Embedded HLP - How to Teach
HLP 19
Use Assistive and Instructional Technology
Assistive and instructional technology are everywhere in our world – especially within the field of education. Every IEP is required to have a statement of needed assistive technology supports and these can also be included amongst the list of formal accommodations or modifications. Instructional technology can also be useful for supporting student learning. Guided by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) instructional design framework and equity lens, educators select and implement assistive (AT) and instructional technologies (IT) to support the needs of students with disabilities. The process of AT selection and evaluation should follow the Student-Environment-Task-Tool (SETT; Zabala, 2005) approach. Educators, in collaboration with AT specialists, select and use augmentative and alternative communication devices and assistive and instructional technology products to promote student learning and independence. They evaluate new technology options given student needs; make informed instructional decisions grounded in evidence, professional wisdom and experience, and students’ IEP goals; and advocate for administrative support in technology implementation.
| Download Leadership Guide | This resource is intended for school leaders (Administrators, Teacher Coaches, Mentors, etc.) to support their teams in effectively implementing the high-leverage practices (HLPs) in the classroom. |
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HLP 19 Information
There are volumes of books (e.g., Bouck, 2016) and journals (e.g., Journal of Special Education Technology) dedicated to HLP 19. Attempting to summarize the literature base for this HLP is possibly the most difficult of all the HLPs, given its broad nature. The Innovations in Special Education Technology (ISET) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) exists to advance knowledge and products in this space (www.isetcec.org). The Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network (UDL-IRN) is also a leader of scholarship and professional learning (https://udl-irn.org). CAST (https://www.cast.org) is another longstanding source of high quality products, research, and dissemination.
As evidence of the impact of technology, the U.S. Department of Education via the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has also made substantive investments in the development and dissemination of technology for students with disabilities. The Stepping Up Technology competition, for example, housed within the Education Technology, Media, and Materials program, provides resources to teams to develop, implement, and evaluate impact on students with disabilities and their teachers (https://osepideasthatwork.org/resources-grantees/program-areas/educatio…). Other grant mechanisms through the Institute for Education Sciences’ National Center for Special Education Research also exist and provide resources for development and testing of new ideas intended to support outcomes for students with disabilities (https://ies.ed.gov/ncser/). OSEP also recently released guidance on AT use for students with disabilities (https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-files/at-guidance/). In summary, there is a deep and wide evidence base for HLP 19.
As noted above, the overwhelming scale of HLP 19 and technology in general makes it difficult to narrow down into a concise list of omnipresent properties and recommendations. However, the broadness of this HLP also grants substantial flexibility to the creative and dedicated educator seeking to make instruction and settings culturally inclusive and supportive for students. For example, AAC devices can be loaded with phrases and language that reflect the student’s preferences, background, or culturally inclusive pedagogies and practices (CIPP). Images used within instructional presentations can be drawn from sources that reflect a range of cultures and interpretations. Videos shown to students can be selected or created to ensure a diversity of voices and ideas are shown. And technology also possesses the capacity to present content to students in their home language, when appropriate. Technology options help bring family members into the fold for better understanding and participating in students’ education. Generative artifical intelligence (AI )options are currently known to be culturally biased, but with time we expect this limitation to improve. In summary, the door is wide open for HLP 19 to support the culturally inclusive needs of all students.