Special education classrooms can be very difficult to work with. Each student has a different disability/disabilities and needs help in different ways. This is where technology comes in. Technology can be used in different ways and each student has their own piece or pieces of technology that will best benefit them to help them learn. Special education classrooms are using digital text books, smart boards, Apple devices, and so much more to benefit these students to improve their learning experience. There are even students who use specially designed pencils because they can't control their hands as well and these pencils are weighted differently to help the student keep the correct end down on the paper. Students even use tools as simple as a stamp to put their name on their assignments. Students that are blind are usually provided with special utensils to put their name on their paper in brail. While all of these tools are very useful, one of the most popular technologies used in special education classrooms are Apple devices such as iPads and iPods. These are useful because there are so many different apps that are available to assist the students. Below is a link to a list of popular apps used in special education rooms. 

http://www.tcea.org/documents/PD/Free%20Must-Have%20Apps%20for%20Special%20Education.pdf

Here is also a short article about the use of apps in the classroom. 

http://www.specialednews.com/news/special-apps-for-special-learners.htm

Sources: 

http://www.wiu.edu/thecenter/articles/teched.html

Special education did not use technology until the late 1980's when Scruggs conducted a study with two other men and found that Computer Assisted Instruction would be beneficial to students with disabilities. They found that the disabilities required much more attention and training from the teachers, but that with the computers, there was less of a need for the teachers attention and training. Since then, special education room have acquired many types of technology to assist their learning. 

Source: 

The technologies we know now will change and merge, at an increasingly rapid pace. In 1965 Gordon Moore, founder of Intel, predicted the exponential growth of technology. Moore's law postulates that the processing power and speed of any electronic calculating device will double every 18 months. At the same time, the price for that technology will decline approximately 35% a year relative to the power. If this continues to be true, researchers will have an abundance of exciting new tools to use as they study the curriculum and children of the future. Those tools will not only be more powerful than we have now, they will cost less, making them affordable for research, for schools, and for families. There are going to be so many new opportunities to help students with disabilities. If you look at how much they are helped now, it is incredible to think about what kind of help they can recieve in the future. 

Source: 

In 1817 the American School for the Deaf was founded in Hartford, Connecticut. This was the first school ever for children with disabilities in the western hemisphere. Not much improvement was made in education for disabled students until Brown vs Board in 1954. This case, although strongly focused on racial segregation, also led to people understanding that all people are equal no matter what race, disability, or any other factor. in 1965 congress created a Bureau of Education for the Handicapped later named Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Not much change really happened, but it foreshadowed that change was coming. In 1972 two decisions were made through the Supreme Court. They decided that children with disabilities should have an equal right to access education. These decisions came about because of the two cases Mills v. D.C. Board of Education and PARC v. Pennsylvania. It wasn't until 1973 when the Rehabilitation Act was enforced and prohibited discrimination against any person that has any kind of disability. In the early 1980's research was started on the benefits of computer assisted instruction (CAI). In 1982 extensive funding in the form of open or "field initiated competitions for research on students with disabilities enabled researchers to look into a variety of issues from projected applications of technology for administrative purposes. This research continued and in 1995, Shiah, Mastropieri, and Scruggs, after examining the impact of CAI on math, spelling, reading, adn other subject areas, declared that CAI is generally supportive for raising academic achievement in special education classrooms. In between these events, in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act established comprehensive protection for people with a variety of disabilities in public life. in 2001 The No Child Left Behind law becomes enacted calling for ALL students to become proficient in reading and math by the year 2014.

Below is a link to a video highlighting other important dates in the history of Special Education. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tG1jLz2ess

Sources: 

http://www.learningrx.com/a-historical-view-of-special-education-faq.htm:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1170519?seq=5

Meet Emily!

Emily is a sophomore at UNL studying Special Education Mild/Moderate 7-12. One of Emily's main interests is learning about behavior management in the classroom. 

Meet Tessa!

Tessa is a junior at UNL studying Elementary Education/Special Education and minoring in Psychology. Tessa enjoys working at Knowledge Beginnings and Camp Monroe where she leads activities with the children.

Meet Brooke! 

Brooke is also a sophomore at UNL majoring in Inclusive Early Childhood Education. Brooke enjoys volunteering at low income schools for an after school reading program. 

Meet Kate!

