to making technology the fulcrum of mainstream and special education appears to be sufficient teacher support, although the truth is that without technology the potential for mainstreaming disabled students is very low indeed. In any case, teachers must be trained in the technology on an in-service basis and supported by aides in the classroom. Further, although technology is decisive in making full inclusion possible, technology alone is not the answer if nobody knows how to use it. In this regard, Wall and Siegel warn against what might be called the "model-of-the-month" syndrome, wherein new devices and gadgets are constantly added to the equipment array but no one is properly trained to use it. It makes more sense, they say, for teachers to be well-trained on existing software and hardware so that they can more appropriately teach the students how to use it. No less important is the need for technical support. It is not enough simply to provide the equipment; the equipment must be in good working order, and there must be technical service personnel readily available to facilitate the inevitable transition that all users of high-tech equipment must make from manual systems. In this regard, a helpful glossary of terms should help decisionmakers become familiar with equipment-purchase needs.
This article has a strong how-to and case-study emphasis that teachers on the line may find useful. It might be useful for those who are obliged to make a case for their computer-equipment needs in proposals designed to help special-education projects.
Holzberg, C.S. (1994, April.) Technology in special education. Technology and Learning, 14, 18-21.
This article presents several brief case studies of educational settings in which computers have been used as vehicles of psychological and social empowerment, as well as learning tools. Although Holzberg implies that the main purpose of the article is to show how learning-disabled and physical...