Two types of independent practice activities to improve accuracy of pre-service teachers' measurement of oral reading fluency (ORF) were contrasted. Forty pre-service teachers, enrolled in an introductory special education course, received instructor-delivered classroom instruction on measuring ORF. After lecture and guided practice, participants…

An alternating treatments design with a best treatments phase was used to compare two active student response (ASR) conditions and one on-task (OT) condition on the acquisition and maintenance of social studies facts during computer-assisted instruction. Each week for six weeks, five students were provided daily computer-assisted instruction on 21…

Universities currently are exploring an array of instructional media to facilitate the delivery of instruction. Consensus from the studies indicates that there is no significant difference in the achievement of students who participate in traditional or online coursework. However, little research has compared traditional learning with the new…

Research on children with normal hearing shows that the word-processed narratives they produce are better than their hand-written narratives. Hearing children come to school with prior experience in narrating stories, and in school they learn to transfer this to written narrative form. However, children who are deaf and hard of hearing have less…

Often, specialists in the field of Assistive Technology (AT) are presented with the challenge of teaching learners to utilize AT in order to increase, maintain, or improve their capabilities. Despite best efforts, rates of AT abandonment are alarmingly high. Understanding the factors that may influence an individual's choice to utilize AT may…

This article discusses how one professional development program (STAR Tech) used communities of practice to help teachers help each other integrate technology tools into the curriculum to benefit students with and without disabilities. This case study focused on the experience of one team member, a third grade teacher of an inclusive classroom.…

This paper analyzes the intersection of technology and diversity in classrooms with reference to the implications of the inequity of access and usage for under-represented groups including low-income, minority students, students from culturally diverse backgrounds, students with disabilities, and female students. Strategies at national and…

With the increasing complexity of schools and society, there is great need for expanded understanding of the many dimensions of diversity within the field of assistive technology (AT). The question that lies before us is how has diversity been examined in AT research and literature? Following a research synthesis method similar to Summers (1985)…

While the culture of typical Millennial students, those born after 1978-82, is increasingly recognized as being different1

This article addresses three emerging problems in special education: (a) new learning environments with different teaching styles, (b) equity in access to assistive technology (AT), and (c) an on-going infusion of new AT opportunities within special educational environments. Instructions for designing and creating concept maps are presented as a…

This study investigated the effectiveness of the CD, Families, Culture and AAC, as a culturally sensitive teaching tool for students enrolled in a speech-language pathology AAC course. Students enrolled in the course were divided into three learning format groups that (a) viewed the CD and engaged in learning challenges independently, (b) viewed…

A survey of 300 technology teachers in Finnish primary schools received 212 responses indicating that woodworking was a predominant activity and the design-based teaching method was most common. Age, education, and experience of teachers was not related to technology-education practice. Familiarity with technological equipment was not considered…

A Delphi panel of 19 technology teachers/administrators reached consensus on 25 quality indicators for technology education. Similarities with a Maryland study and with the Technology for All Americans project were found. Results may be used to establish program benchmarks. (SK)

Before and after formal instruction, 140 elementary school children answered questions designed to elicit their concept of structural stability. A three-year follow-up showed they tended to retain useful ideas and discard those less useful over time. Their information sources included external as well as school experiences. (SK)

School subjects are not the same as the forms of inquiry that produce their underlying knowledge base, and the existence of conceptual structure does not automatically legitimize subjects. Beyond process and content approaches is the central ethos of a subject; for technology education, tools, materials, and ideas are at the core and students are…