Special Education Standards

  1) Development and characteristics of learners

a) This standard is very clear on everything a special education teacher needs to know. It shows that there is more to teaching than just knowing how to teach.

b) We think this is an important standard because it shows that you need to understand how students develop mentally and how their development is relevant to the way they learn. It also is important because it makes teachers become aware of the fact that the environment in which students learn is extremely important in how they learn.

c) As a teacher, this standard means we will need to be very aware of how each student is developing. We will need to get to know the students so that we can make sure they are on the right track and that they are in the proper learning environment for their stage. We will also have to know any medical conditions that they have and be aware of how to adapt to those conditions.

d) One way to make sure that we am aware of each students’ situations is to have a meeting with the student and his or her parents before school starts. This would be a good way to learn about the student individually and to also make plans with parents about any accommodations that need to be made.

e) Technology could be used in these situations to keep in touch with parents. It could also be a helpful tool to many students that need accommodations in different ways.

  2) Professional and ethical practice

a) This standard shows how it is important for teachers to have the ability to be aware of the life a student is living. As mentioned in a different standard, the environment in which a student is brought up can have a large effect on their learning and development.

b) This is an important standard because teachers need to keep parents, guardians, and care-takers involved in the learning of the student. If everyone is on the same page then it will be much easier for the student become successful.

c) For us, this standard means getting to know the parents, guardians, and/or care-takers and meeting with them regularly. By doing this, a more beneficial learning plan can be created because the techniques can be used at school and also at home. Also, the standard suggests being aware of the student’s learning environment because if they are being abused or neglected at home then it can have a negative impact on the way a student learns.

d) To uphold this standard we will plan to keep in touch with whoever is taking care of the student.

e) Some parents are not available very often due to other commitments. One way technology can be helpful in these situations would be by communicating through email or possibly even video chat. The options are endless.

  3) Instructional Planning

a) One the most important things in education, regardless the area of teaching, is being organized. A couple things stick out; having individualized education planning and environmental routines. Working in special education we think these two things are extremely important. A special education teacher needs to take time to have an organized an agenda for each individual. To stay on track it is important to have a routine that helps the student and the teacher stay on track. Also it helps the collaboration team be on the same page.

b) We think that this is a special education standard because it targets the success of an individual. It incorporates collaboration with other teachers and the parent of the child.

c) This standard is specifically about the individual but also it includes interaction activities that the student engages in with their peers, their teachers and their parents. This standards means that as a special education teacher you have to think outside the box and open up your resources to create this specific learning environment.

d) Technology is always changing but currently in special education classroom I would implement a technology that allows all the teachers and the parents create a “board” of ideas that relates to instructional plans and have the collaboration process be more flexible.  This would allow people to keep up with their busy schedule and work. It would give them more time to think and create plans/ideas in a relaxed environment.

e) New technology is designed to make things run more smoothly. There are many organizational technologies that will help implement a structured learning environment and that will help move the school day smoothly. There are also ways that will help you and your collaboration team be on the same page and easier for everyone to work together.

  4) Individual learning differences

a)   In special education it is important to be able to gauge different behaviors that students will display. Then from there, the teacher needs to be able make plans and adjustments to those plans for each student. With those behaviors come the necessary social skills that are expected in society. Being able to help guide and teach those are important. Lastly, the behavior of the classroom as a whole.

b)   This is a very important standard to have within what is defined what is necessary for a special education teacher.  Behavior with special education students can follow a wide range, it is important for the teacher to be able to deal with those behaviors and help the student get on an effective plan to help them control their behavior. A positive behavior plan in the general classroom setting, along with focusing on individual students, is extremely important to have a successfully functioning classroom environment. These different things that fall under this standard all support that this should be a standard to be included in the national standards for special education.

c)    For this standard, by making sure that it is included when teaching special education students, it will end up creating a successful experience for the students in the school. Student’s behaviors in the classroom and teachers being able to create plans to help the students that may need extra assistance with behavior is crucial in helping promote a successful learning environment.

d)   Due to the fact that this area is important for the classroom structure, making sure that the behaviors that the students are being positively supported and improved upon is necessary. Making sure that there are enough teachers that are able to help this environment and are trained to help the students would be one tool to help this area of the standards grow.

e)    There are many different technologies could help support this standard. There are computer programs that train the teachers in various different way in how to help students cope with their behaviors that they are having and how to help them move forward.

