Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology

ISSN: 1748-3107 (Print) 1748-3115 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iidt20

Application of assistive technology in inclusive

classrooms

Walter Zilz & Yanhui Pang

To cite this article: Walter Zilz & Yanhui Pang (2019): Application of assistive technology
in inclusive classrooms, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, DOI:
10.1080/17483107.2019.1695963

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2019.1695963

Published online: 09 Dec 2019.

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DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2019.1695963

REVIEW

Application of assistive technology in inclusive classrooms

Walter Zilz and Yanhui Pang
Faculty in Exceptionality Programs, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Purpose: In recent years more and more students with disabilities are included in general education set- Received 11 August 2019
tings; there is an increased demand for assistive technology application to accommodate their special Revised 4 November 2019
needs in inclusive settings. This creates an atmosphere for studies on assistive technology applications in Accepted 18 November 2019
K-12 settings.
KEYWORDS
Method: This synthesis study reviewed research articles related to this topic in the past decade. Ten key Disability; assistive
words were used and relevant databases were searched. technology; literature
Results: Thirty articles were found. After sorting, reviewing and analyzing; the two authors used seven review; adaptive
research articles for the study on assistive technology applications in contemporary k-12 schools. equipment; education
Conclusion: The researchers that examined school aged children, all agreed that children with disabilities technology; classroom
would benefit from the use of assistive technology. However, they also agree that teachers are not pre- technology; special
pared to incorporate advanced technology in the classroom. The results also show that children with education; adaptive device;
physical disabilities in preschool may be too young to independently use advanced technology. teacher training

ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

 Students with severe disabilities often have limited interactions with same age peers. Technology can
provide a means to increase the quality and quantity of time interacting with young student’s peers.
Robotic technology has been proven to greatly assist with these interactions.
 In order for a student to maintain a rehabilitation program, they need to be engaged. Current tech-
nology promotes building recreational skills that lead to classroom skills, within entertaining and
engaging activities.
 Daily life skills can be impacted by severe disabilities. Assistive technology has been proven to assist
with these issues. Caregivers for children with autism reported improvement for life skills activities
using both low- and high-tech methods.

When children with disabilities are included in general education,
adaptations are needed to accommodate their physical, social,
learning needs. Adaptations can be any assistive technology (AT)
devices, that is; “any item, piece of equipment or product system,
whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or custom-
ized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities of a child with a disability” (Public Law 108–446,
Sec.602). AT plays a critical role in special education especially
when inclusive education is greatly advocated in recent years.
Recent research [1] shows that K-12 teachers utilised AT support
for students with variety of special needs.
Methods
The current study is a research synthesis. Studies published in the
past decade were collected. Search engine include Google
Scholar, ERIC, and a university owned data base. The university
data base has education source, which contains full text from
over 1,800 journals, and 550 books on early childhood to higher
education. Key words used for searching include “technology,
technology in education, technology training for teachers, assist-
ive technology, equipment in the classroom, technology in educa-
tion, technology effectiveness in the classroom, technology in
special education, and educational technology”. Ten relevant
articles are found. The majority of the articles did survey study of
educational technology usage in assisting everyday routine activ-
ities, social, or learning activities. Some studies also interview
caregivers, educators and professionals about how educational
technology supports students with disabilities physical accessibil-
ity, social interaction; and what kind of training they received that
help them to use these educational technology devices to assist
these students.
The search found thirty articles that appeared to meet the
criteria. Two special education faculty screened the articles and
realised twenty-three of them were conference proceedings, or
did not address the specific effects of technology use in the
classroom so they were not selected for the current research.
Eventually, seven articles were selected. The majority of
research focussed on what kind of assistive technology devices
are used, whether the AT are useful in assisting students with

