Journal of Special Education Technology

Independent living is recognized as a marker of adulthood. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, however, the need for continued support in completing daily living tasks reduces the likelihood of achieving independence in this domain. Barriers to living independently include increased dependence on family and support staff and deficits in functional life skills. In this study, a multiple-baseline across behaviors design was used to examine the efficacy of an augmented reality intervention for teaching daily living skills to three young adults with disabilities in a residential postsecondary education program. Our results indicate the intervention was effective for increasing independence among all participants. Furthermore, the intervention was found to be a socially acceptable and nonstigmatizing method for supporting young adults in a residential postsecondary education program.

Coaching in the school setting typically follows the traditional format of preconference, observe, and postconference, where feedback on teaching performance is shared but often delayed. Professional development (PD) provides teachers with skills to enhance their teaching practice with little to no follow-up or support. The most effective way to produce change in the school setting is to show the connection between PD and student performance, and iCoaching can help to bridge the gap. In this study, four teachers participated in a focused PD session and subsequent iCoaching sessions where the researcher used iPods and Bluetooth earbuds as a bug-in-ear (BIE) device. A coach served as a live, remote observer providing coaching prompts to increase teacher-delivered opportunities to respond (OTR). The results indicated that iCoaching was effective in increasing teacher-delivered OTR and in increasing student responses and academic performance.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often experience a combination of both intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits that impact conceptual, social, and practical domains. These deficits can negatively impact an individual’s ability to achieve independence and sustained employment. Fortunately, research has shown assistive technology can help support employment skills for individuals with ID. This multiple baseline design study investigated the use of a Task Analysis smartphone application, which utilized video and audio prompting, with four young adults with ID on the completion of work-related office tasks. Findings indicate that all four young adults with ID showed large effect size gains for completing several common office-related tasks including shredding, copying, and scanning. Implications and future research are discussed.

This study investigated the perspectives of elementary special education teachers regarding integrating technology into lessons. Eight special education teachers at a private university laboratory school, who varied in their levels of teaching experience and confidence with using technology, participated in the study. We interviewed each teacher three times, with two of the interviews following our observations of technology-integrated lessons. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts provided insight into the interrelationships among teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge, teaching experience, confidence with using technology, beliefs about the role of technology in education, and perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with using it. Teachers’ perceptions of the value of technology in special education classrooms included providing differentiation, offering varied representations of content, enhancing motivation and engagement, facilitating formative assessment, and fostering life skills. Challenges of integrating technology included technology malfunctions and lack of teacher and student technological knowledge.

Manipulatives offer students with disabilities access and support in classrooms. However, it is important for educators to be aware that concrete manipulatives are not the only option. Teachers serving students identified with a disability in the middle grades may consider selecting virtual manipulatives as supplement, complement, or in lieu of concrete manipulatives. In this technology in action, the authors provide information for educators about using virtual manipulatives and how they can be used across different settings, instructional needs, and mathematical content areas for middle school students with disabilities.