Abstract:
This
paper addresses definitions, services, levels of technology
and application of assistive technology concepts as they
relates to education. An overview of the NCATE and ISTE
guidelines concerning assistive technology, and the current
elements of the graduate educational degrees concerning
assistive technology is provided. Federal legislation
concerns the application of assistive technology in an
educational setting and its possible impact on educational
technologists. A model is proposed for a course
concerning assistive technology and universal design to
better prepare instructional technology graduates to enhance
the performance of students with disabilities and design
educational material for increased accessibility. This
session is intended for educators in instructional technology
and exceptional education programs.
Disabilities
rights leaders have said that the application of technology
will be the equalizer of the 21st century (Flippo, Inge &
Barcus 1995). Through the use of assistive technology
(AT) devices, many students can decrease their isolation and
become an important part of a regular classroom, their least
restrictive environment. Assistive technology is a
basic tool in the educational process for any individual who
may be experiencing a disability. Technology that is
used as tool in education is the basic definition of
educational technology.
This paper
will address assistive technology and services, overview the
current assistive technology elements of graduate educational
technology degrees, and present a model for including
assistive technology to better prepare instructional
technologists to participate and enhance the performance of
students with disabilities.
What is Assistive Technology?
The
Technology-Related Assistance for Individual with
Disabilities Act of 1998 (PL 100-407) gave us the first legal
definition of assistive technology devices and
services. An assistive technology device was defined
as: 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. An assistive
technology service was described as: any service that
directly assists an individual with a disability in
selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology
service.
What are the Levels of Assistive Technology Use?
In
considering assistive technology, you must consider the
environment, the individual, and the characteristics and
levels of the technology (Gitlow 2000). Assistive technology
may be classified as high, middle or low tech. The concept of
a high technology device usually includes items that require
computers, electronics or microchips to perform some
function. Low technology usually does not require an outside
power source. An example of high technology is a computer.
The application of technology could range from having a
computer read a book (high tech) to printing out material in
a larger font to a student using a magnifying glass (low
tech) to read material.
Along with considering the level of
the technology, consider the levels of how the necessary
assistive technology item will be applied. The levels
in applying the assistive technology solution include whether
the item is personally, developmentally, or instructionally
necessary (Judd-Wall 1999). The personally necessary
level is concerned with assistive technology devices that are
used by an individual student, such as a pair of colorblind
glasses to enable a learner to more effectively interact with
his/her environment. Developmentally necessary devices
may be shared among individuals. These devices help
meet an educational need based on a developmental delay,
which ideally would be improved, eliminating the need for the
item in an individual’s future. Lastly,
instructionally necessary devices are those that modify the
instructional process at a course or grade level, and do not
need to be moved with the user as he or she progresses to the
next level in education.
What is Educational Technology?
Educational or instructional
technology can be hard to define. At its simplest it
can be the application of technology in teaching or
education, but many feel that it is much more than
that. Perhaps the most encompassing definition is from
University of North Carolina Media Services (1997) which
states that: “Educational technology is the application
of research, learning theory, emergent technologies, and
child and adult psychology to solving instructional and
performance problems.” The Presidential Commission on
Instructional Technology highlighted four areas in which
educational technologists perform: 1) design of instruction,
2) production of instructional products and services, 3)
management of instruction, and 4) evaluation of instruction.
Assistive Technology in the Graduate Educational
Technology Program
The National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
accreditation in association with the International Society
for Technology in Education (ISTE) requires that assistive
technology be addressed within such higher education programs
as educational computing and technology leadership. The
guidelines and standards for those programs state that a
graduate of such a program should “demonstrate awareness
of resources for adaptive assistive devices for students with
special needs” and be able to “identify and
classify adaptive assistive hardware and software for
students and teachers with special needs and locate sources
to assist in procurement and implementation” (NCATE
1999).
However,
assistive technology is, for the most part, only discussed as
a small component of technology integration classes or is
thought of as being part of the “special education”
section. There exists the need for the addition of a
course devoted to the application of assistive technologies,
awareness of the possible limitations of users, and universal
design in a graduate educational or instructional technology
program.
A review was
conducted of instructional and educational technology
programs within the colleges of education across
Florida’s state university system. According to
their published programs of study, none of the state colleges
of education was offering a course specifying assistive
technology in its title or available description. A
similar limited review was conducted of universities
nationwide that offered graduate programs in educational or
instructional technology. From this survey, it was found that
less than twenty percent of the colleges that offered an
educational technology degree provide courses focusing on
assistive technology.
