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Running head: TECHNOLOGY WITH SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS 1

Abstract

This paper is a review of literature surrounding how technology is used to help students with special needs learn in the US and China. The latest data from the US Department of Education reveals about 24,000 school-age children have visual impairments making them eligible for special education services. Similar reports from China indicate larger numbers of students with visual impairments, but similar percentages are seen in schools in the US. Many educational institutions across the world are struggling to determine which technology should be utilized and how students and teachers can effectively use that technology. It is important that school leaders address the unique needs of these learners using assistive technology.  The goal of this review was to determine which practices, using technology, work and what problems were encountered when making these discoveries.

Keywords: technology, special education, disabilities, visually impaired, hearing impaired.

Comparing the Use of Technology With Special Need Students

In the US and China

The US Department of Education data indicate that more than 20% of all students with disabilities have great use of technology. Also, the most recent data available from the U S Department of Education indicate that one - two percent of students ages six to 17 enrolled in special education programs in the United States have hearing impairments, and that a small fraction (0.02%) of these students are both deaf and blind (Kritzer, 2011). According to the most recent data available, about 24,000 school-age children have visual disabilities that make them eligible for special education services. Although it is difficult to classify or label the varying degrees of visual acuity succinctly, most students with visual impairments find that they need some type of device to help them to be effective learners in school settings (Worrell & Taber 2009).

The onset of technology ushered in the main structural transformations that are integral to the achievement of important improvements in productivity. Technology, which supports both learning and teaching, provides classrooms with digital learning instruments, such as handheld machines and computers. Technology also broadens course offerings, supports learning 24 hours a day seven days a week, increases learner participation and motivation, accelerates learning, and expands the classroom experience (Moeller & Reitzes, 2011).

Initially, technology in education was a debatable issue among the education community particularly because everyone had perceptions regarding the modernization of education and making it technology-aided. Moreover, there were cons to education technology. Online learning opportunities, together with the use of open education resources, have increased educational productivity, and minimized costs linked to program delivery or instructional materials. However, as the learning institutions welcomed technology, they acknowledged the significance of technology in education (Lancioni & Singh, 2014).

Technology touches almost every part of people's lives, in homes and communities. Unfortunately, most educational institutions fail to keep pace when it comes to integrating it into classroom learning. Many are just beginning to discover the real capability technology offers for learning and teaching. Integrating technology into the classroom curriculum means more than teaching basic computer abilities and software programs in a separate computer class (Ertmer & Otternbreit-Leftwich, 2010). Effective integration must take place across the instruction in ways that indicate deepened and enhanced learning processes. Specifically, technology integration must support four main elements of learning: engagement in groups, links to real world professionals, active participation, and frequent interaction and feedback. Today, many educators believe that technology-enabled project learning is the next step in classroom curriculum (Light & Polin, 2010).

The number of students with special needs in the United States is higher than that of those in China. However, the latter has a history in regards to the acknowledgment of learners with disabilities despite the country's late start in special education. In the United States, the number of special education students is increasing. In 1975, just five percent of all students received special education services (Dempster, 2003). However, by 2006, the figure doubled to nearly 10%. While Blacks make up 15% of the normal school-going population, they incorporate more than 20% of all special education learners. Both American Indians and Hispanics show similar patterns. Recent studies reveal that Black students who receive special needs services are more likely to drop out compared to their disabled white counterparts. Notably, societal misconceptions might contribute to this particular issue since they are more likely to grow up in poor neighborhoods. About 54.4 million American citizens have a disability (Billet, 2002). Both the percentage and number of Americans influenced by disabilities have increased over time.

China, on the other hand, is attempting to do more in the way of education for special needs students. Before 1949, private education was offered to the few who could afford it, and Christian missionaries usually served those with visual and hearing impairments. By 1987, only 55% of learners with disabilities were in schools compared to the Chinese enrollment rate of 97% (Laurillard, 2000). Additionally, in 1990, there were about 105,000 learners with disabilities in educational institutions where 18% of them were enrolled in general education classrooms. Unlike the situation in the United States, China is currently experiencing a number of challenges, for instance, the reality of large class sizes. Regular classes have about 75 students making it hard to individualize curriculum for those learners who need it. Moreover, numerous educators in normal learning institutions have never had training in special education (Beetham, 2002). Children with numerous or severe disabilities and those with moderate disabilities are still ruled out from public schools.

