Abstract
I am pleased to continue the fourth issue of Volume 37 with a special series focusing on the use of assistive and instructional technology in the rural classroom, within teacher preparation programs, and with practice in action. With the growth of instructional and assistive technology available, it is imperative that we keep abreast of current practices and research that expand possibilities for the students and teachers in rural regions of our world.
This series begins with, “Applying Systematic Instruction to Teach ELA Skills Using Fictional Novels via an iPad App.” Mims, Stanger, Sears, and White evaluated the effectiveness of an iPad app, which incorporates evidence-based practices such as constant time delay and system of least prompts, on the acquisition of targeted vocabulary and comprehension of four middle school students with significant intellectual and developmental disability. The authors share their findings, noting that participants improved performance, while also demonstrating minimal generalization and maintenance of targeted skills. The article concludes with limitations and implications for both future research and practice. In the second article by McKissick, Davis, Spooner, Fisher, and Graves, “Using Computer-Assisted Instruction to Teach Science Vocabulary to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability,” the authors provide the findings of their study, highlighting the benefits of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in teaching three middle school students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability content specific knowledge. The article includes implications for practice and suggestions for future research in teaching grade aligned course content. Thank you to both research teams for your great work in supporting students in rural areas through the use of assistive and instructional technologies and sharing the results with our Rural Special Education Quarterly audience!
The next article in the series offers insight into the development of an assistive technology resource for students with visual impairments (VI). Bin Tuwaym and Berry report in, “Assistive Technology for Students with Visual Impairments: A Resource for Teachers, Parents, and Student” that although students with VI need the incorporation of assistive technology in the educational setting to allow for independence and knowledge acquisition, there are many factors that challenge educators to do so effectively. Through an extensive literature review, the authors found that often teachers are lacking the knowledge to help best guide the determination of needed assistive technology supports. The authors developed a resource guide to support teachers as they seek to find the optimal technology to support students with VI. Thank you Drs. Bin Tuwaym and Berry for this very insightful examination into the need and creation of this wonderful resources for educators working with students with VI.
The following article in the series is a program description piece, “Beyond Preservice Special Educators: Embedding Assistive Technology Content Throughout a Teacher Education Program of Study.” King and Allen discuss the need for teacher preparation programs to provide preservice educators with the knowledge and skills needed to infuse technology into their classrooms. The authors present ways their university embedded instruction throughout both online and face-to-face courses to provide their teacher candidates with opportunities to interact and learn about the implementation, instructional practices, and potential with assistive technology using learning modules and professional development. The authors share specific learning activities offered in their courses as well as the assessment components. The authors conclude with a discussion of both the strengths and challenges of developing and implementing the modules and professional development experiences. Thank you, Drs. King and Allen, for this wonderful example of weaving assistive technology opportunities throughout your department’s course of study.
This special series concludes with a Practice in Action piece, “Using Assistive Technology to Generate Social Skills Use for Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders.” In this article, Murry describes how the use of video self-modeling supported students with emotional behavior disorder (EBD) to improve their social skills. The author shares how the student-created videos assisted the students as their sought to generalize social skills while in the general education classroom. The case study includes the steps to prepare the self-created videos as well as suggestions for practitioners desiring to implement this beneficial assistive technology support. Dr. Murry, thank you for this helpful view into your classroom and sharing the positive change you found with your students!
Again, I would like to thank all of the authors that contributed to this Special Series addressing the use of assistive and instructional technology in rural settings. I hope you enjoy this series and will find tips and resources that will assist you in serving students, fellow educators, and preservice candidates in helping students reach their potential with the support of assistive and instructional technology.
Kim K. Floyd, PhD
Special Series Editor, West Virginia University
Thank you to the guest editors, Kim Floyd and Michael Mayton, and contributing authors to this special series, “Using Assistive and Instructional Technology in Rural Settings.” In addition to our special series, this issue contains two articles addressing barriers to providing services to students and families in rural settings. In the first article, Barnard-Brak, Stevens, and Valenzuela report the results of a survey of special education directors on their perceptions of barriers to providing extended school year (ESY) services. Directors indicated four primary barriers to providing ESY. In addition, rural special education directors reported the barrier of difficulty in finding qualified personnel significantly more often than nonrural directors. In the second article, Duppong Hurley and Huscroft-D’Angelo detail a phone-based parent-to-parent support program (Parent Connectors) designed to improve parental engagement in their child’s education and mental health services. Parent Connectors is described along with preliminary outcomes and implications for rural communities.
I would like to thank all of the authors that contributed to Volume 37, Issue 4. We will continue our Special Series with new topics that include Alternative Teacher Preparation and English Learners with Special Needs in rural settings. I hope you enjoy this new issue and will be able to use some of the ideas in your own community of practice.