Impact on Instructional Technologists
As part of
the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act IDEA amendments
of 1997 and 1999, statements now require assistive technology
devices and services to be considered on an individualized
basis and become a part of the individual education plan
(IEP) if the child needs them to benefit from his educational
program. The individualized education program (IEP) is
a written statement for a child with a disability that is
developed, reviewed, and revised at the child’s
school. The IEPs occur each year for every child with a
disability and they are developed by members of the IEP team
including parents, teachers, special education teachers,
administration and others. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act Amendments of 1998 is the most extensive new law with
wide ranging effects. This ruling requires that all US
federal agencies make their information technology accessible
to their employees and customers with disabilities. The
law gives federal employees and members of the public the
right to sue if the government agency does not provide
comparable access to the information and data available to
people without disabilities. Section 508 applies to Web sites
that are produced for government agencies. All state agencies
that receive federal funds under the Assistive Technology Act
of 1998 are also required to comply with Section 508
requirements. Schools seeking to comply with legal
requirements regarding students with disabilities need
faculty with knowledge of assistive technology applications.
Based on NCATE accreditation requirements, it would be
reasonable for a school administrator or other official to
expect that an educational or instructional technology
graduate from an NCATE accredited program would be able to
effectively contribute to a student’s IEP team.
These expectations would include that such a graduate be able
to make effective judgments and recommendations concerning
assistive technology and universal access.
Assistive Technology Course Development
With the rapidly aging population of
the United States, there is also a growing need for assistive
technology and universal design. To receive federal
funding organizations must be IDEA and Section 508
compliant. There exists a need to provide instruction
on assistive technologies and methodology to make technology
products such as computer programs and web pages handicapped
accessible.
Instructional and educational
technology specialists require more extensive experience and
education concerning assistive technology than they currently
receive. Instructional/Educational Technology graduate
programs should devote a course to the presentation of the
basic concepts and applications of assistive
technology. This course could be offered as a
requirement in the current university master’s
instructional technology program and as an elective in its
master’s of education or exceptional education programs.
The NCATE and ISTE standards state that for initial
certification, a teacher should “demonstrate
awareness of resources for adaptive assistive devices for
students with special needs.” These standards would be
well met by such a course. The technologies and strategies
presented in a course concerning the application of assistive
technology would also address many of the other NCATE
guidelines associated with specialty programs such as
educational computing and technology leadership.
An
assistive technology course could be designed as an
introductory or survey course in the application of
technology as assistive and adaptive devices, software and
strategies. This course could present strategies for students
who are physically or mentally impaired, and may be in a
mainstreamed situation. The purpose of the course
material would be to teach about the use of technologies to
overcome handicaps and improve functionality. Course
topics could include: basics of assistive technology;
legal/ethical issues associated with assistive technology;
assistive technology and the individual education plan (IEP);
levels of assistive technology; technology adaptations;
Windows and Macintosh built-in accessibility tools;
text-to-speech and speech-to-text; universal design and the
internet; English as a second language, and physical and
learning disabilities. An additional facet of such a
course should also be designing web-based information to be
universally accessible, covering such topics as making web
pages more accessible and designing multimedia to overcome
user handicaps. The assessments and activities of the course
should include hands-on experiences with assistive
technologies. Activities should be designed to include
visitations to schools or labs to see assistive technology
being used, the application and use of text-to-speech and
speech-to-text programs, experiences with adaptive switches
and toys, and even experimentation with environmental control
hardware and software
During
discussions and interviews with inservice teachers,
counselors, physical therapists, parents, and assistive
technology organizations, a need for training and education
in the area of assistive technologies was identified.
Through continuing discussions, some basic areas of need in
assistive technology education were identified. Visitations
were conducted at the Assistive Technology Educational
Network (ATEN), Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources (FDLRS)
and Florida Instructional Materials (FIMSE) labs. The goal of
the visitations was to learn about the state of the art and
the programs being offered, and to understand the components
of the AT community. Additional research continued through
conducting a literature survey in the field, observing at
schools and labs, and studying current Exceptional Student
Education (ESE) and Instructional Technology (IT) programs
offered at universities. In order to begin to fill the need
that was perceived, a course outline was developed and
components were taught at daylong hands-on workshops designed
to introduce instructional technologists and teachers to
assistive technology. From these preliminary
discussions with professionals in the assistive technology
community, it was found that an assistive technology course
would be appreciated and that course delivery through
distance learning would be preferred. Many of the
potential students expressing interest in such a course were
unable to travel to a university. As an educational
technology program course, it would have an added benefit as
a recertification course for ESE professionals and general
education teachers.
