1. iVideo
Task
Rationale
By
T
Gray
NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
Part
A
Rationale:
Assistive
technology
for
students
with
vision
and
hearing
impairments
Children
with
special
needs
are
often
faced
with
a
multitude
of
obstacles
and
barriers
from
the
moment
they
step
into
a
classroom.
Childrens’
disabilities
typically
fall
under
one
of
three
categories;
Physical,
Sensory
or
Intellectual
(Foreman,
2008).
Whilst
specialised
schools
for
students
with
disabilities
are
still
available
in
NSW,
educators
have
pushed
for
more
support
in
promoting
inclusion
for
these
students
in
mainstream
schools.
The
NSW
Teachers
Federation
(2010)
stated
that
in
the
decade
1997-­‐2007,
the
number
of
children
with
disabilities
enrolled
in
mainstream
classes
rose
from
5000
in
1997,
to
26,
154
in
2007.
With
more
children
straying
from
traditional
‘special
schools’
there
has
been
an
increase
in
the
need
for
assistive
technology
in
mainstream
schools
across
Australia.
Assistive
(or
Adaptive)
technology
is
any
form
of
technology
that
enhances
students’
educational
performance.
Foreman
(2008)
states
that
the
use
of
assistive
technology
usually
involves
“overcoming
barriers
to
learning
through
improved
access
to
and
participation
in
learning
environments”
(p.
444).
Whilst
the
term
‘Assistive
Technology’
is
only
fairly
recent
in
education,
great
developments
have
been
made
since
its
introduction.
It
was
initially
introduced
to
assist
those
students
with
low-­‐
incidence
disabilities,
for
example
physical
disabilities
(Blalock,
cited
in
Wheaton
Shorr,
2005).
With
continual
upgrading
of
technology
taking
place,
assistive
technologies
have
become
available
for
many
more
students
such
as
those
with
hearing
and
vision
impairments,
learning
difficulties
and
behavioural
problems.
Assistive
technology
has
numerous
benefits
for
students
and
teachers
alike.
The
School
of
Public
Health
and
Health
Professions
at
the
University
of
Buffalo
(2005)
state
that
assistive
technology
‘…can
provide
both
routine
and
customized
access
to
the
general
curricula
for
students
with
disabilities’
(para.2).
Providing
‘customised
access’
to
the
standard
K-­‐6
curriculum
is
crucial
for
students
with
disabilities
attending
a
mainstream
school;
these
students
need
to
be
included
in
regular
classroom
activities
as
much
as
possible,
and
the
use
of
assistive
technologies
allow
opportunities
for
this
inclusion
to
occur.
In
my
digital
response,
I
have
chosen
to
focus
specifically
on
students
with
sensory
impairments
(hearing
and
vision
loss).
Children
with
these
impairments
often
face
the
greatest
challenge
in
becoming
an
included
member
of
their
class,
as
their
disabilities
require
much
more
attention
and
understanding
from
their
teachers
and
peers.
The
Royal
Institute
for
Deaf
and
Blind
Children
(2010)
state
that
by
approximately
the
age
of
five,
two
in
every
thousand
children
will
have
been
identified
with
hearing
loss.
Additionally,
they
state
that
“Vision
impairment
affects
more
than
one
in
2500
children
in
Australia”
(Royal
Institute
for
Deaf
and
Blind
Children,
2010,
para.
2).
Due
to
continual
breakthroughs
in
technology,
there
have
been
significant
improvements
to
Assistive
technologies
for
students
with
sensory
impairments
in
the
classroom
over
recent
years.
Devices
that
can
be
used
to
enhance
learning
include

