Using Technology with Disabled Students: It Makes a Difference

USING TECHNOLOGY WITH DISABLED STUDENTS: IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
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* Introduction
Disability, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a dynamic, complex, and multidimensional impairment that presents physical and social barriers to an individual’s performance in society. It encompasses various circumstances such as blindness or deafness, to congenital conditions like spina bifida or cerebral palsy, as well as severe rheumatoid arthritis or dementia (WHO, 2017). Some disabilities are not obvious and visible to bystanders but still this impedes the individual from his or her daily functions. The diversity of disability results in different levels of difficulties in activities of daily living, also in most cases affecting an individual’s independence. Due to this, persons with disabilities often suffer from inability or difficulty in integrating themselves in the community, due to factors which include their impairment/s, the negative stigma and discrimination, and the inaccessibility of the environment. Not all disabilities are permanent, some can be temporary, or situational (Al Shammari, n.d.). An example of temporary disability is a broken leg that needs casting for a few months to heal and will be able to function normally after the given span of time, while for situational disability, the difficulty in performing daily activities come from a specific event being a new parent, or distracted driving. These two types of disability allow restoration, however, for persons with a permanent disability, this means that they would have to adapt and compensate in order to survive, live life, and reach their full potential.
Technology refers to any equipment or machinery that is produced using scientific knowledge. It has many definitions but generally speaking, technology is applying science to accomplish practical tasks (Dell, Neutron & Petroff, 2012) This is related to the everyday life of human beings because it makes various daily activities easier, it aids in the aspects of life that needs problem-solving skills, and it helps extend the scope of human reach, exploration, and knowledge. Technology is beneficial to mankind, and it may not be as obvious to everyone but each one of us uses technology. It is easily associated with the pieces of machinery in factories or various industries, especially those that are involved in manufacturing and production. It is also involved and actually made way for scientific explorations in space, as well as the deep seas, and earth. But for the typical human beings, examples that are more relatable would be the internet, which is used for long-distance communication, information dissemination through different social media platforms, research, entertainment, etc. Aside from this, more prehistoric technological inventions are tools made up of wood, stones, bones, or whatever is available in their environment, and the discovery of fire. These discoveries and technological advancements during its time were used for the survival of prehistoric men, for them to make shelters, hunt for food, and fend themselves from predators present during their time. Technology is connected with humanity because as human beings evolve, so does technology in order to provide for the dictated needs and demands of the current generation.
Persons with disabilities are those members of the community who have varying special needs wherein there is a need to adapt and/or compensate to function as part of the community. For them to be able to do these, there should be an intervention to alter the environment and to decrease the difficulty of the performance. Persons with disabilities also have the fundamental right to have access to education just like other members of society. According to the report of the United States of America’s Department of Education regarding the condition of education last 2018, students with special needs ranging from learning disabilities, physical disabilities, speech or language impairments, or other health concerns are 6.7 million in number, and have an increasing trend each passing academic year (Krau, et al., 2017). This calls for a more accessible and adaptive environment for this special population, and aside from other strategies that would help in promoting a positive experience for students with disability in schools such as raising awareness, encouraging integration, general education considerations, etc. technology will also play a major role in the lives of the students with disability. While there are doubts about the impact of using technology on students with disabilities, but I will argue that the benefits and differences in various aspects of the students’ life that technology provides outweigh these, enabling the students to do more and be more, reaching their full potentials.
* The Case Against Technology Making A Difference on Disabled Students
In this section, the arguments opposing the idea of using technology on the lives of students with disabilities will be objectively presented. These arguments mostly consist of concerns regarding cost, safety, and effects on the environment and lifestyle of the students.
Safety and Electromagnetic Interference
With the different technologies available that are commonly brought to schools by students, faculty, and visitors, such as cellphones and computers which all have its own radio frequencies, the use of technological devices may be hazardous to the well-being of the student. Electromagnetic interference refers to the disturbance made by an external source to the technological device causing electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or conduction that affects the electrical circuit of the technological device or equipment (DataForth, n.d.). These disturbances in the circuit can cause the device to malfunction and pose a safety risk to the user and people in the surroundings. Repeated trial-and-error testing is required for the assessment of these technologies. The participation of the people around the student with disabilities should also be monitored or ensured to have adequate knowledge about the different regulations and safety measures for the technology. Collaborative efforts of the student’s household, as well as the institution, are required because the use of technology in itself imposes the need to alter various monitoring and modifications in the environment for it to be integrated, especially with the presence of other technological devices around.
The complexity of the Technological Equipment and Devices
Another concern is the complexity of the equipment and devices which may be hinder instead of promoting learning. Technology, to be able to function properly needs technical skills and proper knowledge regarding the device to ensure safety as well as appropriate performance. Proper usage also takes time for the adaptation and training of the student with a disability. Training and education also involve other people who will be in contact with the student for them to be knowledgeable if there are certain circumstances that need the intervention of other people. The complexity also poses an issue with how the parent or guardian will be able to master and monitor the device or equipment that the student with a disability is using, also affecting how the child will be able to gain the full potential of the technology. Inadequate efforts and training may result in various shortcomings from the assessment phase to the application phase of the technology (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2012). Self-training and attitude are important key factors that may present as barriers to the use of technology in classrooms. If the student is able to use it in classrooms it may cause a distraction to him or her, as well as the other students that are part of the class, which disrupts the teacher’s flow of discussion and the whole classroom’s focus. These instances are common which often result in the rejection or resistance of teachers towards the technology and student with a disability, then this, in turn, affects the performance of the student in the class (Copley, 2004).
