Research

Supporting Study Abroad for Students with Disabilities 

By Nick Hoekstra | May 3, 2023
Posted in
Searching for study abroad on a laptop
Despite this encouraging trend, students with disabilities find themselves under-represented among globe-trotting academics. In 2017-2018,, only 9.2% of study abroad students were students with disabilities, despite the fact that students with disabilities represent approximately 19% of students on college campuses.
There is no reason this should be the case. The author of this blog – himself a person with a disability – found studying abroad to be challenging, but ultimately a life-changing experience. In this blog, we will explore how factors like technology and a commitment to accessibility can facilitate study abroad for students with disabilities.

Mobile Technologies to Support Student Learning

By Samantha Goldman | April 24, 2023
Posted in ,
Student using cell phone.
Teachers, principals, and school districts have been battling cell phones and other mobile technologies (remember pagers?) in the classroom for nearly two decades. Reasons cited as to why these devices should be banned from the classroom include cheating, bullying, and illegal/ illicit activities. But, in the digital age, where students entering the workforce are expected to have an understanding of not only basic technology, but how to leverage it to maximize productivity and creativity, shouldn’t those in education be looking for ways to leverage mobile devices to support student learning? In this blog post, we will explore the ways in which recent literature proposes mobile devices can be used in K-12 classrooms and make suggestions as to how these can transfer to higher education.

CIDDL Technology Gift List

By Samantha Goldman | January 4, 2023
Posted in
A light pink gift bag with lights shining in the background.
With the winter holidays coming to an end, CIDDL’s Principal Investigators, staff, and doctoral students put together a list of “must have ” items that stood out this holiday season for the tech and innovation lover in your life. And, we won’t judge if you gift them all to yourself.

Advancing Digital Equity Guide

By Samantha Goldman | November 9, 2022
Posted in ,
Picture of a planet in space.
The guide breaks access to technology into three components: availability, affordability, and adoption. Within the guide, barriers to each component are laid out, as well as strategies to help combat them.

Opportunities to Respond: Engagement Meets Technology

By Samantha Goldman | October 12, 2022
Posted in
A classroom with all individuals looking at the interactive board at the front of the room
The concept of Opportunities to Respond (OTR) is an instructional-based strategy that encourages students to respond in different forms. Some of these opportunities may be errorless, yes/ no, or multiple choice. Using this strategy encourages more students to participate, and be more engaged, in the class.

Supporting Peer Interactions Online

By Nick Hoekstra | October 6, 2022
Posted in
Person looking at an open laptop with multiple options on the screen
With the growing interest in online education – and especially after the global COVID-19 pandemic forced schools across the world to turn to online education – how can we continue to support peer interactions?

Google Workspace for Data Collection

By Jenee Vickers Johnson | September 22, 2022
Posted in ,
Image with a bar graph on a clip board.
Data-based decision making (DBDM) is the process by which professionals collect, graph, and analyze observational data to inform instructional decisions. With some modifications, Google Workspace may be a practical alternative to support DBDM for special education professionals.

Sustainable Mixed Presence Instruction is Possible

By info@ciddl.org | August 25, 2022
Posted in , , ,
A rendering of a classroom with students participating in various activities. A teacher presents at a whiteboard while three students look on from a nearby table. The table has another student joining via video conferencing from a tablet. Two other students use a TV to watch a video and take notes on a laptop. The classroom is filled with alternative seating and various activities.
Whether or not your class is scheduled to be in person, we can expect the need for students to be away. These class settings, with on-site and online students learning together synchronously, are called “mixed presence” settings.

I’ll Cross that Virtual Bridge When I Come to It: Orientation and Mobility Training in Virtual Environments

By Nick Hoekstra | August 23, 2022
Posted in , ,
A woman looks through Virtual Reality goggles to see various images and videos spread out before her.
One technology that has shown potential for creating safe spaces for teaching/practicing O&M skills is virtual reality (VR). According to Thevin and colleagues (2020), VR systems create immersive, interactive environments that provide students the opportunity for trial and error . Besides visual feedback, VR systems can provide both haptic and auditory information for the benefit of individuals who are blind or low vision.

Preparing for the Fall Semester: The Wrap Up

By Samantha Goldman | August 18, 2022
Posted in , , ,
Three students work on laptops and write in journals while working together around a table.
This summer, we set out to provide resources to support faculty in aligning technology standards, designing inclusive syllabi, giving tips and tricks to integrate technology, and providing specific tools that can be used in preparation programs.

Icon represents CIDDL research

We, as a national center, aim to provide resources encouraging innovation across the field that supports, advances, and/or investigates the use of educational technology in higher education and birth through 21 learning environments. Check out this post to read more about Research within the CIDDL framework.

A boy playing video games with his headphones on


CIDDL Cizzles: How Can Video Games and Key Lime Pie Support Fractions Learning?

Author: Samantha Goldman; info@ciddl.org What might come to your mind when you’re eating a Key Lime Pie? CIDDL’s Christine Parsons and Dr. Ling Zhang bring contestant #1, Dr. Mattew Marino, …

September 2, 2021
A picture demonstrating inclusive use of technology by a group or people from diverse ethnic groups


Engage in Conversation: How Does Social Justice Intersect Educational Technology?

Author: Samantha Goldman; info@ciddl.org How does research on social justice intersect educational technology? An earlier CIDDL Research and Practice Brief may give us some insights into this topic. In this …

August 17, 2021
An image showing personalized professional development


Micro-Credentials: Personalized Professional Development

Author: Samantha Goldman; info@ciddl.org In an earlier CIDDL Research and Practice Brief, we interviewed Dr. Richard Carter, an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming (UW), who researches the education …

July 28, 2021
Two women using sign language


Emerging Technology For Teaching And Learning Sign Language

Author: Samantha Goldman; info@ciddl.org In an earlier CIDDL Research and Practice Brief, we interviewed Dr. Lorna Quandt, who is an Assistant Professor in the Ph.D. in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) program at …

July 23, 2021
An image represents a man participating in professional learning networks


Building Effective Professional Learning Networks to Improve Engagement

Author: Ling Zhang; Richard A. Carter info@ciddl.org Extensive research suggests that effective professional development (PD) programs usually build on teachers’ previous knowledge, meet personal development needs, provide active learning opportunities, …

July 21, 2021