Tips for Helping Students with Disabilities Get the Most Out of Your Gen Ed Tech Class
Students have such a wide range of abilities that it can be very challenging to include something that is meaningful for every student. Students with disabilities are often included in general education technology class, but may struggle with certain tasks. Here are a few ideas for how to help your students who have support needs reach their potential with technology.
Support Student IEPs
For SPED students I like to work directly off their IEP to support their goals. Focus on the skills needed to reach the IEP goal(s). Maybe start with one goal of each student and find a tech activity that practices it. Keep doing the same thing until they’ve achieved their goal and then move on. It makes planning a lot easier and then you’re also helping out their teachers.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out how to support their IEP with technology, you might be able to get suggestions. The student’s Speech and Language Pathologist or a district Assistive Technology Specialist are good resources.
Familiarize Yourself with Assistive Technology
If the student has a Speech Tablet, find out if you can spend some time familiarizing yourself with it or even add more to it. You can often work with them on iPad apps installed by their SLP and SPED teacher as well.
To help with logging in, try using color coded login in cards. It’s basically an upside down L with dots to show the red, yellow, green, and purple rows. A quick Google search will even get you free templates! You don’t have to mark your keyboards, just make “login helpers” out of cardstock that students can put on the keyboard.
Lesson Ideas
Focus on good digital citizenship skills. Practice trying their best to get to where they need to be website/work wise, being kind to the devices used, etc.
On the computers or Chromebooks, work on mouse and trackpad skills. If track pads are too difficult, try working with just a mouse. A great trick is to place a sticker or a velcro dot on the left mouse button to guide students towards which button to use for clicking and drag & drop. My shop has several resources for this, including Mouse Practice Work Mats, Using a Mouse or Trackpad Booklet, Mouse and Trackpad Practice Slides, and Mouse or Trackpad Practice Virtual Classroom!
Jungle Junior from Typing Club or the early activities from TypeTastic! can be good places to start with typing skills.
Book Creator is another great tool, with both an app and an online version. It is designed with equity and accessibility in mind, helping you identify and reduce barriers to learning. Book Creator’s multimodal tools and supports make lessons accessible while building in student voice and choice. Book Creator is designed to support the three principles of Universal Design for Learning. We’ve heard of teachers who use it themselves to create books for students to read and listen to as well.
Watch a BrainPop video and draw about it on the screen.
Take a look at these 9 Apps to Check Out for Your Special Education Classroom. Teachers in our community have also had luck with supporting ELA/phonics goals using Teach Your Monster to Read.
Focusing Strategies
Make sure to have a summary of established classroom expectations posted very clearly at work stations. Look over my Classroom Management Ideas for Specials Teachers for some ideas. Special education students in particular can have trouble transitioning between classes. This is especially true in regards to what rules they need to follow in classes that they aren’t in every school day.
Keep a simple routine with 2-3 tasks that are the same every time students come in.
For students who have a hard time focusing, keep them moving. Set up stations with five minutes max at each spot. Incorporate brain breaks (check out Minds-in-Motion) and yoga when they get restless.
Final Thoughts
When including considerations for students with support needs in your lesson planning, really think about your lesson objectives. How can you focus on the heart of what you want all of your students to understand about technology that day?