2. iVideo
Task
Rationale
By
T
Gray
NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
screen
readers
and
screen
magnification
devices,
braille
readers,
picture
keyboards,
tape-­‐recorded
books,
hearing
aids,
text-­‐speech
devices
and
speech-­‐text
devices
(Foreman,
2008;
The
School
of
Public
Health
and
Health
Professions
at
the
University
of
Buffalo,
2005).
Furthermore,
devices
such
as
the
iPad,
iPhone
and
iPod
have
proven
to
be
beneficial
for
these
students
in
the
classroom.
Applications
such
as
‘iSayit’
prompt
students
to
type
text
which
can
be
translated
to
speech
and
saved
for
future
use.
Also,
‘Eye
glasses’
allows
students
to
magnify
anything
on
the
screen
up
to
6
times
its
original
size
(Sailers,
2010).
The
inclusion
of
these
technologies
in
the
classroom
can
be
extremely
beneficial,
if
used
correctly
and
effectively
by
the
teachers
of
the
students
with
sensory
impairments.
White,
Shelley
&
Donna
2003
(cited
in
Foreman
2008)
state
that
“successful
implementation
is,
to
a
large
extent,
dependent
on
the
knowledge,
skill
and
commitment
of
the
classroom
teacher.
The
main
aim
of
my
iVideo
is
to
empower
teachers
to
improve
their
knowledge
on
Assistive
technologies
and
their
skills
in
using
it,
to
improve
and
enhance
students’
learning
outcomes.
Although
most
universities
now
aim
to
improve
pre-­‐service
teachers’
knowledge
on
integrating
technology
into
the
classroom,
most
teachers
have
little
experience
in
using
Assistive
technologies
for
students
with
severe
disabilities
(Roblyer,
2004).
Smith,
Kelley,
Maushak,
Griffin-­‐
Shirley
and
Lan
(2009)
state
that
there
are
various
reasons
for
the
lack
of
use
of
Assistive
technologies
in
the
classroom.
These
include
but
are
not
limited
to;
lack
of
resources,
inability
of
educators
to
stay
up-­‐to-­‐date
with
ever-­‐changing
technologies
and
limited
time
for
organisation,
preparation
and
programming.
Whilst
these
issues
can
be
relevant
I
believe
educators
of
children
with
disabilities
have
the
responsibility
to
ensure
they
know
how,
when
and
where
to
use
these
technologies
and
this
needs
to
be
done
by
instilling
confidence
and
motivation,
something
I
hope
to
convey
strongly
through
my
iVideo.
Educational
blogger
Kathy
Shields
makes
a
valid
point
for
21st
century
teachers
to
consider;
“Instead
of
saying,
‘Stop
the
world,
I
want
to
get
off.’,
why
not
make
a
resolution
to
help
the
world
keep
spinning?”
(para.
1,
Shields,
2007).
In
using
these
technologies,
there
are
numerous
implications
for
regular
classroom
teachers.
Firstly,
having
a
student
with
a
sensory
impairment
in
a
mainstream
class
can
create
various
obstacles
such
as
inclusion
in
regular
learning
experiences,
individualized
attention
and
the
balance
between
activities
that
require
the
use
of
an
assistive
device
and
those
that
don’t.
Söderström,
Sylvia
and
Ytterhus,
Borgunn
(2010)
state
that
for
young
people
with
a
disability,
accessible
assistive
technology
“that
can
enable
interaction
with
their
peers,
regardless
of
time
and
place”
is
paramount.
Assistive
technologies
are
extremely
useful
and
beneficial
for
students
with
disabilities.
They
create
opportunities
for
independence,
allow
for
improved
productivity
and
break
down
social
barriers.
Furthermore,
it
should
be
recognized
that
knowledgeable
and
informed
teachers
are
crucial
in
ensuring
the
effective
use
of
these
devices
for
students
with
additional
needs.
Assistive
technologies
have
the
ability
to
change
a
child’s
life
and
a
child
should
be
given
that
opportunity,
regardless
of
their
background,
school,
teacher
or
peers.

3. iVideo
Task
Rationale
By
T
Gray
NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
Reference
List
Foreman,
P.
(2008).
Inclusion
in
action.
(2nd
ed.)
South
Melbourne,
Vic:
Cengage
Learning
Australia
NSW
Teachers
Federation.
(2010).
Special
education:
funding
does
not
match
growth.
Retrieved
February
20th
2011,
from
NSW
Teachers
Federation:
http://www.nswtf.org.au/edu_online/136/specedn.html
Wheaton
Shorr,
P.
(2005).
The
future
is
now.
Threshold,
winter
2005.
26-­‐30
(inclusive).
Retrieved
February
20th,
2011,
from
EBSCOhost.
University
of
Buffalo,
(2005).
Assistive
technology
training
online.
Retrieved
22nd
February,
2011
from
University
of
Buffalo:
School
of
Public
Health
and
Health
Professionals:
http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics.php
Royal
Institute
for
Deaf
and
Blind
Children
(2010).
Facts
list:
Deafness
and
Blindness.
Retrieved
February
22nd,
2011
from
Royal
Institute
for
Deaf
and
Blind
Children:
http://www.ridbc.org.au/resources/facts_list.asp#blindness
Sailers,
E.
(2010).
iPhone,
iPad,
iPod
Touch
Apps
for
(Special)
Education.
Retrieved
February
22nd,
2011
from
Austism
Behavioural
Intervention
Queensland:
http://www.abiq.org/autism_apps/iPhone_iPad_iPod-­‐touch_Apps_AUS.pdf
Roblyer,
M.D
(2004).
Integrating
educational
technology
into
teaching.
(3rd
ed.).
New
Jersey:
Pearson
Education,
Inc.

4. iVideo
Task
Rationale
By
T
Gray
NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
Smith,
D.
W.,
Kelley,
P.,
Maushak,
N.
J.,
Griffin-­‐Shirley,
N.,
&
Lan,
W.
Y.
(2009).
Assistive
Technology
Competencies
for
Teachers
of
Students
with
Visual
Impairments.
Journal
of
Visual
Impairment
&
Blindness,
103(8),
457-­‐469.
Retrieved
from
EBSCOhost.
Shields,
K.
(2007).
Rippling
pond:
Whatis?
What
is
it?.
Retrieved
February
24th,
2011
from
Rippling
Pond
Edu
Blogs:
http://ripplingpond.edublogs.org/2007/01/21/whatis-­‐what-­‐is-­‐it/
Söderström,
Sylvia
and
Ytterhus,
Borgunn.
(2010).
The
use
and
non-­‐use
of
assistive
technologies
from
the
world
of
information
and
communication
technology
by
visually
impaired
young
people:
a
walk
on
the
tightrope
of
peer
inclusion.
Disability
&
Society,
25:
3,
303
—
315.
Retrieved
from
EBSCOHost.