  5) Learning environments/social interactions

a) This standard is making sure that all children if it may be a premature, low weight baby, or other child health conditions or health care needs, are safe and seeking the medical needs they deserve. We believe it is an important standard to have it talks about making sure they have nutritional goals and correct procedures being done to make sure they can make this child as healthy as possible. They also make sure that they are finding the correct environment that works for the child in need and once it is all done they make sure a monitor the progress of the child and what is right and wrong in their environment and health care needs. We believe this is especially important to have in a standard, if we're not keeping the children healthy how do we as teachers expect to have anyone to teach and watch them grow as a student.

b) We believe it is a standard because as a teacher our job is to keep the students in our classroom happy, healthy, and growing with knowledge. If no one is keeping our children safe from birth or such how do we expect to have a classroom full of students if they were all sick once and did not receive the medical attention and support they needed as a baby or small child.

c) This standard means that we, the educators, also responsible for protecting our students once they are old enough to be in my classroom. If we aware of a student’s illness we should make sure we are observing any unusual behavior that could be triggered from their illness. It also shows that if we don’t believe that they are suitable in my classroom or their home environment we are obligated to speak up about it, and see if any progress occurs in the future.

d) If our school is fortunate to have a school nurse or counselor we might just have to keep in contact with them a little more. We could work together to find environments that work best for the child when it comes to their learning abilities and what would benefit them the most. Also if the student needs any special medical attention the school nurse would be there to help accommodate those needs.

e) If a child needs any special help talking or hearing, etc. because of their disabilities as a child technology’s like using a tablet with pictures and voice control to help the child express what they want or feel. Students with trouble also use things such as hearing aids to help them hear and interact with other students. This standard would need many technologies at the beginning especially when it comes to medical treatment and needs and finding out what those needs the child might have. Once they are in a school or classroom depending on what the child’s needs are they may need things such as tablets and IPads as communicating devices. We would also use technologies such as computers when documenting the child’s progress and finding a suitable home and environment for these students.

Technology Standards Responses

  1) Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

a) Special education teachers need to help students to think in their own ways and to think about things creatively to understand things from different perspectives. These teachers also need to find ways to make students interested in the topics and try to get them to want to learn more about the subjects. This will help students to apply their knowledge to real situations. Teachers need to keep an open mind about how each students learn. There have been multiple times that a teacher will explain a topic in one way and not many students understand. Then a student that does understand shows the rest of the class a different way to think about it and then the class understands.

b) If teachers do not show or encourage creative thinking then students usually will not do it. This standard is important because it requires special education teachers to push for creative learning which can definitely benefit a student’s learning. Students don’t usually like to be told how they have to think, rather they would like to be given different ways to think about things and to apply what they’ve learned, which really is the whole point of learning.

c) We think this standard is important for a special education teacher because some students will simply need to be taught things in a different way in order for them to understand it. All students learn differently and by encouraging them to think creatively they can find their own ways to understand different subjects.

d) The standard says to have students apply what they’ve learned into real world situations. In some cases, special education students are taken to grocery stores where they practice their math and communication skills. It also encourages collaborative learning which would call for group work. Students can bounce ideas off each other and show each other how they think about certain things which can be very helpful.

e) Many schools have gotten iPads for their students to use. This would open up the use of apps. There are so many apps that students could use to learn in different ways. Some apps let you design your own building or company, and others are very straight-forward, such as apps for making flashcards. Also in the area of special education there are apps that students who cannot speak very well or at all can use to communicate with the people around them.

    2) Design and develop digital age learning and experiences and assessments

a) This standard wants teachers to use technology to give students a more personal way of learning and to give them a variety of how they learn things. We agree that this should be a standard because students will be more interested in a topic if the lesson is personalized for them, making it easier for them to want to focus on or study the topic.

b) This is an important standard because as stated for the first standard, everyone learns differently, which is greatly demonstrably in special education. Some students are visual learners, some are hands-on, and some can just listen to a lecture and take in all the information. By using technology to give customized lessons, students can maximize the amount of information they take in.

c) For us this means that special education teachers will need to be aware of how each student learns best, and try to create a way to adapt to that strategy using technology.

d) Doing a survey among the students would be one way to use this standard. The survey would be a way to find out what interests the students so that the teacher could use those interests in the lessons.

e) Technology could help with this because just by simply using the internet and letting the students do their own research on a topic. There are also many games that are associated with learning that can be found on the internet that would be a good way for students to get engaged in learning.

