Technology and Literacy for Students with Disabilities

Abstract

Literacy is an important part of our culture, providing access to a wide variety of information and opportunities. A myriad of assistive and instructional technologies exist to allow and enhance literacy activities for students with different abilities and needs. This chapter presents the TECH framework that can be used to guide school personnel in making decisions of which technology to choose: Targeting the students' needs and the learning outcome; Examining the technology choices, then deciding what to use; Creating opportunities to integrate technology with other instructional activities; and Handling the implementation and monitoring the impact on students’ learning. Four scenarios for using TECH framework for literacy goals are described, including: (a) choosing and using mobile apps for literacy development of young students with developmental disabilities; (b) adapting curriculum literacy materials for students with significant intellectual disabilities; (c) enhancing writing for students with learning disabilities; and (d) providing and integrating accessible instructional materials (AIM) for students with print disabilities. This chapter provides technology implementation guidelines as well as suggestions of numerous technology tools available to support literacy teaching and learning for all students.