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Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. Dave Edyburn, Kyle Hig gins, & Randall Boone, Editors. Knowledge by Design, Inc. Whitefish Bay, WI.
As promised, the next exciting installment in the review of the Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice has arrived just in time for all of you settling into the “back to school" mode. This third section of the book addresses Assistive Technology in the school setting and opens with a chapter on Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) Services in Schools. QIAT is a set of descriptors of critical elements related to major functions involved in the provision of AT services. The chapter focuses on the need for QIAT including the QIAT development process, the basic principles of QIAT, as well as research and ongoing QIAT activities. The primary purpose of QIAT is to support the belief that services should address not only the needs of the student but also the family and school staff working with the student who requires AT devices to access and participate in the school curriculum, thus benefiting from a free, appropriate public education.
The descriptors included in QIAT provide support for the development and delivery of AT services that are of consistently high quality to all students. QIAT strives to provide a guide that identifies factors that should be present in some form in any high quality service delivery system. Quality indicators for assistive technology services, consideration of assistive technology needs, assessment, documentation in the IEP, implementation, efficacy, professional development, transition and administrative support are succinctly and sequentially outlined in the chapter, making it an invaluable resource for justifying each aspect of service delivery.
The second chapter of the section focuses on the topic of teaming and collaboration, offering an overview of the different types of teams as well as the stages that most teams progress through. The authors offer resources for further exploring the dynamic process of team building. Tips on recognizing and managing dysfunctional teams as well as identifying the types of problems that most often affect teams are discussed. Of critical value is the importance of teaching collaborative team process building skills at both the preservice and inservice level. With educational team members coming from such diverse backgrounds this type of training in school systems is critical to engage in, but not always provided. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of recognizing the student and the family as team members and the need to consider their role as the “end-user” of both the process and the product.
Rounding out the section are two chapters that deal with the topic of students with high-incidence disabilities whose needs are most often met in the general education classroom. The first chapter speaks to the need for using the most promising practices in using assistive technology to teach students with learning disabilities and references a number of approaches demonstrated through research to have been effective. These approaches include AT programs to support reading, writing and organizational skills as well as utilizing features on commonly found programs such as spell check to aide students with learning disabilities. In addition, the chapter includes information on the importance of teacher training in the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) at both the preservice and inservice level.
The second chapter on the use of assistive technology among students with high incidence disabilities begins by questioning why so little attention has been devoted to ensuring that students with mild disabilities have access to quality assistive technology practices. The need for advances relative to three foundational topics is presented. First on the list is the need to examine the use of specific models for understanding the role of technology in enhancing performance. Through the use of theoretical models of human performance to identify barriers to optimal functioning, an array of possible interventions is revealed. Next on the list is the concept of cognitive prostheses. While educators are familiar with the idea of physical prostheses, research is necessary to identify devices and tools that augment cognitive processing as a strategy for improving performance. The third topic presented is that of remediation vs. compensation, as troublesome to educators as the debate between the chicken and the egg. The author passionately argues that the answer to this can be found by asking yet another question, how much failure data should be accrued on a particular student in the name of remediation before a compensatory measure is put solidly into place to enable that student to benefit from a free appropriate public education. This chapter is a must read for all, particularly those who feel that education equals memorization.
To be continued.
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© 2005 ConnSENSE Bulletin