CONTACT Walter Zilz wzilz@bloomu.edu Faculty in Exceptionality Programs, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, 400 east 2nd street, Bloomsburg, PA,
17815–9989, USA
Both Drs. Zilz and Pang are faculty in Exceptionality Programmes at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Zilz has research interest in adaptive technology,
autism, legal issues, and parental involvement in education programmes. Dr. Pang has research interest in early intervention, teaching strategies for young learners
from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, and quality early childhood education programmes.
ß 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 W. ZILZ AND Y. PANG
disabilities to develop independent skills, or to increase their
social interaction. There is one which studied multiple factors
that influence teachers’ choice of AT. Two faculty members
reviewed and analysed the seven articles and compared their
results, making sure there were no inconsistencies amongst
the research.
Results
Barriers and facilitators of at
Lersilp et al. [1] did a survey study of facilitators and barriers of
assistive technology and learning environments for students with
special needs in Thailand. Studied 116 students from nursery to
grade 12, the participants were selected using stratified random
sampling from four special education schools in Chiang Mai,
Thailand. The questionnaire applied International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of products and technol-
ogy, natural environment and human-made changes to the envir-
onment, support and relationships, attitudes, and services,
systems and policies, and the questionnaire contains questions
about products and technology, natural environment and human-
made changes to the environment, and support and relationships.
Results showed the majority of students with physical impair-
ments need AT for accessibility purpose, those with hearing
impairments use AT for communication purpose, however, stu-
dents with other disabilities did not need to “use it for culture,
recreation, or sports” [1, p. 4]. Many students had no opportunity
to “use highly functional mobility aids” [1, p. 4]. Some students
with intellectual disabilities and hearing impairment reported it is
unnecessary to “receive services from the assistant teachers” [1,
p. 5].
At use in Bulgaria
Yankova and Yanina [2] studied what types of assistive technol-
ogy devices are useful for students with mental retardation in
Bulgaria. Teachers were invited to evaluate utilisation of assistive
technology for students with mental retardation in the school and
learning process. The study summarised the situation in Bulgaria
and provided recommended list of assistive technology for stu-
dents with intellectual disabilities/mental retardation. For instance,
“the school teachers do not evaluate individual student with ID
special needs, due to the lack of knowledge on the assistive tech-
nology and technology for children and students with special
educational needs, as well as the application thereof in educa-
tion.” [2, p. 275]. A list of recommended assistive technology is
provided that target AT reading, writing, and maths. These tools
are very useful, inexpensive devices, and many of these tools are
homemade and easy to apply to address children’s special needs.
At support in art class
Coleman et al. [3] study examined the use of adaptations in art
class, and support art teachers received from special education
personnel. It is encouraging that 70% of art teachers provided
accommodations and use of adaptations (e.g., help with materials
management, materials for stabilisation, large-handled writing or
painting tools) and accommodations (e.g., extended time, hand-
over-hand/hand-under-hand assistance) for students with physical,
visual, severe, or multiple disabilities. The research recommended
incorporating adaptations that would be more meaningful for
these students with disabilities. The participating art teachers
“responded not being knowledgeable or feeling prepared about
AT” [3, p. 655]. They reported “not receiving support and training
about AT from any special education personnel” [3, p. 656].
Impact of at for fostering daily routine skills among children
with developmental delays
Alabbas and Miller [4] studied challenges children with autism or
other developmental delays experienced during daily routines
such as bathing, morning routine, meal time, or play, assistive
technology used that help with solving these problems, and chal-
lenges caregivers experienced in utilising these assistive technol-
ogy devices when assisting these individual students. The study
involved surveying caregivers of children with autism or other
developmental delays in Saudi Arabia and recruited caregivers
through purposive sampling. Web based survey was used to col-
lect caregivers’ experiences of using assistive technology to assist
children with autism or other developmental delays during typical
routines. Some participating caregivers reported finding solutions
to physical activities, playing, bathing and morning routines
through use of assistive technology such as low-tech (e.g., foam
grips) and high-tech (iPads, computer), however, “none of the par-
ticipants reported solutions to the leave-the-house routine” [4, p.
277]. Over a third of participants reported not competent in using
AT and shared training they received from workshop, attending
local expos or fairs, through libraries or even other caregivers.
What impact teachers’ decisions of at use in classroom
Liu et al. [5] study examined multi-factors impact including teach-
ers’ characteristics (e.g., teachers’ experiences with technology,
level of education, teacher experience and gender), school charac-
teristics (e.g., school technology support and access), and context-
ual characteristics on teachers’ use of technology in classrooms.
Results show teachers use of technology was “positively influ-
enced by teaching experience with technology, access to technol-
ogy in classroom and teacher confidence and comfort using
technology, while negatively influenced by years of teaching
experience and grade level” (p. 805).
Apps use in classroom
Lubniewski et al. [6] did a survey study of use of apps in support-
ing students with disabilities. One hundred and fifty one teachers
completed the survey about apps use in classroom settings. The
primary reason for apps use is content instruction. The partici-
pants either search for apps online or use apps recommended by
colleagues. The majority of the participating teachers felt it is
important to use apps. Several comments on the selected apps
include some apps have entertainment features, how effective the
tools are for student development, and whether the apps are use-
ful resources for educational professionals, as well as whether the
tools are “useful for collaborative planning between families, IEP
teams, and educators” (p. 325). In terms of what types of tools
used, three most frequently used apps are Starfall, Brain Pop Jr.,
and Mathmaster.
Robot use to enhance classroom integration
Encarnacao et al. [7] show positive outcomes from using an inclu-
sionary model and indicates that many hands on activities, that
are crucial to developing conceptual understandings, are currently
inaccessible to children with severe motor issues. The researchers
assembled a team of eighteen teacher, nine regular education

and nine special education. These teachers selected nine students
with severe motor issues. The students ranged in age from three
years three months to six years six months. The research team
investigated the variety of robot options, and incorporated both
virtual and actual robots in the study. This allowed the students
to practice navigating in a virtual classroom, or the
actual classroom.
The researchers designed tasks to develop the skills required
to participate in a regular classroom. When the student either,
grew bored, frustrated, or mastered the task; they would move on
to a new task. Students at this age were not very efficient at navi-
gating or performing these tasks. The researchers speculated that
due to the low age of the students, the lack of efficiency might
have been more of a motivation issue than an ability issue.
However, based on the teacher’s perspective, the use of
Integrated Augmentative Manipulate and Communication
Assistive Technology (IAMCAT) robots proved to have a benefit
for seven of the nine participants, the two youngest (three year
olds) did not benefit from this technology.
Conclusion
The sampling of research that was reviewed for this article
explored the use of technology with children whose ages ranged
from pre-school to grade 12. The composite of the results show
that children with physical disabilities in pre-school may be too
young to independently use advanced technology. Caregivers of
children with developmental delays have shown benefit within
the house, but there was no evidence of benefit outside of
the house.
The researchers that examined school aged children, all agreed
that children with disabilities would benefit from the use of assist-
ive technology. However, they also agree that teachers are not
prepared to incorporate advanced technology in the classroom.
They do not have the training to use current technology, or the
knowledge of what new technology is out there. This is true with
regular classroom teachers, as well as specialised teachers, such
as art teachers.
APPLICATION OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ZILZ & PANG 3
Liu et al. [5] indicated that the number of years a teacher has
been in the field is actually a negative indicator of their ability to
provide appropriate technology for children in the classroom. The
most obvious solution to these issues is to provide more technol-
ogy training for both future and current teachers. This would
require the school district and teacher training programmes to
provide a real system of training that stays current with the
advancing technology.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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