Technology and Special Education

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that S. Goetze and B.J. Walker found that students who are most at risk of academic failure are those who lack reading skills. They found that use of technology enhanced literary capabilities of students who have special needs. The writer points out that in fact, technology and literacy have a very strong link and scholars have been keenly interested in discovering various aspects of their relationship. This study investigates the role of technology within the modern educational environment of low level students of special needs. It is hoped that the research will add to existing literature on the role of technology in education. Also, the writer maintains that one practical implication of the research can be that it can change the way educational-providers deal with low level students with special needs.

Outline:
Introduction
Problem Statement
Literature Review
Use of Advancing Technologies in Education
The Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)
Voice Recognition Technology (VRT)
Purpose of the Paper
Research Questions
Methodology
Participants
Sampling Frame
Method of Selecting the Sample Elements
Data Collection
Delimitations
Ethical Issues
Data Analysis
Anticipated Outcomes
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"This is an important implementation because it opens the students' horizons and allows them to see the general links and relations that their own lives might have with the stories that they read. The implementation of taking the pictures is one way that this has been successfully achieved. This use of a camera is a very flexible application and is being used in different ways for different special-needs students.
"May found that cameras are being used to also expand the span of words or vocabulary amongst the special-needs students. The teacher hands out a set of words to the students and explains their use and different interpretations and then asks them to take photographs in accordance to what they have understood. Any good reader will relay that the best part about reading is the expressions and vocabulary. Vocabulary is mainly an understanding of the use and interpretation of the words being used and this process has helped the special-needs students in their reading skills when it has been included in the curriculum."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beukelman, D.R., Beukleman, H.M., Ranklin, J.L., Wood, L.A. (2003). Early Computer Literacy: First Grades Use the "Talking" Computer. Reading Improvement. 40: 3. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from www.questia.com
• Castek, J., Coiro, J., Henry, L.A., Leu, D.J., Mcmullan, M. (2004). The Lessons That Children Teach Us: Integrating Children's Literature and the New Literacies of the Internet. The Reading Teacher. 57: 5. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from www.questia.com
• Doering, A., Hughes, J., & Huffman. D. (2003). Preservice teachers: Are we thinking with technology? Journal of Research on Technology in Education. 35(3), 342-362. in Speaker, K. (2004). Student Perspectives: Expectations of Multimedia Technology in a College Literature Class. Reading Improvement. 41: 4. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from www.questia.com
• Dowrick, P.W. Kim-Rupnow, W.S, and Power, T.J. (2006). Video Feedforward for Reading. Journal of Special Education. 39: 4. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from www.questia.com
• Fisher, D, Molebash, P. (2003). Teaching and Learning Literacy with Technology. Reading Improvement. 40: 2. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from www.questia.com

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