The Impact of a School Board’s One-to-One iPad Initiative on Equity and Inclusion

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of a school board’s one-to-one iPad initiative on equity and inclusion. Data include: questionnaires from Grade 7–9 students, teachers, and administrators; focus groups with inclusion coaches; and interviews with classroom teachers. The results show that the iPads have supported equity among students in the district; there is now less disparity in terms of access to technology on the basis of families’ socio-economic status. The results show that the iPads have also supported the academic and social inclusion of students with exceptionalities; themes that arose across the data sources include: differentiation of content, access to grade-level curriculum, the appearance of sameness, communication and collaboration among students with and without exceptionalities, and positive student affect. Negative implications included the potential for students who struggle with self-regulation to be negatively affected and the potential for the technology to be used in socially exclusionary ways.

Assistive Technology Education: Experiences of Preservice Special Education Teachers Within an Instructional Material Development Project

“…AT has been shown to influence the skills development of SWD (Kirkpatrick et al, 2017). Congruent to the published literature, the PSETs in the current study asserted that AT improved the mathematical skills (Ok et al, 2020; Xin et al, 2017), reading skills (Ronimus et al, 2019), and language and communication skills (Ferreira, Travassos, Sampaio, & Pereira-Guizzo, 2013; Kamalı Arslantaş et al, 2021) of their students, as well as their independent living skills (Ok, 2018; Parette & Stoner, 2008).…”

Integrating Assistive Technology Into a Teacher Preparation Program

“…In academic areas, AT devices enhance learning opportunities for SWD, supporting educational activities in the areas of writing, math, and reading by increasing access to the general education curriculum (Choi & Chan, 2015; Curcic & Johnstone, 2016; Lindeblad et al, 2017). In addition to academic learning, the use of AT influences the development of communication, cognition, and social skills for SWD (Kirkpatrick et al, 2017; Odom et al, 2015). When teachers implement AT devices in inclusive classrooms, SWD experience greater educational and developmental growth (Tamakloe & Agbenyega, 2017).…”