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Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. Dave Edyburn, Kyle Higgins, & Randall Boone, Editors. Knowledge by Design, Inc. Whitefish Bay, WI.
Section 6: Technology and Instruction
As they say in the movies “I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack,” this time with a look at the next section of The Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. This section explores the relationship between technology and instruction and begins with an overview of standards-based instruction. An historical review chronicles the events that shaped the standards-based reform of instruction that exists in our nation’s schools today. A review of the literature surrounding the use of instructional technology to both teach and assess follows, rounding out the chapter. An excellent comparison of instructional technology versus assistive technology is presented, enabling readers to clearly understand the difference. A case study highlights how the two technologies can be integrated into a standards-based thematic unit enabling all students to participate and learn.
The following two chapters explore the use of technology to support struggling readers and writers respectively. The chapter on reading discusses the research examining the impact of technology on the “Big 5” components of scientifically-based reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. As with most areas of technology in education, well designed, controlled studies need to be carried out in order to definitively agree on the impact that technology has on acquiring reading skills. The chapter on supporting struggling writers with technology looks at the research surrounding this practice. The practice of using technology to support writing emphasizes the need to utilize the technology during the instructional stages of writing and not as an “add-on” reserved for a limited number of students. Studies in this section looked at the impact that technology had on development of writing skills; not surprisingly, the need for students to develop computer skills early on is emphasized.
The next three chapters look at the use of instructional and assistive technology across the curriculum: math, social studies and science. Much of the body or research that examines this relationship points to the positive effects of integrating technology throughout these areas. Technology can be used to successfully differentiate instruction to promote success in light of the sophisticated cognitive processes necessary to understand the topics associated with these content areas.
Closing out the section is a chapter that describes the use of technology in the process of progress monitoring for students with special education needs, specifically in the area of curriculum-based measurement. The section ends with a wonderfully informative compilation of web-based resources and instructional considerations for students with mild cognitive impairments. This informative chapter provides practical information when using web-based materials to teach students with disabilities that is certainly applicable across the board.
This section covers a wide range of timely topics in special education research today making it a must read for special educators and administrators. Six sections down, two more to go!
To read Section 5 Review click here.
© 2005 ConnSENSE Bulletin