It is important to know that technology is utilized more in a special education classroom setting than in any other due to all the distinct types of learners, learning requirements, and educational achievements. Unfortunately, many students suffer from specific learning disabilities, which can incorporate learning impairments in math, reading, and other topics (Glaubke, 2007). Such learning institutions, therefore, need to use different types of technology for special needs students.

Technology education incorporates the process of encouragement, strength and guidance of faculties, whether body or mind, so as to prepare them for the work they have to carry out. In terms of intellectual progression, deaf individuals in America and across the world are some of the most handicapped of the afflicted. Those born with a hearing impairment or later lose their sense of hearing at a very early age are unable to speak. They automatically have speech impairment since they are deprived of hearing and are incapable of imitating the sounds, which make up speech. (Warschauer & Matuchniak, 2010).

Before the Christian era, the condition of hearing impaired and visually impaired was quite shocking especially become many children were considered cursed of heaven. They were referred to as monsters and to some extent, put to death as soon as their disability was confirmed. However, after being educated on the significance of these individuals in society, people slowly but gradually embraced the hearing impaired and visually impaired individual (Kritzer, 2011).

In the US, the hearings impaired and visually impaired are entitled to a share of the educational funding through special day and boarding schools. The US and China are currently the two most progressive nations in the globe in including these individuals. Concerning special education, the United States is a role model for other countries. Using technology in education with special needs students is more of a challenge than with students without special needs. The US and China include various types of technology that are used among hearing and visually impaired students.

Types and Uses of Technology in the US

Following the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the US has assured a liberal and suitable education for all learners with disabilities. This particular Act acknowledges 13 groups of disabilities which are visual impairment, hearing impairment, physically handicapped, mental retardation, traumatic brain injury, speech and language disorder, deaf-blindness, specific learning disability, autism, developmental delay, emotional disturbance, and other health impairments (Gadbois & Bowker, 2007). Of these groups, the more majority of students have learning disabilities. An estimated one out of ten people in a given community has a hearing loss. Similar to children, adult learners with hearing and speech impairments may need accommodations and assistive devices in the classroom environment in order to have the best access to educational programming. Notably, university programs in the US that prepare educators for children who are hearing and visually impaired offer the chance for research and teacher certification. Some learners with hearing loss usually attend state residential learning institutions or private day schools (Ellsworth & Zhang, 2007). Studies in the field of hearing impaired and visually impaired education tend to concentrate more on the numerous aspects of deafness, such as native sign languages, technology advances, teaching techniques to learners who are hearing impaired and visually impaired, and the deaf society and culture.

Given the increasing number of hearing impaired and visually impaired students in the United States, most of the educational programs require learners to become proficient in American Sign Language (Kritzer, 2011). Moreover, technological research also concentrates on education, audiology and communication. Access to education and attainment for the hearing impaired and visually impaired is currently gaining attention as more learners attend neighborhood-learning institutions. Teachers are also becoming familiar with choices and chances to improve instructional delivery. They have realized that multimedia materials and settings can provide numerous representations of ideas that are more meaningful to learners who are hearing and visually impaired. While active learning is important for all students, it is quite critical for those who are hearing and visually impaired. Despite the fact that research indicates that learners at all grade levels tend to enjoy digital materials and are engaged by them, it is less clear that such materials enhance reading comprehension (Becker, 2000).

The (ANSF) recently designed a project of the signing avatar technology, which creates unique and efficient instructional materials for the hearing impaired and visually impaired learners. The usability and attractiveness of such projects are considered instructive for educators and parents, many of whom are not familiar with the signs of specialized learning. Nonetheless, instructional materials that contain digital signing avatars teach the signs and have been designed for a K-3 mathematics curriculum for the hearing and visually impaired students. From what has been observed in the past, communication between the hearing and visually impaired community is quite cumbersome or limited (Cooper, 2002). Human interpreters are in this case required to translate in person making the process rather costly and inconvenient. However, following the introduction of technology in education for the hearing impaired and visually impaired in the United States, the use of the Internet has significantly improved the learners' ability to communicate from a distance. The hearing and visually impaired can now actively engage in mainstream online societies. Technology has enabled the world of sign language to be more accessible to anyone learning the language. Notably, fingerspelling and sign language dictionaries, practice sites, and tutorials are more interactive through animation or streaming videos (Light & Polin, 2010).

