Access to Educational Technology: Students With Special Needs Students with Special Needs: Access to Educational Technology

Technology has literally changed the way we live our lives in the education sector, as well as in recreation and employment. Research evidence, however, shows that a digital divide still exists between persons with disabilities and their nondisabled counterparts. This text presents the possible reasons for this, and identifies specific tools that teachers could use to maximize outcomes for specific learner groups.

Technology has impacted almost all areas of human life, including recreation, employment and education. However, research shows that students with special needs are largely underserved, with less access to educational technology. Empirical evidence indicates that persons with disabilities are less likely than their nondisabled counterparts to have computer and internet access. This text analyzes the potential reasons for this, and identifies specific tools that teachers could use to maximize outcomes for specific learner groups. It provides crucial insight on how effective use of technology affects the academic outcomes of learners with special needs

Introduction

Technology plays a huge role in almost all recreational, employment and educational activities (Burgstahler, 2002). In the educational sphere, computer access maximizes learners' academic outcomes by allowing them to access distance learning courses, communicate with mentors and peers, participate in class discussions and complete coursework independently (Burgstahler, 2002). Studies have shown that students enjoy and gain more from their lessons when technology-based instructional techniques are employed as opposed to when the traditional worksheets, regular blackboards and textbook techniques are used (Kulik, 1994). Students with special needs have particularly benefited from the opportunities that technology offers in the modern-day classroom (Burgstahler, 2002). They have been able to use technology to compensate for their inability to perform specific functions owing to their disability (Burgstahler, 2002). Today, a special needs student who cannot speak with their own voice can still actively take part in a classroom discussion with the help of a speech-based synthesizer (Burgstahler, 2002). Despite these benefits, however, empirical evidence shows that students with special needs have significantly less access to technology than their mainstream counterparts. This is perhaps because stakeholders do not fully understand the role of technology in influencing the academic performance of students with special needs. The current study provides insight on how effective use of technology affects the academic outcomes of learners with special needs, and the specific tools that teachers could use to maximize outcomes for specific learner groups.

Research Questions

The central question guiding the study is: How does the use of technology in the classroom affect the performance of students with disabilities? The subordinate questions include: what is the extent of the disparity in access to technology between special needs and mainstream students nationally and in the researcher's school? What are the barriers to effective use of technology for students with special needs? What specific strategies could be used to close the gap in access? What tools can special education teachers use to maximize outcomes for specific learner groups?

Purpose Statement

Students today learn differently as a result of technology (Prensky, 2008). However, students with special needs continue to lag behind their mainstream counterparts owing to a lack of access (Burgstahler, 2002). One possible reason for this is that stakeholders in the educational sector do not fully understand the role of technology in facilitating the learning process for this particular group (Johnson, 2003). As a matter of fact, not many studies have focused on this area of study (Johnson, 2003).

The current study examines the effect of technology on the performance of special education students in fourth and fifth grade, and the specific tools that could be used by special education teachers to maximize outcomes for different learner groups.

The Problem: Digital Gap between Special Needs and Regular Students

Technology can help any student with motivation, academic skills, and social development (Burgstahler, 2002). A 2009 survey conducted by National Center for Education Statistics found that 97% of teachers in regular classrooms had one or more computers located in the classroom every day while 54% could bring computers into the classroom (NCES, 2009). Internet access was available for 93% of the computers located in the classroom daily and for 96% of the computers that may be brought into the classroom (NCES, 2009). The ratio of students to computers in the classroom daily was 5.3 to 1 (NCES, 2009).

The same cannot, however, be said of students with special needs. Multiple studies have shown that students with disabilities, compared to their counterparts without disabilities, are less likely to have computer access both at home and at school (Kaye, 2000; NCES, 2006). In his study seeking to...

51.7%). Moreover, persons without disabilities are three times more likely to have internet access at home compared to those with disabilities (Kaye, 2000). At school, only 3.9% of students with disabilities reported having computer and internet access, compared to 20.6% of their non-disabled counterparts (Kaye, 2000).
These findings mirror those of another study by the National Center for Education Statistics, which showed that 91% on non-disabled children in nursery school and grades K-12 used computers both at home and at school, compared to 81% of their counterparts with disabilities (NCES, 2003). The gap is even more striking in the case of internet access -- 61% of non-disabled children reported having access to the internet at home and at school, compared to only 49% of those with disabilities (NCES, 2003).

These studies signify that nationally, special education students have less access to technology than their counterparts without disabilities both at home and at school. The researcher hypothesizes that one possible reason for this is the fact that stakeholders do not fully understand how the use of technology influences academic performance in the case of special needs students. Moreover, even those that understand this lack knowledge on the specific technological tools that they could use to maximize the learning outcomes of their students (Johnson, 2003).

In the literature review section, the researcher interacts with various studies and resources to determine: i) the effect of technology on the academic performance of learners with special needs, ii) the specific strategies that could be used to bridge the gap between students with disabilities and their non-disabled counterparts, and iii) the various tools that special education teachers could use to maximize learning outcomes for different learner groups.

Before embarking on the literature review, however, it would be prudent to first define some of the fundamental terms that will feature prominently in the subsequent sections of this discussion.

Table 1: Definition of Terms

Term Definition

Access A way of being able to use or get something (Merriam-Webster, 2014).

Technology Integration Education Instruction in how to use information technology to enhance classroom curricula

Information Technology Traditional computer applications (CAI, tools) and communication tools i.e., e-mail and www resources

Special needs The individual requirements (as for education) of a person with a disadvantaged background or a mental, emotional, or physical disability or a high risk of developing one.

Technology Manner of accomplishing a task, using technical processes, methods, or knowledge Minority. (Merriam-Webster, 2014).

Integrate To give or cause to give equal opportunity and consideration (Merriam, 2009).

Digital Divide The difference between people who have easy access to the internet and those who do not have access (Techopidia, 2014).

Title I Federally funded program that awards funding to schools based on factors such as the number of socioeconomically and physically disadvantaged students.

Traditional Of, relating to, or being a tradition (Merriam-Webster, 2014).

Literature Review

This review is divided into three distinct parts. The first part reviews literature on the effect of technology on learners' academic performance. The second section reviews literature on the various strategies that schools and school districts could adopt to increase access for special needs students and bridge the inherent gap. The final part reviews literature touching on the various tools that could be used to maximize outcomes for different learner groups

The Effect of Technology on Academic Performance

Multiple studies have shown a positive correlation between the effective use of technology and positive academic outcomes for students with special needs (Kulik, 1994; Butler-Kisber, 2013; Bartsch & Corben, 2003). In his study, Kulik (1994) utilized meta-analysis to collect and analyze the results of over 500 different studies on computer-based learning. He found that the use of computers individualizes the learning process, and accommodates the varying inclinations, knowledge systems, learning styles, interests and needs of learners (Kulik, 1994). The researcher concluded that special needs learners who utilized computer-based learning scored 64% on assessment achievements vs. the control group (learners who were not using computers), whose average score was 50% (Kulik, 1994). According to the study, students with special needs, just like their non-disabled counterparts, learn more within shorter periods, and tend to like their classes more when using computers and other mobile devices than when the using traditional techniques such as worksheets, books and blackboards (Kulik, 1994). Moreover, they tend to have more positive…