This free 11-pageessay(with 15 sources)on Special Education and Technology is for students to use as a template/guideline/reference in helping them complete their own paper. This was provided by a student who completed this essay and wanted others to benefit from it with their own studies. If you seek further assistance on how to write an essay, you can email or call us at anytime. Technology andSpecial Education Technology is an important aspect of today's society. People share ideas and communicate using emails, Skype, and public/private forums. In order to for many organizations and businesses to evolve and increase productivity, they often upgrade their technological capabilities. This is why schools have begun the process of creating an environment that immerses staff and students in technology. Technology investment within schools not only enables varied learning opportunities for students, but it also helps students discover or improve their own ability to research and analyze information, collaborate and communicate, and solve problems (Lim, Zhao, Tondeur, Chai, & Tsai, 2013).

Technology provides other benefits. Integrating technology in schools, especially in certain areas like special education enable staff to develop new ways of teaching and creating curriculum custom made for special needs students. Fernandez-Lopez, Rodriguez-Fortiz, Rodriguez-Almendros, and Martinez-Segura (2013) stated, "The development of customizable and adaptable applications tailored to them provides many benefits as it helps mold the learning process to different cognitive, sensorial or mobility impairments" (p.77). Teachers have the option of constructing lessons using videos, pictures, and slideshows to allow a diverse array of teaching methods. From use of visual aids to increasing the size of text and making text colorful and appealing, technology makes instruction easier and more importantly, cost-effective. Many videos are available for free to watch on Youtube and only requires a projector, screen and laptop to use.

Introductionto Study

Barriers still exist in terms of technology and teaching. This is especially true for special education. Special education teachers may integrate some aspect of technology in their curriculum, but some remain resistant, believing technology integration is unnecessary. Schools may be at fault because of the continued lack of policy changes and training for teachers.

If schools integrate the use of technology in all areas, every student will be able to receive a higher level of education that will lead in the long run, to less expenses for the school and higher quality educational opportunities for students. While technology in schools seems for some recent, the transition from technology free to technology centric has been in the making for over four decades (Keengwe, 2015). In these four decades many schools have made great strides. Even with progress, some teachers remain resistant to technology integration in schools.

One article notes teacher's attitudes towards technology as being the main barriers for integration. "Teachers' own beliefs and attitudes about the relevance of technology to students' learning were perceived as having the biggest impact on their success" (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012, p. 423). If teachers believe they do not need to use technology to instruct students or they do not feel they can use technology to instruct students, this may make them more resistant to technology integration in schools. It is up to the school then to improve these attitudes and support use of technology by teachers via additional training with computers and projectors, and supporting teachers that do integrate technology use into their curriculum.

In the case of special education and elementary students, many of these students already have a harder time learning from traditionally designed curriculum. If teachers utilize technology to customize curriculums for their special needs students, they will find greater success in teaching. Technology enables a hands on approach and a greater implementation of visual aids that promotes higher levels of engagement from students (Nam, Bahn, & Lee, 2013). Assistive technology is something many special education teachers use in order to help a child learn. Audiobooks are an excellent example of how technology helps a student that may have difficulty reading or a visual disability, still learn with ease.

In this qualitative case study, I interviewed 15 special education teachers from 15 various elementary schools within Miami-Dade County, Florida. Because attitudes and perceptions play such a major role in teachers using or not using technology in the classroom, this study examined the attitudes and perceptions of 15 special education teachers as it relates to technology integration in their daily instruction. The participants were chosen from K-5 schools within the Miami-Dade school district. Although the district has 200 elementary schools and many have integrated technology successfully, the need to...
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This is not just a problem seen in Florida but across the country. While some schools use tablets, video or virtual conferencing, and assistive technology like audiobooks, some schools have remained with the traditions and beliefs of the past. Special education is an area that needs a higher level of technology integration. Special needs students may not have the ability to go to school every day or learn effectively from traditional instruction methods. Technology may enable more options for special needs students that were not possible before.
Research shows teachers may not willingly integrate technology into their daily instruction because of certain attitudes and perceptions. These attitudes and perceptions often come from lack of training. In order for schools to integrate technology more effectively, they must first train teachers on how to use technology in their classroom. Special education teachers already struggle with the current responsibilities of teaching students with varied problems and impairments. They need further training to understand how to implement technology to help students learn.

Aside from training, schools must evaluate how well special education teachers handle the integration of technology and if such integration improves student learning outcomes. With schools requiring students to perform well in order to receive government funding (No Child Left Behind Act), it became increasingly important to see positive test results from students. If technology integration proves students learn more and thus score better on standardized tests, this will provide proof that technology integration should be the main focus.

Assessment is an important part of any change. Assessing the results of technology integration in several ways will allow for accurate interpretation. By evaluating the responses of special education teachers and their attempts at technology integration in their daily instruction, this will provide a better picture of the struggles and ways to remove such barriers. Teachers and students stand to benefit from full technology integration. Through assessment and analysis, schools can achieve positive outcomes.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how K-5 special education teachers in Miami Dade County perceived the process of technology integration within their school district and school. One special education teacher from 15 elementary schools in Miami Dade County were observed then interviewed to collect qualitative data concerningperceptions of technology integration into daily instruction. As one study noted, ease of use promotes good attitudes with change and integration when it comes to special education teachers and technology. "Facilitating condition was strongly related to perceived ease of use, whereas perceived ease of use had a significant effect on computer self-efficacy" (Nam, Bahn, & Lee, 2013, p. 365).

Nature of Study and Research Questions

The research method for this case study was qualitative. Qualitative information provides clarity on complex and hard to interpret problems. By examining how special education perceive technology integration, assumptions were either refuted or supported. One assumption is teachers who have negative attitudes towards technology integration is due to lack of training. By interviewing special education teachers and analyzing their responses, the lack of training can either be confirmed or removed as a potential main barrier. Miami Dade County is one of the largest when it comes to school districts. To examine qualitatively the effectiveness of technology integration is a great way to see the effectiveness of the schools within the district.

The following questions helped guide this qualitative case study:

1. How do special education teachers in Miami Dade County public elementary schools perceive the process of technology integration as it related to daily instruction?

2. How do special education teachers in Miami Dade County public elementary schools implement technology within their daily instruction?

3. What barriers if any, prevent special education teachers in Miami Dade County public elementary schools from successful technology integration?

Conceptual Framework

Many conceptual frameworks exist to help understand actions and problems within society. For the purposes of this qualitative case study, the conceptual framework uses was TPACK or technological pedagogical content knowledge. "The TPACK framework emphasizes how the connections among teachers' understanding of content, pedagogy, and technology interact with one another to produce effective teaching" (Koehler, Mishra, Kereluik, Shin, & Graham, 2013, p. 101). Although a relatively new framework, it has helped influence theory, research, as well as practice in relation to teacher professional development and teacher education. The TPACK framework enables teachers…