Microcomputer Applications Beyond Drill and Practice: New Challenges in Special Education

For over a decade microcomputers have been used to help students with special needs overcome physical, cognitive and emotional barriers to learning. In many cases microcomputers have extended the abilities of disabled students by the provision of alternative inputting devices and the use of programs that are highly interactive and individualised to suit the unique needs of students (Wood, 1986a). Rapid technological advances in recent years have opened up new horizons for disabled students. Powerful lap-top microcomputers with the capability of producing both printed and spoken output have provided speech impaired students with portable communication devices. Many students previously restricted to using software designed for special needs can now access a range of commercially available software through the use of devices such as the Apple Adaptive Firmware Card, and developments in the use of eye gaze and voice recognition as alternative input methods offer even greater promise for the future.While it is an almost impossible task to accurately predict all the technological developments likely to occur in the future, there is little doubt that as microcomputers become more powerful, portable and affordable, many physical barriers to learning will be overcome. There are, however, many disabilities that are less evident than the more visible physical disabilities yet ‘…more insidious in their effects on educational progress’ (Clark, 1986, p. 28). For students labelled as ‘slow learners’ the barriers created by underexpectations which can limit learning opportunities may not necessarily be overcome by technological change. One of the major challenges facing special educators therefore is to review traditional educational practices and explore innovative ways for using microcomputers to overcome these barriers and enhance student learning.