  3) Model digital age work and learning

 a)  This standard is saying that teachers need to keep up to date on what are the new technologies that are emerging and learn how to use and incorporate them into the curriculum that they are teaching. Then from there they teach the students, their parents and even other peers how to use and apply these technologies.

b)   It is important to stay up to date on current technologies because the world is always moving forward. If teachers get stuck in their ways for years and years they won’t be able to evolve and help their students evolve with everything as well. This definitely would merit being one of the technology standards.

c)    With working with special education, keeping up on technologies that could be used in the classroom to help the students develop is vital. There are always new things coming out and research studies that show that different programs will help stimulate the students, which could help on a variety of accounts.

d)   Making sure that teachers have the tools available to them in order to keep up with the current technologies that have potential in the classroom is one way to make sure that this standard is kept up on. Then from there, that they have the knowledge and proper training to use the technologies that are given to them.

e)    Technologies in the classroom can be controversial. Yes to an extent they can help develop learning if the technology is being used appropriately. Also it is important that the teachers have the knowledge to use it, not “learning as they go” with the students struggling along with them.

  4) Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

a) This standard is known as Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility thus saying that they make sure all learners are able to understand and learn from what technology is being used. Making sure to find new ways to address all learners and all new types of technologies. We found it very inspiring to use in a classroom instead of finding just one technology to teach and learn with you would find one or more that helps benefit all students in the classroom.

b) We believe it is a standard mainly because it focuses on all type of people instead of one. It also makes sure focus on all ethnicities and their importance for learning and using technology.

c) It means that we would have to make sure that we am not biased or leaving others out when it comes to their learning habits and what abilities they are able to use in my classroom. Special education teachers have the job to make sure the students know what is right and wrong when it comes to internet usage.

d) In order to support growth and understanding for this standard teachers would have to make sure they understand the Internet and certain programs myself before we should teach others. Special education teachers would find websites or apps that are right and ones that are wrong (but school appropriate and age appropriate) and maybe even make a pamphlet of rights and wrongs when it comes to technology usage and how we can communicate what is right and wrong.

e) Some technologies are on the computer to warn us when something is wrong or ethically wrong when getting on a certain website or app. So it would also help us show students what we are able to use technology wise and what we are not. These standards are all based on technology and how it can help us benefit in a classroom this standard happens to be talking about the responsibilities we have when it comes to using the technologies we use and how to help incorporate others in learning and using technology and when you can and cannot do something on the internet. The technologies are endless.

  5)  Engage in professional growth and leadership

a)  Learning is never ending. One can learn something new every day, especially with technology advances. Teachers become successful in the classroom by keeping up with and learning about new digital tools and resources. Not only learning about them specifically, but also learning how to incorporate them into special education classroom. Teachers should work for acquiring new and better teaching techniques that work for the students individually. One way teachers can do this is by staying up to date with today’s technology. It is beneficial for all areas of learning.

b)    We think that engaging in professional growth and leadership is a standard because as an educator, because you are held to high standards. The community trusts in you to achieve a goal of educating society. Teachers have a lot of power, whether they use it correctly or not. As an educated leader your job is to build up the community, one way to do so is by building up technology skills for your special education students.

c)   To rise up to this standard it is important to exhibit leadership qualities and be open to growth. It is important to be flexible and be able to change with the times. A special education teacher needs to be flexible, especially working with different types of learners.

d)  To be able to incorporate advanced technologies in the classroom a teacher needs to be experts themselves. Your job as a teacher is to help educate society, and you will be unable to do so if you are not able to teach in the most effective way. First, understand the curriculum and find new advances that will help the students be engaged and learn efficiently. For example, in special education there are ways to utilize a table (such as an iPad) for more than just for fun and games. There are many apps that help with communication, or even help a student learn in a different way that works best for that individual. One great thing about the iPad is that it updates frequently when the times change.

e)  It is your job as an educator to contribute your time outside the classroom to learn about new advances, such as digital tools and resources, to be a successful special education teacher in the classroom. Remember, each student is different and may need a different accommodation and it is your job to find what works. Going back to the iPad, there are many different communication apps available that would be less expensive than a piece of equipment. Also there are ways to teach or introduce a new subject that will help engage the students.