The Use of Educational Technology Integration by Special Education Teachers in Rural Schools in South Carolina

Effective professional development training is essential to ensuring full technology integration in all classrooms by all teachers on a regular basis. Technology integration can greatly enhance the learning of all students. In particular students with disabilities and special needs benefit a great deal from the use of technology during instruction. It helps to create a universal design for learning that minimizes the students\u27 disabilities and allow them to participate with little assistance. Often when these students live in rural areas they are at an even greater disadvantage due to the limited resources available. The following research uses a survey questionnaire to investigate the prevalence of educational technology for instruction used by special education teachers in rural areas throughout South Carolina. The amount of time spent in professional development training related to technology has an influence on how often a teacher uses technology in the classroom. The research uses adult transformational learning theory as a basis for understanding how adults (teachers) learn new things and incorporate them into practice. There are implications presented for teachers and administrators regarding technology integration