Longitudinal Study of Assistive Technology in Postsecondary Education

• In Event: 29.072 - Using Mixed-Methods Approaches in Teacher Education and Special Education Research

Abstract

Objectives & Theoretical Framework
Technology as a modern apparatus has numerous benefits and some drawbacks. For some, the reliance on technology stifles innovative thinking and for a few, reliance on technology resembles an addiction. For others, especially those with disabilities, technology equalizes and liberates. This ten year longitudinal mixed methods case study (Creswell, 2012) of technological supports began by examining how technology has been provided over a decade and how it influences postsecondary students with disabilities and their educational careers and lives. In order to determine how technology utilization changed over ten years (2004-2014) a follow up study of a large postsecondary disability support center in California was conducted.

Methods and Data Sources
This ten year follow up to a mixed methods study of postsecondary technology supports examined how assistive technology has changed over time and what are the views of staff about how reductions in funding influence technology services. Interviews and surveys from 2002, 2005, and 2014 were examined to gain insight into perceptions about assistive technology support services for postsecondary students with disabilities. Four research questions were used in this longitudinal study:

RQ1. How has technology supports changed over a ten-year period at large community colleges in California?
RQ2. How does funding, legislation and leadership impact technology supports?
RQ3. How has technology at an institutional level changed as a result of declining funds?
RQ4. Are there differences in the way staff view the effectiveness of technology support services over time?

Results
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the impact of assistive technology on the lives of students with disabilities and examine the changes to supports that resulted from constant budget reductions. Clearly technology services are affected by funding and California is the only state to have disability specific legislation which helped pay for training, modern hardware, and software. Large institutions could share resources between departments and train staff about disability specific technology.

Assistive technology software and hardware has changed, yet become more difficult to learn the complexities including numerous options. Given the demands of reducing costs, three solutions were promoted by the coordinator as a way to retain technology services. First, individually administered training sessions were eliminated and replaced with workshops and classes. Second, hardware and software donations were solicited from private industry. Third, the coordinator and the technology supervisor worked together to restructure the roles of staff in the High Tech Center.

Scholarly Significance
Assistive technology has potential to increase productivity and reduce social barriers. For those with moderate to severe disabilities, assistive technology provides the opportunity to independently study, physically navigate, and communicate with those in their surroundings. Much of this was impossible without sophisticated assistive technology created over the past twenty years. Teaching technology in groups saved funds without degrading services but only because training was skillfully executed by dedicated and knowledgeable staff. Participants in this study agree that assistive technology when properly managed has potential to significantly improve chances for postsecondary success and a productive life.

Author

• Thomas W. Christ, University of Bridgeport