If you’ve worked as a teacher, you know that seeing a student struggle to learn is one of the toughest parts of the job. Sometimes, it’s their attitude that holds them back, or their living situation, but in ever-increasing numbers, students are dealing with disabilities. In the past, students with disabilities were often expected to keep up as best they could despite limitations ranging from visual impairment to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Given how many types of disabilities there are, making a single classroom accessible to all students is a complicated task. However, assistive technology for students with disabilities has gone a long way over the past few decades toward making effective learning accessible to disabled students. It’s not a perfect system yet, but as tech advances, so do the tools teachers have available. Before we start looking at the particulars, let’s take a wider look at how technology fits into the structure of education for students with disabilities
An overview of technology for supporting disability students
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legally entitles students with disabilities aid where needed. The purpose of IDEA is not to replace teachers with nursing or counseling staff but rather to equip teachers with tools and techniques that let students with disabilities learn along with everyone else.
IDEA applies to all mental, physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities – which means teachers need to be incredibly adaptable to meet student needs. That’s where assistive technology comes in.
In this context, assistive technology (AT) just means technology that makes the class content and the learning experience accessible to students with a particular disability. It can range from low-tech solutions like a specialized pencil grip to high-tech solutions like dyslexia teaching software. For AT to work, you also need to tailor it for individual students; in other words, just because some software helped one dyslexic student doesn’t mean it will work as well for another. When a solution doesn’t work, it’s on the teachers to help the student find another one that does.
Examples of assistive technology in the classroom
We often associate disabilities primarily with conditions like dyslexia and ADHD which are neurological in nature, but physical disabilities are also a significant concern. That’s why it’s important for Assistive Technology (AT) to meet the needs of all students. To better grasp how assistive technology works, it helps to break it down into general categories of examples based on how students use it.
- Input Technology: These devices help students input information into computers and include specialized keyboards, voice recognition software, and touchscreens.
- Output Technology: Tools that let students complete work on their own in alternate ways – like screen readers, braille displays, and text-to-speech software.
- Reading and Writing Technology: A huge help for students who struggle with reading, this category includes tools like spelling, grammar checking, and word prediction.
- Math Technology: For students with disabilities that impair their mathematical comprehension, tools like virtual manipulatives and equation editors are essential.
- Communication Technology: To learn effectively, students and teachers must be able to understand each other – and there are a lot of disabilities that impact this. Providing classrooms with alternatives to talking, like communication boards and speech-generating devices, ensures students can make themselves understood.
While it’s easy to see the utility of AT when you start to think about the quantity of students with disabilities or additional needs that may go through a classroom each year, trying to adapt to all of them simultaneously can seem very overwhelming. Rather than thinking of AT as multiple devices, each with its own learning curve, consider how each AT solution could build onto a comprehensive classroom ecosystem, all working together to make learning accessible to everyone. What would such a classroom look like?
Assistive technology in the classroom
The sun streams into the classroom through large windows, looking out at some oak trees. Flexible seating options like bean bag chairs, tables and chairs, standing desks, and a few traditional options fill the room. A row of noise-cancelling headphones hangs on the wall beside the door, while specialized keyboards and mice make desktops accessible.
At the front of the room, a large interactive display equipped with a webcam ready to use. The bell rings. A dozen 12 to 14-year-olds stream into the room, followed by their teacher.
As class begins, the teacher is playing calming music through the panel. Some students use speech-to-text software to help them keep up with note-taking. Once it’s time for quiet work time the teacher uses the interactive display to set a timer and a sound meter to ensure the noise level in the classroom.
Building an inclusive and welcoming classroom like this takes a lot of work, but it is possible. It takes careful planning and a willing teacher to put in effort, but the rewards are huge. It’s important to remember that AT is only as good as the teacher willing to use it. The teacher adapts lesson plans to meet students’ needs and collaborates with professionals to create learning plans for each student. However, technology is what makes a classroom like this possible; though they may need personalized planning, children with disabilities can learn together.
While all these AT tools are valuable, one key piece of technology works as a hub through which all the others interface.
Interactive displays: the cornerstone of an inclusive classroom
At first, an interactive display might not seem like it would offer much extra support to students who need it – but its usefulness comes from its adaptability. Basically, an interactive display is like an iPad the size of your living room television. Most brands can support multiple users on the touchscreen at the same time, making them great for group activities in the classroom. There are many sizes, features, and setups available, but what makes them so useful is the fact that it can run assistive technology apps for students with disabilities.
Suppose you have an autistic student who is easily overwhelmed by loud noises and lights and who struggles with communication. You can use apps designed for kids on the autism spectrum with an interactive display to let the student play calming games and activities designed to engage but not overstimulate.
You could help a dyslexic student by incorporating visual aids to help memorize material more easily and rely less on the phonics of words.
These are just a few short examples of how interactive displays can make a classroom a much more welcoming place for a student with a disability. But even if you have the technology in place and are willing to learn it, there are still hurdles students have to overcome when adapting to AT.
How to get buy in on assistive technology for students with disabilities
Depending on the disability, each student faces obstacles in adopting AT. For some, it might be apprehension about change, for others, it might be physical limitations.
That is why it’s incredibly important to take an individualized approach in introducing students to AT. As we’ve already noted, AT is not a one-size-fits-all solution. What worked for one student with ADHD might not work for the next. The key is keeping an open dialogue with the student and their caregivers so you can know what’s working and make changes as needed. That said, there are four key strategies that usually help in most situations.
- Start early and work into the change. Throwing new technology at a student a week before finals is probably just going to make the situation worse. Instead, ask (don’t tell) them about what you are planning in advance so they have plenty of time to adjust to the idea. In the best-case scenario, you can inform the student before a semester even starts so they learn the material along with the AT solution.
- Give the student choice and control. Let them do some research and choose what AT they think will help them the most.
- Make it fun. When used well, AT can let disabled students learn at the same pace as their peers and cut out a lot of the frustration they’ve likely felt in the learning process – which means they can really start enjoying it.
- Get proper teacher training and support. If you don’t know how to use the tech well, you’ll end up stalling class while trying to get it to work. This can both be frustrating for you and make the student feel like they are standing out and harming the class, so taking the time to make sure you’re prepared is in everybody’s best interests.
With these tips in mind, consider the ways you might be able to adapt your classroom into a space that meets the needs of all students.
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