Assistive Technology in the Classroom
Research shows that assistive technology has a huge influence on students with special needs. Assistive technology refers to devices that help those learners to complete tasks they face everyday or tools that “maintain or improve the function” of a learner with disability (Adebisi, 2015,p. 15).
According to Burgstahler (2003, as cited in Adebisi et al., 2015 )there are eight key areas in which assistive technology enhances the classroom: “(1) develop independence in academic and employment tasks, (2) participate in classroom discussion, (3) gain access to peers and teachers, (4) gain access to the full variety of educational options, (5)secure high levels of independent learning, (6) work side-by-side with peers, (7) master academic tasks that they find difficult, (8) participate in community and recreational activities”. (p.19).
Overall assistive technology offers the chance to truly include learners with learning disabilities in the classroom and to take charge of their learning and not be dependent on other people and their support. Adebisi et al. (2015) point out that the inclusion of assistive technology needs collaboration between content teachers and special needs teachers as well as proper professional development to be able to understand this undertaking fully.
Adaptive Technology in the Classroom
Adaptive technology is a more broader term, as it describes the technology being used to describe the implementation of technology towards the individualized learner. They analyze the learners performance of each learner in the classroom to see where and what needs to be supported. An “individual learning response” is created to maximize the results. The adaptive technology also collects the data of the students in order to analyze it. This data can be used to optimize the learning experience even more and for the researcher and teacher gives the opportunity to learn about learning itself (Natriello, 2013).
It not only enhances to support the individual learner's needs in learning it also helps to “enhance agency, self -assessment and self-regulation” (Natriello, 2013,p. 12). In certain scenarios like peer-reviews or discussion forums it also helps the learner to understand their learning in relation to other learners and learn from them.
Teachers and Technology
Looking back to the last two years, teachers struggled overall to adapt to a fully digitized environment. It took a while until teachers got a hang of using technology in a full online classroom. Technology, although very important in an inclusive classroom, does not share much centerstage with other parts of the teacher training in the past. Thinking about professional development at the schools I taught, assistive technology and adaptive technology was never given the full spotlight. After two years of forced use of technology, at least adaptive technology and its opportunities were given more room. In my environment with the main focus on using it in the classroom but not thinking about the opportunities to use the data being gathered (Moodle etc.). For assistive technology I only know about a very reactive way of implementing it. I never had a training beforehand. If there is a learner that is in need of assistive technology it will be brought into the classroom and the teacher needs to accommodate it. Adebisi et al. (2015) points out that it is important to understand those technologies clearly to be able to properly use them.
Overall the need for technology in the classroom arrived also in my environment after COVID. Due to a lack of proper professional development in this area, the potential of adaptive and assistive technology has not yet been explored.
Adebisi, R.O., Liman, N.A., & Longpoe, P.K. (2015). Using assistive technology in teaching children with learning disabilities in the 21st century. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(24), 14-20. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1078825.pdf
Natriello, G. (2013). Adaptive Educational Technologies: Tools for Learning and for Learning about Learning. National Academy of Education. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED574477.pdf
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