This document discusses how technology has impacted special education in three key areas. First, it describes how digital note takers have helped visually impaired students take notes independently. Second, it discusses a reading program that uses technology to monitor student progress and motivate struggling readers. Third, it outlines a social network for special education teachers to share ideas, lessons, and apply for grants to further develop their teaching. Overall, the document argues that advances in technology have improved education for special needs students.

1. By: Jessica Buettner W200 Technology Transforming Special Education

2. How have technological advances impacted the special education field? How has technology impacted visually impaired students? How has technology impacted students who are struggling to read? How has technology impacted special education teachers? Conclusion Works Cited

3. How Has Technology Impacted Visually Impaired Students? “ HumanWare Launches Portable Note taker for Blind Students” In this article, the author reports about a digital note taker called BrailleNote Apex. The BrailleNote is designed to help visually impaired students take notes. The device is very small and lightweight, making it easy to carry around and also allows for web access and email retrieval.

4. How Has Technology Impacted Visually Impaired Students? Some extra features of the BrailleNote include… Plug and play visual display User replaceable battery Enhanced support for large documents and media files

5. Personal Reflection I think that this is a great piece of technology for visually impaired students. Not only are the students able to retain information learned in the classroom, they are also engaged in the learning process by having to type things out on the BrailleNote. Just as teachers say it is good for the memory to physically write down notes, it is probably just as useful for a visually impaired student to type their notes into this machine.

6. How Has Technology Impacted Students Who Are Struggling To Read? “ Breaking Through Reading Barriers” This article documents the results from a Tennessee elementary school that has used a technology based reading program through the Renaissance Learning program. The program is a multi-tiered approach to helping struggling readers. A student’s progress in reading is monitored at different stages and the program determines if the student needs help in the specific area.

7. How Has Technology Impacted Students Who Are Struggling To Read? As part of the program, students set goals for reaching certain reading levels and how much time they would spend reading. Teachers conducted frequent conferences with students in order to monitor their progress. A fourth grade teacher said that she experienced a new phenomenon: Students who had been reluctant to read were now excited about reading new books!

8. Personal Reflection I found this to be such an uplifting article! Not only did it talk about the reading program itself, but the author also provided testimony proving that it had worked for this school! Just the simple fact that it got the students excited about reading makes me want to learn more about this program. This program may become useful to me in the future.

9. How Has Technology Impacted Special Education Teachers? “ PCI Partners With Social Network To Aid Special Ed Teachers” This article talks about the joining of social network We Are The Teachers (WAT) with special education resources provider PCI Education in order to create a place for special education teachers to share their ideas and lesson plans. A community with WAT was created for special education teachers that includes forums, blogs and other social networking tools.

10. How Has Technology Impacted Special Education Teachers? Through these forums, teachers can also apply for specialized grants and submit project ideas for a chance to win money towards their projects. So, not only is this a place for teachers to communicate and share ideas, they can also further the development of their classroom and curriculum, ultimately impacting the children they teach.

11. Personal Reflection I love the idea of being able to communicate with other teachers from around the world. I think that the people around you are always a good source for new ideas and I can only imagine what kind of help you would be able to get from a place that millions of teachers can access. Not only do I think this will help the teachers, but I think students will also experience the affects of this website. Teachers may be able to gain other tools in order to help students that they couldn’t before.

12. Conclusion Throughout this semester we have been working on understanding how technology impacts the education field. For this assignment, I wanted to see how technology specifically impacts the special education field. After doing this research, I believe that the advances in technology have paved a way for a better and more equal education for special education students. There are now special devices that allow visually impaired students to take notes along with their classmates, there are tools to pinpoint when a child needs help in reading and there are also places for special education teachers to share their experience and methods with other teachers. Although there is still room for improvement, I think that all of these things will result in a better overall education for special education students.

13. Works Cited Aronowitz, S. (2009, October 19). PCI Partners with Social Network To Aid Special Ed Teachers . The Journal . Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/10/19/pci-partners-with-social-network-to-aid- special-ed-teachers.aspx Harrison, D. (2009, November 19). HumanWare Launches Portable Note taker for Blind Students . The Journal . Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/11/19/humanware-launches-portable-notetaker-for- blind-students.aspx McCrea, B. Breaking Through Reading Barriers . The Journal . Retrieved December 7, 2009, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/08/27/breaking-through-reading-barriers.aspx