Assistive Technology in Information Literacy Technology
On this page you will find out more about information literacy technology as it relates to special education, as well as the use of assistive technology and it's place in increasing information literacy skills.
Allen, R. (2008, October). Leveraging technology to improve literacy. Education Update, 50(10).
In this article, Allen attempts to prove that combining technology and literacy will actually yield positives results. The results so far have been “lackluster.” Stanford University education professor, Michael Kamil, notes that there wasn’t major growth or decline in literacy rates across the board. However, this isn’t a bad thing. He states that about 10% of instructional time used these technologies; meaning that the technologies did just as good of a job as the teacher. Even though the study shows no real growth in literacy rates, teachers are able to use technology to help students with specific literacy problems (grammar issues, pronunciation, site words, verb tenses... etc.)
What are the implications of this study? Will teachers be replaced by technological Web or software based tools that teach our students to become literate? It’s possible to think that our public education system will eventually go online or be all technology driven. Despite all of this, there is definitely something about a personal connection that is important.
In this article, Allen attempts to prove that combining technology and literacy will actually yield positives results. The results so far have been “lackluster.” Stanford University education professor, Michael Kamil, notes that there wasn’t major growth or decline in literacy rates across the board. However, this isn’t a bad thing. He states that about 10% of instructional time used these technologies; meaning that the technologies did just as good of a job as the teacher. Even though the study shows no real growth in literacy rates, teachers are able to use technology to help students with specific literacy problems (grammar issues, pronunciation, site words, verb tenses... etc.)
What are the implications of this study? Will teachers be replaced by technological Web or software based tools that teach our students to become literate? It’s possible to think that our public education system will eventually go online or be all technology driven. Despite all of this, there is definitely something about a personal connection that is important.
Castellani, J. & Jeffs, T. (2001, June). Emerging reading and writing strategies using technology. Teaching Exceptional Children.
Educators sometimes need to stop only looking at types of technology that are designated for education. Instead they should look at other technologies that were not designated for education, repurpose them, and then use them in the classroom. This is the basic definition of educational technology.
Teachers are finding this most beneficial for students with disabilities. A teacher can take a piece of text that is found on the web and, by using various technologies and commands, change the formatting (basic text, speech to text, increase font, highlight words... etc.) to meet the needs of the variety of students in the class. With literacy websites popping up daily on the Web, the possibilities for teachers are endless. This also allows the teacher to differentiate instruction and to better approach the Universal Design for Learning method (UDL). The UDL method attempts to make instruction authentic to the user so that everyone has a chance to learn the same material.
This has been the first article that I have uncovered that approaches literacy technologies from a special education perspective. The idea of being able to highlight words, text-to-speech where the students can follow along with the words, and use word processing programs that include grammar corrections and word completions will definitely help any individual with special needs.
Educators sometimes need to stop only looking at types of technology that are designated for education. Instead they should look at other technologies that were not designated for education, repurpose them, and then use them in the classroom. This is the basic definition of educational technology.
Teachers are finding this most beneficial for students with disabilities. A teacher can take a piece of text that is found on the web and, by using various technologies and commands, change the formatting (basic text, speech to text, increase font, highlight words... etc.) to meet the needs of the variety of students in the class. With literacy websites popping up daily on the Web, the possibilities for teachers are endless. This also allows the teacher to differentiate instruction and to better approach the Universal Design for Learning method (UDL). The UDL method attempts to make instruction authentic to the user so that everyone has a chance to learn the same material.
This has been the first article that I have uncovered that approaches literacy technologies from a special education perspective. The idea of being able to highlight words, text-to-speech where the students can follow along with the words, and use word processing programs that include grammar corrections and word completions will definitely help any individual with special needs.
Hasselbring, T. S., & Bausch, M. E. (2005). Assistive technologies for reading. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 72-75.
Ted S. Hasselbring and Margaret E. Bausch discuss how technology has not only assisted but also empowered students with learning disabilities. They focused on the 10% of students in the United States who receive special education services and targeted how technology has impacted their learning.
Assistive Technology seen in classrooms today has aided special education students in inclusive classrooms by bridging a gap that previously existed. Technology fills the gaps and acts as a buttress for students with concentrated areas of difficulty. Literacy is one of the specific areas they focus on in terms of where assistive technologies can help. Most learning disabilities appear to be in reading which is where assistive technologies can assist students in grasping phonetics, decoding text, or even in comprehension. Assistive Technologies aid in both reading support and reading intervention.
Hasselbring and Bausch specifically demonstrate how text reader softwares can aid students who struggle with reading, thus leveling the academic playing field. Students with learning disabilities are first presented these intervention tools and once they use it, they know that things like these exist and are able to actually find something better themselves. They are understanding so much about themselves and their needs. Teachers are providing them with tools like text reader software and they are not only learning about the additional interventions they require, but how to access it themselves for the future. This allows students to become more independent.
Ted S. Hasselbring and Margaret E. Bausch discuss how technology has not only assisted but also empowered students with learning disabilities. They focused on the 10% of students in the United States who receive special education services and targeted how technology has impacted their learning.
Assistive Technology seen in classrooms today has aided special education students in inclusive classrooms by bridging a gap that previously existed. Technology fills the gaps and acts as a buttress for students with concentrated areas of difficulty. Literacy is one of the specific areas they focus on in terms of where assistive technologies can help. Most learning disabilities appear to be in reading which is where assistive technologies can assist students in grasping phonetics, decoding text, or even in comprehension. Assistive Technologies aid in both reading support and reading intervention.
Hasselbring and Bausch specifically demonstrate how text reader softwares can aid students who struggle with reading, thus leveling the academic playing field. Students with learning disabilities are first presented these intervention tools and once they use it, they know that things like these exist and are able to actually find something better themselves. They are understanding so much about themselves and their needs. Teachers are providing them with tools like text reader software and they are not only learning about the additional interventions they require, but how to access it themselves for the future. This allows students to become more independent.
This website was created for the Exploring Key Topics in Tech and Ed assignment for Michigan State University's Master of Arts in Education Technology. It was created by the group More Techie Than You, of which its members are Jenna Ewend, Jeff Fisher, Annie Kim, and Diana Peters.