Teachers of the hearing and visually impaired in the US acknowledged that ability to fashion interactive communication and instructional materials are quite valuable to learners with special needs, because materials are immediately relevant, based on the classroom content, and modified. By involving learners in the creation of the learning materials, teachers are establishing a reliable means of increasing the students' reflection on the subject and participation. Together with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and FM stations, technology has considerably transformed education. In the past, the hearing impaired and visually impaired community often evaluated such technological advancements particularly in the education sector differently. However, in 1964 a deaf scientist by the name of Robert Weitbrecht came up with an acoustic coupler that could convert sound into texts and vice versa (Winn, 2006). These technical abilities gave rise to an industry that eventually transformed the quality of life for the hearing and visually impaired in the United States. It is important to note that not all technological progressions have been widely accepted by the hearing and visually impaired community. For instance, the risks and effectiveness of cochlear implants have become a vital part of discussions since there are a few who view them as a physical impairment. That is why the main concentration is now on the learner's introduction to visual language and the kind of educational services and support he or she receives.

Types and Uses of Technology in China

Special education in China was quite similar to that of the United States of America before the implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975. However, there is a lack of consistency within the urban regions of China. Presently, the country is making an effort to do more than in the past, in terms of educating children with disabilities. China is an agriculturally founded culture with the majority of it is citizens residing in the rural regions. Physical labor is considered the main work since people can operate productively even if they are uneducated. Persons with disabilities such as autism and hearing and visual impairments may not get a chance to attend school in remote and rural areas (Zucker & Light, 2009). Moreover, the costs associated with funding special schools in China for most children with disabilities are quite limiting. Influenced by corporations in Western nations, learning in the regular classroom was introduced in the early 1990s. This resulted in about 18% of students with disabilities being placed in general education classrooms (Deng & Harris, 2008). Presently, three main groups of disabilities are being served in regular education environments. These are the mentally retarded, visually impaired, and hearing impaired. The most recognizable attainment made by China's LRC program is the significant increase in the number of enrolled children with disabilities.

Special education in China began over 2,000 years ago when the Chinese citizens began to acknowledge the existence of certain and obvious abnormalities in a few individuals. Influenced by Confucius's principle, the treatment of persons with disabilities in ancient China was more compassionate compared to the situation in the United States at the time (Levine & Wadmany, 2008). Ten years prior similar practices were used in the West, this principle respected human rights of survival and advocated public concern for disability. Initially, American and European missionaries introduced special learning institutions in the late nineteenth century. Western ideas such as sign language and Braille brought a focus on educational and humanitarian rights of persons with disabilities in China. Given the limited number of colleges and schools that offer for training special educators, other reasons also tend to limit the progression of special educators in the country. Cases of poor working conditions, lower wages payment and long working hours reported in special schools compared to normal schools in China, resulted in reduced enrollment in special education schools aimed at training special educators (Anderson & Goldstein, 2004). Daily practice in schools for the hearing impaired and visually impaired incorporates a number of Chinese Sign Languages. Secondary and elementary school instructions indicated low expectations for these persons and lack similar academic content provided to normal, hearing students. Moreover, there are also limited higher education opportunities for the deaf and dumb in China (Worrell & Taber 2009).

Recently, there have been some developments in terms of Chinese higher education for the deaf and dumb individuals. People are acknowledging the fact that higher education enables such persons to acquire the necessary knowledge and abilities for employment and social survival, similar to those with normal hearing and speech. The implementation of technology established higher education for the hearing impaired and visually impaired through the Internet. The Internet is considered an effective means to meet the objective needs for China in respect to special higher education. A few universities constructed specialized areas for the hearing impaired and visually impaired, such as the Engineering College for the hearing impaired of Tianjin University of Technology, and the Special Education College of Changchun University (Oalussen, 2010). These institutions adopted the policy of Exam Alone and Admit Alone, which allows for special education colleges and universities to have independence on enrollment. This provided numerous chances for students with disabilities to enter schools (Convertino, Sapere & Zupan 2009). The problem, however, is the learners' lack of preparation for the examinations, re-taking the exam on numerous occasions. In these learning institutions, lessons and classes are usually set up autonomously for the hearing and visually impaired students.

