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For many of us, technology has become such an integral part of our lives, it has become invisible. Telephones, FAX machines, televisions, VCRs and video games, as well as computers, are seen as conveniences and necessities, no longer luxuries. I can't imagine how I would compose a simple letter or draft a dry bureaucratic 'memo' without this assistance, which has really become an extension of myself.
The impact of various technologies is crystal clear and ever present in the way we approach work related tasks and interact with one another on a day-to-day basis. The most familiar and readily recognizable commercial symbol by the average 18-month-old child in the United States, according to a recent study, is the MTV logo.
Only a little over 15 years ago, the first personal computers were introduced into the commercial marketplace. By today's standards they were slow and extremely limited in capacity. Early personal computers were an exception in the typical home, where television (along with morning cartoons!) was still the predominant technology of choice. As systems technologies advanced and the potential for computer use in educational settings was recognized, more families and schools began to acquire these devices.
In Maryland, many of the first computers included in programs for students with disabilities were put in place in school systems across the state less than ten years ago through a special project with the then New York-based National Christina Foundation (NCF). These computers had been used by businesses and other organizations before they were transferred to the schools. In their 'second lives,' sometimes they worked smoothly, and sometimes they vexed even the most computer literate. Still, this infusion of technology over a two-year period helped tremendously to increase the broad awareness of the potential benefits of technology of students with disabilities -- from infants to young adults. Since that time, the level of sophistication and knowledge of creative applications among users has grown tremendously. Our awareness of technology as including so much more than computers has greatly expanded, with the wide array of assistive and dedicated devices providing critical links and supports for the students who are at the center of the work in which we are engaged.
And what about the future? What technological horizons can we imagine? Creating a vision and working towards that vision is also an important part of our chosen work with students with special learning and developmental needs. As students with disabilities are included more and more in typical settings with non-disabled peers, so should assistive technologies be incorporated into the instructional mainstream to enhance opportunities for participation and interaction.
One vision I hold is of a technology rich early childhood environment, where assistive and instructional technologies are infused across the curriculum. In this kind of an early childhood setting (public school facility, community pre-school or child care center), previously separate programs are blended, such as early childhood special education, Head Start and EEEP (Extended Elementary Education Program). Children with disabilities and their typical peers share space and teachers. If this is not located in a child care setting, then linkages with child care providers are present to insure that the full-day needs of all children are met.
Technology paints a broad brush stroke here with switches, adapted toys, modified keyboards, a variety of communication alternatives, mobility devices, interactive software, mainstream commercial products (such as books with sound strips) -- all included -- from low tech to high tech.
Developmentally appropriate technologies are present for all students, expanding the teachers ability to support individual needs, and provide greater access by students with disabilities to learning, gaining independence, and having an essential means for being with typical peers. With this bridge in place, all children will have opportunities to play, laugh, make friends and learn with each other.
Maryland is fortunate to have tremendous resources available. Maryland Technology Assistance Program (MD TAP), now in its fifth year, provides a critical link between consumers and statewide technology resources, helping to ensure access to services and devices for everyone. MD TAP also provides essential technical assistance and training for professionals and consumers through a variety of workshop opportunities.
Another excellent Maryland resource is the Center for Technology in Education (CTE). CTE provides technical assistance and training in the evaluation of technology needs of students, working with parents and local school teams to determine how technology can best address the unique needs of a particular student. Included in its professional development activities is the annual Technology Summer Seminar Series, held each July. The series addresses a range of topics including instructional applications, communication devices and strategies, early childhood applications, technologies for transition, emerging literacy and multi-sensory applications.
Working in partnership with each other and the Maryland State Department of Education, MD TAP and CTE are part of a team endeavoring to bring a collective vision into an everyday reality for children and adults with disabilities. You are another critical member of that team. Working together we can move towards a reality of access and opportunity for all.
| Nancy Vorobey has dedicated seven years to teaching preschool special education, and spent one year in a hospital setting. She also spent two years in the private sector in technology-related fields. Since April 1991, she has been employed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Division of Special Education, in Baltimore Maryland. Her responsibilities include development and management of the Preschool Grant (section 619) component of the State Plan for Special Education. Nancy Vorobey also serves as Division of Special Education liaison for technology-related activities. |
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