Technology has become an essential part of American education, whether through the use of mobile devices in a classroom or through the creation of online learning platforms. Education technology can enhance the learning experience for students of all ages and can even assist the education of students with special needs.
The special education category does not just include students with mental retardation, but encompasses a larger group of students such as those with learning disabilities, physical illnesses, speech, auditory, and visual impairments, and autism, among others. Over 1,000 students within Lufkin Independent School District (LISD) in Texas require some form of special education- nearly 12 percent of the district’s total student population. Most special needs children in the district are enrolled in regular classrooms but require additional instruction or more one-on-one attention. The idea of offering extra help to these students is to get them back into regular classes full-time. And technology is helping special education teachers to do just that.
In the past two years, Lufkin Independent School District (LISD) in Texas spent around $40,000 on new educational technology devices designed to help special needs students learn. Resources to purchase the technology were provided by funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Examples of technology that have been incorporated into the classroom are touch-screen computers and oversized switches which are used to help students in decision making.
Brad Stewart, technology director at LISD, said that sometimes your typical textbooks and written desk work isn’t enough for special needs children. They have to touch and see things larger-than-life. Technology creates a more hands-on and interactive learning experience for these students, who aren’t likely to thrive in a traditional classroom setting listening to a lecture or working out of a textbook. The school has implemented smart boards and modern projectors into classrooms to help engage special education students.
Facilitating communication among students and between a student and his or her teacher is essential to the learning process. But often with special needs students, effective communication is a problem. Technology such as text-reading and voice recognition software, video cameras and laptops can assist students with learning disabilities due to their inability to communicate, whether a result of physical or mental impairments. When a child has the ability to communicate, it opens up a whole new world, Leslie March, educational diagnostician said.
