Samantha Goldman

Preparing Special Education Teachers to Teach Online

CIDDL’s latest recorded webinar series highlights preparing special education teachers to teach online. The preparation of educators for online and hybrid instruction has become an essential component of teacher education programs. While the rapid shift to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need to prepare teachers for this environment. The continued integration of digital tools into K – 12 and higher education settings underscores its lasting relevance. Additionally, schools are turning to online learning to cope with extreme weather and teacher shortages. Effective online teaching requires more than familiarity with technology; it demands a pedagogical foundation that supports inclusive, accessible, and engaging instruction across diverse learning environments. As research and national standards emphasize, teacher candidates must be equipped not only to navigate digital platforms but also to design instruction that reflects the complexities of learners’ needs, the affordances of technology, and the evolving nature of educational spaces.

Individuals sitting around working on laptops

Tools to Help You Find and Evaluate AI

New AI technologies that promise to transform teaching and learning are being introduced almost daily. However, AI tools vary significantly in quality and effectiveness. Identifying the right one for specific needs and contexts can be time-consuming. As a result, numerous organizations have introduced resources to help educators and other decision-makers manage the overwhelming number of AI tools. This blog post will highlight the efforts of EdTech Insider and AI for Education to support efforts to effectively integrate AI into teaching and learning.

Improving Writing Outcomes for Students with Disabilities with Automated Scoring

This brief explores how automated writing evaluation and feedback tools can support SWDs, particularly by enabling universal screening and targeted interventions. Dr. Wilson shares his research on how automated feedback can improve the writing products of SWDs through productive revision.

Getting to Know NCADEMI

NCADEMI is a new Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Technical Assistance center focused on improving the quality, accessibility, and timely delivery of digital educational resources and teaching for students with disabilities from preschool to high school. This new center is a partnership between Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM) and the Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE) within the Utah State University’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities’ Institute for Disability Research, Policy, and Practice (IDRPP).

A Brief Review of AI Survey Results

The landscape of AI in education is constantly changing. It is hard to believe that ChatGPT and the generative AI explosion that followed started only two years ago. In this short time, many states have drafted their own policies on AI, the U.S. Department of Education released its report on the Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning, and countless new AI tools explicitly designed to support teachers and the variability of learners have been released. And, while it is easy to get lost in the allure of AI, the real question isn’t what AI can do, but rather, what is the current state of AI in education? To answer this question, we will highlight several recent surveys on AI and education in this blog post.

Integrating Technology into the High-Leverage Practices in Special Education Teacher Preparation

CIDDL’s latest recorded webinar series highlights researchers integrating technology into the High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) in special education teacher preparation. HLPs are important for special education teachers to support student learning outcomes. These 22 practices, divided into four domains—collaboration, data-driven planning, instruction in behavior and academics, and intensifying and intervening as needed—should be integrated into teacher preparation programs. While HLPs don’t rely on technology, innovations like AI, virtual field experiences, and mixed-reality simulations are used to prepare teachers and apply these practices. This recorded webinar series explores innovations to enhance further the application and knowledge of HLPs in special education teacher preparation.

man in grey shirt using grey laptop computer

Canva vs. Venngage: Choosing the Right Tool for Your Design Needs

Understanding accessibility standards is essential for anyone involved in document creation. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) offer a framework to make web content accessible to individuals with disabilities. These guidelines address various elements, including the need for text alternatives, adaptable layouts, and navigable structures.
Recent interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have extended its reach to digital content, requiring educational institutions and businesses to ensure their documents are accessible. This shift underscores the necessity of adhering to accessibility standards across all forms of communication, including PDFs and online materials.

a comupter generated image of a network and laptop work

Updates in Artificial Intelligence

Apple first announced its Apple Intelligence back in June. Since then, it has launched several updates. Now, Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone15 Pro, later phones, and many devices with M1 chips or newer. Notable abilities include Writing Tools, image creation, and Siri with ChatGPT. First, the Writing Tools help users find the right words, change tone, proofread, and make messages more concise. Additionally, this upgrade summarizes emails, shortens long threads, prioritizes notifications, and categorizes emails. As for images, Apple has upgraded its notes feature, where users can draw a rough sketch and turn it into a related image with the Image Wand. With the Image Playground, users can generate images that include people in their Photos. Siri’s latest update introduces several key improvements, including enhanced language understanding, the ability to type messages, seamless cross-app integration, and personalized phone awareness. ChatGPT is now integrated with Siri, allowing Siri to access and utilize ChatGPT’s knowledge base to answer user queries. Apple also notes that this product is designed to protect privacy: data is never stored, only used for your requests, and has a verifiable privacy promise. Learn more about Apple Intelligence here.

CIDDList: A Year in Review

It’s hard to believe that 2024 is ending and the fall semester is over. This past year, so much has happened in special education, higher education, and technology. CIDDList readers of the past will recall that these blogs are typically lists of recommended apps, books, podcasts, or tools. Rather than our traditional CIDDList, this year’s CIDDList is a BINGO board (though we call it a CIDDL board).

A photo of Jamie Day: a female with blode hair smiling

CIDDL Research and Practice Brief: Technology Supports for Multilingual Students at Risk for Learning Disabilities

This interview highlights how to support multilingual students at risk for learning disabilities. Dr. Day notes that K-12 multilingual students often struggle with academic language, especially speaking and writing, even after receiving English language services for years. To help, she incorporates technology-based interventions into her teacher preparation program, using tools like Pear Deck to enhance language skills through opportunities to respond. Dr. Day stresses the importance of providing teachers with the time and support to use these strategies effectively, combining insights from special education and bilingual education. Her work shows how technology can tailor instruction and improve academic and linguistic outcomes for these K-12 students.

Author: Samantha Goldman