Technology-based higher education in China was introduced in 1998, and is currently operated by a few universities, which are authorized by the Ministry of Education through secondary network institute (Wang, Ertmer, & Newby, 2004). One of the main benefits of the introduction of technology in education for the hearing and visually impaired in China is it is not limited to space and time, making teaching and learning quite interactive. Network based education offers the hearing and visually impaired community better learning conditions (Kritzer, 2011). Contemporary open distance education has provided learners with equal chances to learn, and has made higher education beneficial for deaf persons, proving to be necessary for individual survival. In China today, contemporary distance education is computer network technology- and multimedia technology-centered, emphasizing the learning style of autonomous and individual learning; this is combined with interactive collaborative learning (Deng & Manset, 2000). The introduction of technology-founded education has transformed the conventional way of learning in China, putting in fresh blood into education for the deaf and dumb community. Despite the fact that the education for this particular community is still founded on conventional teaching techniques, technology-based education enjoys some development.

Comparisons in Technology in Education for Hearing and Visually Impaired in the US and China

There is an interesting consistency in how special education is implemented in the US, due to the federal prescriptive law governing special education, the (IDEA) of 2004 (Luckner & Muir, 2001). However, China has not been as consistent in the same respect. American law policy, with respect to special education, is founded on the principle of equality of opportunity and diversity while China possesses a long heritage of a hierarchical pyramid of social connections (Worrell & Taber 2009).

Notably, the main goal of China is to provide children with disabilities the chance to enroll in schools. It does not require a liberal and suitable education as long as children are educated. Moreover, decentralization and equality are not considered a priority in China. On the other hand, the main objective of inclusion in the United States of America is to provide children with the right to be equally educated (Glaubke, 2007). Interestingly, deaf children brought up in an American culture make use of their gestures as a way of expressing motion events in similar ways as those brought up in a Chinese culture. Hearing-impaired children who have not been exposed to traditional linguistic input are able to manufacture self-styled gestural communication systems known as home-signs (Kritzer, 2011). These are similar to natural language in numerous ways.

Following the progression of societies, rights of disadvantaged persons have enticed more attention, safeguarding education. Western early intervention studies, triumphant programs, and experiences have influenced the progression of early intervention in China, particularly those aimed at providing availing education for children with disabilities. The US has for a long time concentrated on education, initiating liberal and compulsory public school system for all students. Compared to the United States, China's focus on technological education for the hearing impaired and visually impaired learners came a bit late in 1979. However, both nations are making efforts to ensure that these students get equal learning opportunities like normal, hearing and speaking counterparts (Kritzer, 2011).

The lack of hearing tends to affect a child's learning development, especially in the comprehension and production of spoken language. The classroom setting determines the success of a hearing impaired student. Consequently technology chosen for learners with hearing and speech disabilities should be founded on the learner's individual needs and personality (Glaubke, 2007). Educators in China and the US include the learner's capabilities as a way of attaining the highest level of success. Contemporary methods for hearing impaired and visually impaired students in these two nations usually include the use of an interpreter and appropriate classroom considerations. Students who have speech and hearing impairments need a modified class, having little distractive noises and proper lighting for visuals. Additionally, hearing impaired and visually impaired students who have been brought up with sign language should have it included in their day-to-day educational life (Light & Polin, 2010).