After
an initial course outline was developed, members of parent
support organizations such as the Statewide Advocacy Network
on Disabilities (STAND), university professionals in special
education, assistive technology state organizations such as
Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) and
Assistive Technology Education Network (ATEN), future
students in exceptional education, and other instructional
technology professionals were asked to provide feedback on
the course design, goals, topics and assessments. All
were extremely pleased with the idea of the material becoming
available for instructional technologists, exceptional
student education (ESE) and general education educators. In
its current form, the AT course “Technologies for
Special Populations” is designed as an introductory
course in the application of technology as assistive and
adaptive devices in education. The course itself should
model effective design practices. For example web pages will
be designed for universal access and course materials and
multimedia will be developed to be handicapped
accessible. Because of its online delivery, the course
serves as a model of information presented through an
assistive medium.
Course Learning Strategies
The Technologies for Special
Populations course stresses hands-on experiences with various
assistive technology approaches and devices. One of the
main course goals is designing methods for a student to have
actual experiences with the technology going beyond readings
and looking at images about the technology. Students
are expected to purchase, train, and use voice input systems,
install and use an environmental control system, purchase and
use a voice repeater, and use speaking software and hardware
devices. Student interactions with assistive
technologies fall into five areas. Students interact in
an online forum, they have field experiences, and they
complete technology projects, in addition to using standard
materials such as tests and papers.
One of the strategies used in the
Technologies for Special Populations course is the forum.
Students participate for themselves and also analyze what
other students have done and provide feedback to their
classmates’ thoughts. Forum topics include case
studies that students use in experimenting with, suggesting
and explaining assistive technologies. Further forum
topics encourage students to discuss and evaluate the impact
that the assistive technologies have on them while they use
various devices and programs such as environmental control,
voice input, and text-to-speech.
Students
will be required to observe the use of assistive technology
as part of their field experiences. Students are asked
to observe a student who uses assistive technology devices,
or investigate and visit an assistive technology
demonstration lab. Using an assistive technology device
checklist and observation form, students would observe
assistive technologies being used and then contribute in an
online exchange concerning their observations.
Additional experiences include assistive hearing, assistive
audio, voice control, DVD applications, and environmental
control.
Currently
projects are being designed to give students additional
experiences with assistive technology in evaluation,
adaptation, and creation of assistive technology
devices. Students evaluate web sites for universal
access, compare various assistive technology software
products, compare assistive technology hardware tools, and
even complete an evaluation of a student related to the use
of a specific assistive technology. Students will
use software to create a communication board that augments
communication within a specific class or function. Additional
support is being sought for the creation of a supplemental
traveling assistive technology box. Sent through the standard
mail system, this box would provide students access to the
more expensive technologies including touch screens,
alternative keyboard inputs, talk boxes, close captioning
devices, and more.
The full
course syllabus is available online at http://www.unf.edu/~tcavanau/syllabi/AT_syllabus.htm.
References
Defining Educational Technology
(1997). Media Services, University of North Carolina,
Charlotte. Online at http://www.uncc.edu/lis/media/edtech.html.
Educational Computing and Technology
Leadership Standards (2000) NCATE Guidelines for
Educational Computing and Technology Leadership. Online
at :http://www.ncate.org/.
Flippo, K.F., Inge, K.J., & Barcus,
J.M. (1995). Assistive Technology: A resource for school,
work, and community. Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes.
Galvin, J., & Scherer, M.J. (1996). Evaluating,
selecting, and using appropriate assistive technology.
Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
Gitlow, L. (2000). Assistive
Technology. Online at: http://www.ume.maine.edu/cci/FACTSFC/articles/assistec.html.
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, 1992. (P.L. 101-476).
International Society for Technology in
Education (2000). Teacher Technology Standards. Online
at http://www.iste.org/.
Judd-Wall, J.(accessed September
1999). Necessary categorizations. Online at:http://www.aten.ocps.k12.fl.us/links.html.
Stoller, L. C. (1998). Low-Tech
Assistive Devices: A handbook for the school setting.
1998. Therapro Inc. Publishers
Technology-Related Assistance for
Individuals with Disabilities Act, 1988. (PL 100-407).
Technology-Related Assistance for
Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments, 1994. (P.L.
103-218)
Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998,
Section 508
Terence
W. Cavanaugh Ph. D. 
