¹Adrian Weir, ²Sunddip Panesar-Aguilar

¹Riley College of Education, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN

²Univeristy of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, St. Augustine, FL

Access to technologies and understanding the potential uses of technology to differentiate instruction have been a concern for the teachers and students in a local school district located in the southeastern United States. Despite the emergence of digital voice assistants (DVAs) as tools for instructions, teachers lack knowledge and strategies for using DVAs to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify teacher knowledge and strategies employed among special education (SPED) teachers using DVAs to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. The concepts of Carol Tomlinson’s differentiation theory and Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK framework served as the foundation of this study. The research questions examined middle school SPED teachers’ perceptions of challenges using DVAs to differentiate instruction, resources, and strategies available to these teachers and their perceived knowledge of using DVAs to differentiate instruction. In this basic qualitative study, data were collected from 6 SPED teachers using semistructured interviews. The findings suggest that teachers had little to no perceived challenges when using DVAs to differentiate instructions. However, the overutilization of DVAs might rob students of their ability to think independently. This study offers several prospects for future research related to the topic and findings. Further research is needed at the elementary and high school levels that may include core content teachers.

Special Education, Differentiated Instruction, Learner-Centered, Classroom Instruction, Special Education Learning, Digital Voice Supports.

1) Cantrell, D., Byrd, V., & Osman, K. (2016). K-12 technology initiative report. Retrieved from https://www.scstatehouse.gov/reports/EducationOversightComm/Final%20TechFried LF, Palevsky PM. Hyponatremia and hypernatremia. Med Clin North Am. 1997, 81, 585–609.

2) South Carolina [SC] Department of Education. (2018). South Carolina teaching standards 4.0. Retrieved from https://ed.sc.gov/educators/educator-effectiveness/south-carolina-teaching-standards-4-0/

3) Raja, D. S. (2016). Bridging the disability divide through digital technologies. Background paper for the World Development report. World Bank Group. Retrieved from http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/1234814612 49337484/WDR16-BP-Bridging-the-Disability-Divide-through-Digital-Technology-RAJA.pdf

4) World Health Organization. (2018). Assistive devices/technologies. Retrieved fromhttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/assistive-technology

5) Mohamed, A. H. H. (2018). Attitudes of special education teachers towards using technology in inclusive classrooms: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 18(4), 278–288. http://dx.doi.org.cupdx.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/1471- 3802.12411

6) Dillenbourg, P. (2016). The evolution of research on digital education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 26(2), 544-560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-016-0106-z

7) Davie, N., & Hilber, T. (2018). Opportunities and challenges of using amazon echo in education. International Association for the Development of the Information Society. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED590385

8) Dousay, T. A., & Hall, C. (2018). Alexa, tell me about using a virtual assistant in the classroom. In EdMedia Innovate Learning (pp. 1413-1419). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved from https://www-learntechlib-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/primary/p/184359/

9) Koedinger, K. R., & Aleven, V. (2016). An interview reflection on “intelligent tutoring goes to school in the big city.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 26(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-015-0082-8

10) Horn, M. B. (2018). ‘Hey Alexa, can you help kids learn more?’: The next technology that could disrupt the classroom. Education Next, (2), 82.

11) Herold, B. (2018). Classroom digital assistants: Teachers’ aides or privacy threats? - Education Week. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/07/18/classroom-digital-assistants-teachers-aides-or-privacy.html

12) Gulson, K. N., & Webb, P. T. (2017). Mapping an emergent field of ‘computational education policy’: Policy rationalities, prediction, and data in the age of artificial intelligence. Research in Education, 98(1), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034523717723385

13) Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

14) Reid Chassiakos, Y., Radesky, J., Christakis, D., Moreno, M. A., & Cross, C. (2016). Children and adolescents and digital media. Pediatrics, 138(5), e20162593. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2593

15) Lang, R. D., & Benessere, L. E. (2018). Virtual assistants in the workplace: Real, not virtual pitfalls and privacy concerns. Journal of Internet Law, 21(12), 1–21.

16) Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: responding to the needs of all learners (2nd edition). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

17) Wu, E. H. (2017). Paving the way for differentiated instruction in rural classrooms under common core state standards. Journal of Advanced Academics, 28(1), 51-65. doi:10.1177/1932202x16683646

18) Hur, J. W., Shannon, D., & Wolf, S. (2016). An investigation of relationships between internal and external factors affecting technology integration in classrooms. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 32(3), 105-114. doi:10.1080/21532974.2016.1169959

19) Bennett, S., Lockyer, L., & Agostinho, S. (2018). Towards sustainable technology-enhanced innovation in higher education: Advancing learning design by understanding and supporting teacher design practice. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(6), 1014-1026. doi:10.1111/bjet.12683

20) Kafyulilo, A., Fisser, P., & Voogt, J. (2016). Factors affecting teachers’ continuation of technology use in teaching. Education and Information Technologies, 21(6), 1535-1554. doi:10.1007/s10639-015-9398-0

21) Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)?. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Waynesville, NC USA: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/29544/

Volume 05 Issue 02 February 2022