What's in the News?

Article: A Survey of Assistive Technology and Teacher Preparation Programs for Individuals with Visual Impairment

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness • Volume 101 • Number 7, July 2007, p. 1-8

Summary: This article discusses the pre-service teachers' knowledge of assistive technology, mainly ones used by students with visual impairments. Upon research, they concluded that most teachers had little to no knowledge so they researched universities to see if learning how to use and operate various assistive technology devices, as well as the best practices for instruction was integrated in university curricula/training. Participants in this study were mainly United States universities (28) and two were Canadian universities. The results of the study were that most of the universities had some type of assistive technology instruction implemented. Of the universities that did not have any assistive technology instruction, half of them planned on incorporating it into their university program.

Response: This was a good research because it propelled half of the schools who did not have any curriculum based on assistive technology to incorporate it into the university program. In addition, various organizations/associations advocated for the inclusion of assistive technology. On the other hand, it wasn’t very specific in the depth of the universities’ curriculum on assistive technology. The data collected was a multiple-choice survey, which was then used to compare the schools. In this study, the researchers did not actually visit the universities; they just took the administrator’s word for it that the university had some type of instruction/training on assistive technology. Furthermore, they did not do a follow-up study to determine whether the universities that did not have curriculum based on assistive technology implemented the program effectively.

My View: I thought it was interesting that they were doing a study on technology integration using technology. For example, their initial contact methods were through email and after two attempts with no response, they then turned to another type of media. Another way they integrated technology was having the participants complete the survey online.

This research also stressed the importance of teachers knowing about assistive technology. There may not be a set standard of what universities are to teach future teachers because there are so many different assistive technology devices but as long as they make people aware of its existence and the reasons for its use would be helpful. There is a book they mentioned, What Every Educator Should Know, that discusses standards directly related to the use assistive technology.

Questions: Have you had any courses that taught the use of assistive technology? If so, what was taught? How in depth was the lesson? Did you ever encounter assistive technology in your teaching experience? How would you use assistive technology in your classroom in the future?

As I looked for articles to review, there were several articles relating to students with disabilities. Unfortunately, it discussed the development of the software, not necessarily classroom/student use. One article I found discussed the development of this 3D software used by children who are deaf and are beginning to learn how to read. The software had a 3D figure "sign" the word as it appeared on the screen. Then, the student watching will correlate the sign with the word, eventually learning to read.