demonstrated content validity as did the overall instrument. Based on the data from this study, the Quality Indicators for Classrooms Serving Students With ASD (QIASD) instrument can be considered to have demonstrated content validity.

Reviewing Research on Mobile Learning in K-12 Educational Settings: Implications for Students with Disabilities.

Mobile technologies have shown great potential in various educational settings. Moreover, there is an emerging research base demonstrating how students view and interact with mobile devices to learn. As more of these technologies enter inclusive educational settings, an understanding of the extant research base for mobile learning (M-learning) and students with various exceptionalities including disabilities is necessary for technology developers, researchers, educators, and school administrators to support student success. To this end, this study used a synthesis approach to reviewing the literature published on M-learning for students with and without disabilities in formal and informal K–12 educational settings. It provides a comprehensive mapping of 47 studies from 2007 to 2016. The current review revealed that (a) most studies focused on the effectiveness of M-learning on teaching and learning, (b) mixed methods and experimental studies were the most popular methodologies, and most importantly (c) research outcomes were generally positive about the potential of M-learning to support the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Limitations and implications for future research on M-learning are also discussed.