Essay on Technology Use for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Samantha Light, grade 1 teacher at St. Juans catholic elementary in Toronto, Ontario noticed that her students learn better when they use technology, such as iPads. Light wants to make learning more enjoyable not only for her students, but kids everywhere, as she thinks it will make students want to participate in their teachers lessons more.

With informational technology such as laptops, tablets, kindles, and iPads being more and more prominent in education like high school and college, it opens many doors to new possibilities of learning. Now it obviously has some negative outcomes like bullying and students being unable to acquire certain technology for school, but these negative situations all have solutions to make them positive. Informational technology lets students connect with teachers in new ways outside of just the classroom.

One day during algebra we were learning a new and difficult way to solve an algebra problem. I didn’t know how to do the homework, so I used the internet to teach myself,the website went through step-by-step and taught me and I was able to finish and get all the right answers on my homework. Technology can be a huge positive to someone's learning experience. Every student should be allowed to have a device in the classroom because it allows faster information, different teaching techniques, and teaches you how to find the right information out of many answers .

For many teachers introducing iPads in a primary classroom is a daunting task. Many educators are hesitant to take the leap to using iPads for instruction in a primary classroom (Getting & Swainey, 2012). The research of Dhir, Gahwaji, & Nyman found it is not surprising, that eight and nine year old children are considered technologically savvy. Children learn differently with technology. Certain skills such as problem solving, exploratory learning, collaboration, and teamwork skills are enhanced through the use of technology (2013). Shifflet,Toledo, & Mattoon found in their research, preschoolers were quite successful with iPads and even at a young age, the use of technology enhances the educational experience. Mattoon discovered four surprises in introducing touch tablets (similar to an iPad) to her preschool class, collaborations, digital citizenship, cooperation, and connection to the real world (2012). iPads also increase engagement, support multiple means to access curriculum, and enhance assessment practices for all ages of students (Government of Alberta, 2011). Consequently, the benefits of incorporating an iPad into a primary classroom are evident, increasing engagement, cooperation, and enhancing students learning is supported through use of the iPad.

The author provided a literature review of the popularity of use of the iPad in the classroom, among students with or without disabilities. The review found that students with disabilities had greater engagement and behavioral response rates when using iPads and teaching applications on the iPads as opposed to more traditional methods of teaching. Through this background knowledge, the author sets up her research proposal.

The teachers found the use to be positive and the students enjoyed using them for the lessons. As stated in the article, we are becoming a technology driven society and we use technology on a daily basis; using technology in the classroom to assist student learning only makes sense (Retter, Anderson, & Kieran, 2013). I believe that if students are interested in using the IPad 2, they will be more willing to learn. This technology is never going away so we might as well put it to good use in the classroom and teach students how to use it

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of many developmental disabilities that affect students learning. In fact, in the United States, Autism is the fastest-growing severe developmental disorder (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Also, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 68 children and the prevalence in boys is 1 in 42 children (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Furthermore, Autism Spectrum Disorders also affects the way a child learns and over the years, several teaching strategies have been developed to help teachers to effectively educate students with Autism. Research has also been conducted to develop and test new teaching strategies for Autism and continues in playing an important role in the education of students with Autism.

Neely, L., Rispoli, M., Camargo, S., Davis, H., & Boles, M. (2013). The effect of instructional use of an iPad® on challenging behavior and academic engagement for two students with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(4), 509-516.

Technology can hold over 1,000 books and have new ways to teach the kids over whatever subject they need. 81% of K-12 teachers believe that "tablets enrich classroom education." The survey of technology in the classroom by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) also concluded that 77% of teachers found technology to "increase student motivation to learn." "Benefits of Technology in the Classroom." With the internet having millions of websites that can provide fun and educational sites like Cool math and Kahoot and with the internet growing, there are a lot of things kids can do to have fun and learn and plus there are thousands of education and tutoring applications on tablets, so teachers can tailor student learning to an individual style/personality instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to fun

Teachers can use technology within the classroom to assist with providing instructional guidance and education to students. However, the use of technology in the classroom has both its advantages and

Also teachers will be able see where each individual student is at in learning and which one needs help by monitoring their progress during class and on interactive sites like Khan Academy. The math dictionaries on the iPads will assist the students when they hear unknown vocabulary during class or during math videos and this will help to strengthen scores on math that require math jargon. Graphing calculators on the iPads will help to save money from having to buy new calculator each year that continue to be broken. Also with the use of iPads to work out math problems will help save money on materials such as a large amount of paper and toner that is spent to make the worksheets. E-textbooks can also be installed onto the iPads, which can save lots of money spent on textbooks each year for buying newer versions or broken textbooks. This will also help to save room in classrooms and less for the students to carry from no textbooks. There are so many benefits from having iPads in classrooms that it outweighs the negatives, such as budgets.

Education has found its way into the loop of technology. Teachers are using ipads and laptops during class time to help conduct experiments, or share a presentation. This is allowing the students to gain instant access to the information they are seeking. Students also receive the opportunity to complete their homework online and print off their assignments instead of just using paper and pencil. Another pro for Technology in Education, there are countless sources out there which help enhance learning. In one research conducted, they compared the performance of teaching kids how to read a clock. One group was coached by an online app, another was shown by a toy clock, and the last group was trained by a drawing example. The results revealed that the children that were taught by the toy and app exceeded the paper drawing group (Galetzka).

Could you imagine trying to complete a group assignment without GoogleDcos or studying for an exam without Quizlet in today’s educational environment? Throughout the past few years, technology has created a known presence in America’s school systems. Whether it be used for home, testing, or as supplemental material for a lesson plan, technology has made itself to be detrimental to our student’s education and learning. Students who it tends to impact the most though are those in special education classrooms. Where a mainstream student may be utilizing his or her iPad for fun or educational games, special education students are using them to help learn easier. There are many great arguments against iPad use in the classroom such as the fact that students may not have internet or iPad access outside of the classroom, may not be able to handle an iPad appropriately, or distinguish academic time from free time. However, by viewing the situation of students with a disability from an ecological perspective, we are forced to take note of how these students interact with their surrounding environments and how those environments can be adapted to fit the needs of those students. This means providing aid and support to those students. According to various research, students in special education settings will be able to maximize their learning potential by utilizing iPads in their classrooms. Quick (n.d.) helps state iPad use in special education classrooms improves participation

Bill Gates once said, “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important” (Rao 2016 Pars). Many school districts are pushing for iPad in its schools now a days. This is a problem because iPads can possible damage students’ brains, and have been ineffective in teaching and in many other ways too. According to Susan Greenfield, iPad increase school budget and a major distraction during schools, increases the time a student spends on a screen, which is bad (Greenfield N.D.). The solutions to replacing iPad in schools is to reduce the amount of time spent on iPad, find cheaper alternatives to iPad, and use ways to engage students to prevent them from being distracted. In conclusion, iPad use in schools should not be happening because it is a major problem in our educational systems.

The use of iPads and its’ applications will allow children and teens to grow as a student and participate with the entire class. In fact, Huffington Post found that, “Technology has proven to accelerate struggling students close the learning gap between those at the back of the class and the A-students. In fact, 78 percent of Kindergarten through Middle School teachers agree that technology has had a positive impact on their classroom -- and that 's just the start” (Hendricks, 2013). This highlights the fact that students already are and will continue to excel in the classroom by the use of modern technology; i.e. the iPad. Also, companies around the world have updated the their way of doing business actions like budgeting, presentations, purchases, record keeping, etc. by applying modern technology. Allowing students to be exposed to modern technology at an early age will only benefit them in their future career paths.