Years of study and progression have availed educators with amazing instruments for maximizing auditory abilities for learners with hearing and speech impairments, both in the United States and in China. For instance, personal amplification systems and the speech synthesizer, which are capable of converting texts into speech formats, are used in today's classrooms (Light & Polin, 2010). Teachers now acknowledge that for learners with hearing and speech impairments, the appropriate adjustments to the classroom setting combined with advanced technological teaching techniques can mean the distinction between the student’s triumph and failure (Becker, 2000). Hearing impaired and visually impaired students constitute about five percent of China's learner population while in the US about 10% of all learners have been identified for special education services. Similar to the United States, China is struggling with the complications related to incorporating students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Although America has class sizes about half that of standard Chinese classes together with a paraprofessional helping in inclusive classrooms, the full and smooth implementation of such inclusion is still a challenge (Worrell & Taber 2009).

Notably, the educators in China seem to have a higher management and instructional workload compared to their American counterparts since paraprofessionals are not employed, this, in turn, makes it rather difficult to implement technology in education for the hearing impaired and visually impaired. However, teachers in rural regions in China can still exchange ideas with peers around the globe connected technologically. Alliance with special educators globally is considered to be helpful in the progression of an effective special education system not only in the United States but China as well. Currently, concerned administrations in both nations are making an effort to allocate more funding to learning institutions in rural regions, especially where the economy is considered to be relatively weak (Moeller & Reitzes, 2011).

Table 1

Country	Percentage using Hearing Aids	Percentage using Cochlear Implants
United States of America	58.7	11.9
China	40.2	9.5

Conclusion

The aim of this research is to review technology used to assist the students with special needs to study in the China and US. Various learning institutions in the world are striving to determine the technology that can be used. Next is how the teachers as well as the students can efficiently and effectively use the technology. It is significant for the leaders of the school to address the unique requirements of the learner’s assistive technology. The review also explains the uses of technology, work as well as problems, which are encountered when making discoveries.

Technology helps to widen course assistances, supports education 24 hours a day seven days a week, upsurges the participation of learners’ as well as inspiration, hastens education, and increases the school experience. Technology deals with every part of person’s life in the society as well as families. Several people are beginning to learn the ability technology; and what it offers for education and teaching. Incorporating technology into the class program means more than teaching rudimentary computer capabilities and software programs in a separate computer class. The number of scholars who have special needs in the US is higher than that of those in China. Though, the later has an antiquity in regards to the acknowledgment of students with incapacities despite the nation's late start in special schooling. In the US, the number of special education students is collective. Special training in China is just the same to that of the US before the execution of the Training for All Handicapped Kids Act of 1975. Though, there is absence of constancy in the urban regions of China. Currently, the nation is struggling to do more than what it did previously, in terms of teaching children with disabilities.

   In the year 1975, only 5% of all the leaners received special services for learning. But in the year, 2006 the figure improved by about 10%. On the other hand the blacks make up to 15% of the normal population; they include more than 20% of all special education leaners. Both American Indians as well as Hispanics show related patterns. Before the year 1949, private teaching was given to the few who could afford it, and Christian missionaries usually served those with visual and hearing impairments. By the year 1987, only 52% of students with incapacities were in schools compared to the Chinese admission rate of 96%. In addition, in the year 1990, there were about 105,000 learners with incapacities in learning institutions where about18% of them was registered in general learning classrooms. Different from the situation in the US, China is presently undergoing several challenges, for example, the reality of big class size. Due to the increasing number of hearing impaired as well as visually impaired leaners in the US, most of the educational programs need learners to become more skilled in sign language.

The (ANSF) lately established a project of the signing avatar equipment, which constructs unique as well as effectual instructional materials for the hearing damage as well as visually impaired learners. The attractiveness as well as usability of such projects is considered educational for educators and parents, many of whom are not conversant with the signs of specific learning. However, instructional tools that encompass digital signing avatars teach the signs, have been planned for a K-3 mathematics curriculum for the hearing, and visually impaired students. Hearing as well as visually impaired teachers in the US recognize the capability of fashion communication, because materials are proximately relevant, based on the classroom content, and adjustment. By including students in the formation of the education materials, educators are creating a consistent means of increasing the learners' image on the subject as well as contribution.

It is important to read this paper because it explains the uses of technology, work as well as problems, which are encountered when making discoveries. It also informs on various hearing and visually technologies used in the US and China. All the families, which have kids living disabilities, should embrace this initiative and take necessary steps of educating them because of the presence of learning technology. This read educates the society that disability is not inability.

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