Specials needs and technology.

In this post I am going to summarize how technology can help in teaching students with special needs. Technology is a phenomenal tool to use with students who have disabilities, and nowadays these kids have more possibilities and can improve their skills because of the technology.

Children with disabilities will have various disabilities that may include: speech, physical mobility, visual, hearing… here we are not going to speak about the different disabilities because there are multiple and they vary in characteristic and severity, but we will see how and what technology benefits students with disabilities.

Teachers should work for having a class where all students are learning, and to include children with disabilities in the classroom and in the curriculum technology and special equipment are essential. The schools districts should provide the technology that each children need, but the teacher has to know how to use it, and they need have some competences to use technology effectively when teaching children with handicaps.

The first question is how technology benefits students. Technology can help in generalizing, selected hardware and software can be the bridge from one learning to another, from idea to example, from speech sounds to written symbols, from cause to effect; technology can help in sequential skill-building, in control over the environment , in quick, continuous feedback and multisensory approaches.

There are different kinds of technology to help students, Assistive technologies are 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 functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Different assistive technology: 

• Assistive technology for stability.
• Assistive technology for mobility.
• Accommodations make materials easier to manipulate, recognize relevant information…
• Software- inspiration: to create concept maps, can be used for all the students and for children who need a writing help.
• Software adaptations for reading and writing, talking word processors or writing out loud.
• Writing: word predictor.
• To facilitate communication, board maker.
• For computer access.
• Alternative keyboards.
• Computer access for people with sensory impairments: vision and hearing.

There are multiple specific technologies for these students, but depending on the handicap students will need different tools.

These are some websites to help educators address the accessibility needs of students with disabilities and ensure that all students have access to the general education environment and curriculum.

AST Center for Applied Special Technology

Home of Bobby-- an online resource that checks websites for accessibility.

The Special Education Technology Center

From Central Washington University.

Assistive Technology from Education World

Special Education Website

University of Virginia links to special educational resources


 Image from flick.com,  liveng life with techniology by Familyofun.

Integrating technology and reading.

Nowadays is more common find a kid with and i-pod on his hand than a book. Technology is everywhere, children have i-pods, phones, laptops... and they can be combined with education. Educators should think and investigate how they can use technology to teach and motivate reading. These technologies can facilitate the reading experience in many ways and be used to enhance reading skills.

For example, media resources bring reading alive, that means that children can see photographs, do on-line activities...and all of these expand the reading experience and make it easily understood. These text materials are interactive and include graphics, video, audio, which help to motivate students.

We can use various media and technology tools for reading and literature instruction  and i the internet there are a lot of materials, but teachers may control what children are going to read, and may help students to develop a critical thinking skill needed "to read" in the internet.

Educators can find a lot of appropriate material  and is a good learning strategy allowing children to choose reading materials based on their own interests.

Here are some internet resources:


 AuthorChats.
Free online chat side between authors and school children. Sponsored by classroom conect.


Book Adventure.
Allows children to create book lists  from over 4000 books, read the books off line and return to take comprehension quizzes.


Grimm Brothers.
An electronic path finder for selecting just the rigth Grimm fairy tale.


image Bob Kids 03 in Pics4learning.