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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.
It has been a year since I first set out to tame the beast, I mean review this entire text. Today is the day that I succeed in my endeavor; before I lay my head down tonight, this review will have been laid to rest. This has been a journey through the prose of some of the most esteemed names in the field of educational and assistive technology; no stone has been left unturned in reviewing the literature and it is fitting that as the book approaches closure it does so with a section on Professional Development followed by one on Trends and Issues.
Section 7: Professional Development
With IDEA requiring that the need for assistive technology and assistive technology services be considered at least annually for every student receiving special education services, the need for school districts to develop local capacity in order to meet this mandate appropriately is imperative. When special education teams do not have the knowledge and skills to adequately address the AT needs of students with disabilities one of two things usually happens, either a "mismatch" is made between the student and the technology or the needs of the student go unaddressed. This section addresses such issues as the need to include training in the field of assistive technology in pre-service teacher training programs; post-professioinal and graduate level course work in assistive technology and the topic of specialty certifications in the practice of assistive technology. The message is clear, this is a specialty area that requires advanced level training and experience that comes with years of application and a commitment to staying current and knowledgeable in the field.
While there will always be students with extrordinary needs requiring the intervention of an assistive technology expert, there has been a steady integration of technology that was originally marketed for students with disabilities into "mainstream" technolgy (i.e. organizers; speech to text; text to speech). This was certainly a building block of universal design and led to infusing newer and more versatile technology into the classrooms of today. As with any influx of technology, ongoing professional development in required in order to ensure that the technology is used and skillfully embedded into the curriculum to enhance learning opportunities. With the focus of educucation shifting into accountability and high stakes testing, long range technology plans have in many cases been abandoned in order to meet rising costs placed on local education agencies due to annual testing. In some cases there is not a shortage of technology, but a shortage of training and collaboration time to use the technology effectively.
The section ends with a research agenda for the future that includes the need to study the use of technology for the purpose of collaboration between teams to increase the educational benefit of students with disabilities.
Section 8: Trends and Issues
Rounding out this great resource is a chapter on tools for teachers to enhance the education of students with disabilities. Several of these tools are resource documents summarizing the current literature, products and services as well as technology applications to be incorporated in the classroom. The idea of robots in education is posed as an area of exploration; the robot would serve to compensate for a students loss of physical abilities - not to replace the classroom teacher!
The message that is pervasive throughout this wonderful resource is the need for research to document the impact of assistive technology on the field of special education. Without evidence of the influence that assistive technology plays in the education of students with disabilities it will be difficult to ensure a paradigm shift. That shift needs to be away from the belief that technology is a crutch toward an understanding that techonology, along with universal design, well trained teachers and ample opportunity for professional development opens the door to a free appropriate public education, so often closed to students with disabilities. Equality in education is not about everyone having the same outcome, its about everyone having the tools they need to benefit from equal opportunities.
It has been a pleasure; 2nd edition anyone?
To read Section 6 Review click here.
© 2005 ConnSENSE Bulletin