Assistive Technology: Supporting Children with Disabilities to Develop Literacy and Numeracy

This post I am focussing on Assistive Technology (AT) and the role it plays in supporting children with disabilities or learning difficulties, to develop and progress literacy and numeracy skills. I had three key readings this week:

1. Parette, H. P. & Stoner, J. B. (2008). Benefits of assistive technology user groups for early childhood education professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 313-319.

2. Parr, M. (2012). The future of text-to-speech technology: How long before it’s just one more thing we do when teaching reading? Social and Behaviour Sciences, 69, 1420-1429.

3. Räsänen, P., Salminen, J., Wilson, A. J., Aunio, P., & Dehaene, S. (2009). Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills. Cognitive Development, 24, 450-472.

I also came across an article from earlier this year (2013) called “Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology” by L. Plowman and J. McPake. The article talks about seven common myths around children and technology, including the thought around technology hindering social interaction and technology dominating children’s lives, and then further on suggests what it means then for us as educators. I have created the title as a link, if you have time I recommend you check it out.

According to Parette and Stoner (2008), AT is a fairly broad term used to describe any item, piece of equipment, or product system that can be used in a manner for the purpose of maintaining or improving the functional abilities of a child with a disability. It is clear to me that AT is a crucial tool in meeting the educational and overall developmental needs of learners with difficulties throughout their education. AT devices can be electronic or non-electronic. Three main types of AT, ranging from “low” to “high” technology, can be used.

Low technology.

Low technology strategies do not involve any type of electronic or battery-operated device. These strategies typically include low-cost and easy-to-use equipment, such as dry-erase boards, clipboards, laminated photographs, photo albums, three-ring binders, PECS, etc. The strategies can be used to enhance expressive and receptive communication skills, especially for children with autism.

 

Images: http://www.pecsaustralia.com/index.php

Mid technology.

These strategies use battery-operated devices or basic electronic devices. Examples of mid technology are voice output devices, timers, and calculators. They are primarily used as a means to support expressive communication and enhance classroom participation, focus attention on various skill areas, and assist in the development of social skills.

Google Images: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=computer+assistive+technology   

High technology.

High technology strategies are complex technological support strategies. They typically involve high-cost equipment, such as computers and adaptive hardware (touch window, software, and trackballs), accessory equipment (digital cameras and scanners), video cameras, and complex voice output devices.

Google Images: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=computer+assistive+technology   

The idea of having technological machines facilitate learning or even carry out instruction is far from a new one.  According to Räsänen et al (2009), the first patents for technology based educational tools in mathematics were accepted already in the 1800s, but without doubt there have been many ancestral assistive technologies for learning and doing calculations using finger systems, pebbles, tallies and abacuses from the beginning of numerical human life!

According to Parette and Stoner (2008), one of the great benefits of introducing AT in early childhood settings is the immediate impact on children’s learning and development around literacy and numeracy. A key influencer is through the impact AT has on children’s attending behaviours. Attending is a prerequisite skill for most learning that occurs in early childhood education settings; not attending leads to children missing out on vital information and cues for developing literacy and numeracy skills. Parette and Stoner (2008) mention how teachers discovered immediately that use of large screen projection of activities resulted in an increase in attending behaviours. They stated that “once children’s attention was focused on the large screen, relevant content could be presented to teach or expand targeted literacy skills” (p.316).

Parette and Stoner (2008) also discusses about AT supporting young children with challenging behaviours, to encourage the development of literacy and numeracy skills, through a range of visual strategies. Such strategies include choice charts, first/then boards, routine activity sequences, cue cards, turn-taking charts, reminder charts, and feeling charts. Use of visual schedules have resulted in children adhering to classroom rules, following sequences in tasks, and demonstrating appropriate social behaviours across contexts, all of which play key roles in be a literate and numerate participant in society.

One of the readings I looked at this week was in regards to text-to-speech technology (Parr, 2012). Text-to-speech technology (TTST) is a form of assistive technology, where its primary purpose as a reading intervention is to support students who struggle to read or have an identified reading disorder. TTST transforms print texts of any format (book, magazine, newspaper, website) into text that is read aloud by a computer synthesized voice. TTST simply decodes, thus reducing the attentional demands required of readers to solve the sounds of individual letters, store this information, put it together into words, sentences, and then finally comprehend. TTST may assist or augment task performance in some reading tasks, whereas in others they are used to compensate for, circumvent, or bypass reading deficits (e.g., phonemic and phonic awareness). TTST continues to be viewed as an intervention for a select few, not as a comprehensive reading strategy to be offered to all.

According to Parr (2012), given the range of instructional reading supports already in place in our classrooms, and the rapid pace of technological advancement and the availability of TTST on cell phones, iPads, computers, built into free e-readers, it is now, more than ever, critical to investigate the possibilities offered by new technologies such as TTST. The use of TTST in the classroom is no different than reading aloud or reading collaboratively, both of which are offered as levels of support in a comprehensive reading approach. With TTST, students must follow along, listen carefully, and bring all of their reading strategies to the experience in order to read the text with appropriate expression and intonation, ultimately allowing them to make meaning. While not doing the reading work for students, TTST can facilitate and extend reading strategies and processes in the classroom; for example, word solving, expression, fluency, response, etc.

It is essential that there is careful training implemented for us educators and our students on the use of AT, in order to ensure that it is used correctly. I also believe AT should be incorporated into every aspect of daily living in order to improve the functional capabilities of children with difficulties or disabilities. Thus, it is important to consider that all AT devices, from “low” technology to “high” technology, always be individualized to meet the unique needs of any child. Most important, the optimal goal of AT strategies is to increase the child’s independent functioning skills by decreasing the amount of direct support needed from another person.

This may not be relevant to my posts topic of technology, however, I wanted to share this list of principles around reading intervention, which Parr (2012, p.1422) collaborated from a variety of sources.

Successful reading interventions recognize that:

- The success of intervention is dependent on an effective classroom program;

- Literacy learners need to understand the purposes of literacy;

- Reading for meaning should be at the heart of reading instruction;

- Intervention should be frequent, regular, and of significant duration to make a difference;

- Intervention should not be delivered from a one-size-fits-all perspective, but should instead be individualized;

- The student-teacher ratio should be kept small – student groupings are flexible and responsive to student need;

- Flexibility and fluency in reading are major goals;

- Independent and strategic problem-solving using a range of cueing systems is a major goal;

- Scaffolding during book introductions sets students up for success in independent reading;

- Texts must be matched to student level and interest;

- Word learning activities (making and breaking words; phonemic awareness, phonics) help readers to become familiar with how print functions.

- Writing words is a natural extension of reading words and aids in the word identification process;

- Learners need frequent opportunities to read and write in meaningful and authentic contexts;

- Learners need to build confidence and come to see themselves as readers and writers;

- Assessment is meaningful, practical, efficient, ongoing, and connected to instructional goals;

- Cooperation and collaboration between home and school enhances success and reduces failure;

- Teachers are aware of a range of instructional activities and can select and sequence activities appropriately;

- Teacher training is meaningful, practical, and ongoing;

- Teachers believe in the ability of each learner to read successfully.

      Reference:

      Parette, H. P. & Stoner, J. B. (2008). Benefits of assistive technology user groups for early childhood education professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 313-319.

      Parr, M. (2012). The future of text-to-speech technology: How long before it’s just one more thing we do when teaching reading? Social and Behaviour Sciences, 69, 1420-1429.

      Räsänen, P., Salminen, J., Wilson, A. J., Aunio, P., & Dehaene, S. (2009). Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills. Cognitive Development, 24, 450-472.