Leveraging information technology literacy to enhance college and career readiness for secondary students with disabilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND:In the 21st century, information technology (IT) literacy is crucial for all students, and may better prepare students with disabilities for transition to postsecondary employment or education. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the potential of IT literacy embedded into an online transition curriculum is explored in the context of secondary special education. The curriculum aligns with Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts that are relevant to reading comprehension, writing, as well as searching for and analyzing sources of information online. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was utilized in six high schools. RESULTS: Findings show that intervention group students improved in IT literacy; whereas, comparison group students did not make similar gains. CONCLUSION: Implications for embedding transition services into specific courses and curricula for secondary students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are discussed.

Increasing College Entrance Testing Vocabulary for Secondary Students with High-Incidence Disabilities

“…Overall, research is limited as to the effectiveness of computerized graphic organizers. Results from this study provide validation regarding the use of instructional technology, specifically, CBGO to improve vocabulary acquisition, which is an integral component of reading comprehension for secondary students with high-incidence disabilities educated in the 21 st century (Gajria, Jitendra, Sood, & Sacks, 2007;Malcolm & Roll, 2017;Lombardi et al, 2017).…”

“…As a result, both teachers and administrators are looking outside the proverbial box for more effective means of closing the gap and improving student performance. Consequentially, as the 21 st century marches on and assistive technologymore specifically, instructional technologybecomes more ubiquitous, it begins to take a greater position on the educational platform (Lombardi et al, 2017;Malcolm & Roll, 2017). This, combined with students' seemingly innate enthusiasm for electronic devices and computerized devices, have caused educators to rush and create more modern hightech versions of traditional evidence-based strategies such as graphic organizers and other direct instruction techniques, but little evidence exists to measure their effectiveness (Kennedy et al, 2014).…”

“…Graphic organizers, albeit not electronic in nature, have been proven to promote this cause (Ae-Hwa, Vaughn, Wanzek, & Wei, 2004;Ausubel, 1963;Gajria, Jitendra, Sood, & Sacks, 2007;McMackin & Witherell, 2005;Singleton & Filce, 2015). With the emphasis of rigor in education and, thus, the cognitive demand placed upon students steadily increasing, the challenge placed before students is accumulating (Kim et al, 2017;Lombardi et al, 2017;Malcolm & Roll, 2017;Vaughn et al, 2015). To this end, teaching vocabulary is not only vital, but is a key component in the success of students with disabilities at the secondary level (Vaughn et al, 2015;Malcolm & Roll, 2017;Watson et al, 2012).…”

“…Even though the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 both mandate improving efforts for students with disabilities as well as the consideration and appropriate inclusions of effective use of technology, there is very little research to support this combined effort (Kennedy et al, 2014;Kuder, 2017, Lombardi et al, 2017. According to a recent meta-analysis of the literature on this topic by Ciullo and Reutebuch (2013), twelve studies met both criteria and of those, and only eight of the twelve centered on students eligible for services under the category of specific learning disabilities in secondary schools (grades 6-12) albeit, these eight did render positive results.…”

Australian Strategic Partnerships in Remote Education

“…Technology has also been used to support the development of employment-focused skills in young people with disabilities (Damianidou et al, 2019). Assistive technology services are also widely used in post-secondary education for students with disabilities (Lombardi et al, 2017), though little is known about user experiences when AT interventions are applied in neurodiverse populations (Burne et al, 2011;Keefe & Copeland, 2011;Smith et al, 2009).…”