Lacks of Space Efficiency
Some technology, especially for those students who are physically disabled, require big equipment and devices, such as a sip and puff wheelchair and specialized computers. According to the study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, overcrowding in United States schools. This issue is present and is a problem even in students who are fully capable of performing simple to complex tasks normally. But for students with disabilities, this presents more challenges on top of the ones that they have on a daily basis. The overcrowding and lack of space in the institutions affect the use of technology for students with disabilities. This kind of setup does not encourage the specialization or personalization that students need, especially for the students with disabilities. Even if students with disabilities are admitted to the institutions, it will not be conducive for learning due to the environment and lack of space to function normally with the adaptive devices that they have. The overcrowding will also cause high levels of stress on the moderators and teachers of the children, which will result in the difficulty or inability to attend to the needs of the student with a disability. This poses a problem because the technology that the student is using also requires monitoring to ensure the safety and performance are in top shape. The lack of space does not enable students with disabilities to study comfortably with assistive technology, affecting the quality of education that the student is able to receive and the overall experience of school for the child. This also becomes an issue for the other students who are required to adjust in order to accommodate the needs of the student with a disability. This puts the quality of education that all the students are receiving in jeopardy, not producing any benefit on the people involved.
Lacks Universal Accessibility
The advancements in technology are very modern and have a lot of uses, but this does not have universal accessibility for people to obtain. Not all students with disability are capable of having universal access to the technological advancements which claims to help with the daily activities of these children including education. In a long-term poverty percentage gap presented as part of the annual report of Disability Statistics and Demographics, the number of persons with disability is significantly higher from the span of years that the statistics were observed (Karus, et al., 2017). This means that a large percentage of people with disabilities are classified as under the middle class or experiencing poverty. The living conditions are challenging in this type of status, in addition to the disability that the individual has. Given the number of persons with special needs that are included in this social class, there is an effect on the technology that they are able to have access to if any at all. A lot of students with disabilities belong to a big chunk in that specific population which exposes them to the unequal opportunities in having access to technology. Due to poverty, the costs of the technology pose a difficulty to the students with disabilities including their families and whoever is supporting them financially to acquire these. Acquiring technology is not the only time when the families would spend money because there are also other aspects that will require financial attention such as assessment, maintenance, adjustments, and repair. The financial burden to acquire and use technology for the person with disabilities in their families cannot be handled by most resulting in having no difference due to the lack of access to different social classes and economic standing.
Overdependence on the Device or Equipment
For those students with disabilities who are able to access and use technology as part of their daily lives, a negative effect of having it is the development of the overdependence of the student with a disability on technology. Although technology is beneficial in providing ease in everyday activities at home and at school, this results in the stumping of further development and growth without the aid of technology. Instead of promoting growth, these technologies that are used by students with a disability becomes barriers and cages which limit their capabilities, defining it based on the things that they are capable of doing with the help of the technological equipment or device. This is not a good kind of adaptation because this neglects the natural capabilities that the individual has because of the lack of challenge in aspects of the student’s being which was supposed to still develop and become an asset to the student which might help him or her with future situations wherein the technological device cannot be of help. In an educational sense for students with disabilities, it is just the same concept wherein the skills and supposedly assets and strengths of the student will not be developed due to the lack of challenge and practice because of the overdependence on technology. This will also affect the confidence of the child if he or she became reliant on the technology, especially at an early age, instead of himself or herself, resulting to the inability to do various tasks even simple ones without the use of technology, when in fact some of the activities may be done without it. This effect affects the overall growth of the child both as an individual and as a student when technology is used.
* Limitations of Argument Against Technology Making A Difference on Disabled Students
An observation of the overall argument regarding the opposition in the stand that technology makes a difference in students with disabilities is that there is a lack of analysis on the cost and benefit of both ideas. The arguments presented were partially true but cannot be generally applied to the whole population of the students with disabilities, which weakens the whole stand of the opposition. The opposing group also focused more on the risks and challenges of using technology and integrating it into a school setting, instead of seeing the bigger picture which makes the assumptions prone to biases. A big factor as to why the arguments of the opposing group are questionable is that technology is a broad term, as defined earlier in this paper, that means there are many technological equipment and devices which comes in different size and shapes, as well as purpose and manner of usage, making it quite impossible to describe it in such general manner and judging it as not being able to make a difference in the students with disability population.
The safety concerns with regards to a student with a disability and special needs using technology were raised, especially concerning electromagnetic interference which affects the electronic circuit and overall performance of the technological device or equipment, but there are ways to prevent this scenario. A thorough assessment of the device prior to use is vital. Another way that will specifically address the issue with electromagnetic interference is the use of protected signal lines with the use of twisted wires (DataForth, n.d.). There are also other specific techniques depending on the type of equipment that is being used. Alongside the innovation with technology comes the improvement in its safety features, ensuring the protection of the users and also the people and environment in the surroundings, making the benefit of using the technology higher with minimal risk.
Another issue raised by the opposition is the complexity of technology to be used by students with disabilities, and the disruptive effect of it to families and classrooms. Again, as said earlier, the technological advanceme...