Identifying emerging trends for implementing learning technology in special education: a state-of-the-art review of selected articles published in 2008-2012.
Computer-assisted tools still dominate special-ed tech, and newer studies show they can trim session time and prompts without hurting learning.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Liu et al. (2013) looked at 26 studies about using computers and gadgets to teach students with disabilities. They only picked papers published between 2008 and 2012. Most of the studies used true experiments to test if the tech helped kids learn.
What they found
Computer-assisted tools were the star. Web mentors, educational games, and laptops showed up again and again. Nearly half of the studies were trying to prove that these tools actually work.
How this fits with other research
Stephenson et al. (2015) zoomed in on touch-screen phones and tablets for the same group. They saw the same pattern: small studies, basic skills, but good vibes.
Hu et al. (2020) took the next step. They ran an experiment and found that computer-assisted discrete trial teaching cut prompting and session time while keeping learning equal to teacher flashcards.
Savaldi-Harussi et al. (2025) refined the idea even more. Their Smart-Glove with video scenes helped younger students with moderate ID learn global words faster than plain flashcards, but it did nothing for older students with severe ID.
Why it matters
If you run discrete trials or teach matching tasks, try letting the computer carry some load. Start with simple computer-assisted lessons for younger or moderate-ID students. Track prompts and time—you should see both drop. Save the fancy gloves or VR for later; the basic laptop or tablet still does the heavy lifting.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
As electronic learning (e-learning) becomes increasingly popular in education worldwide, learning technology (LT) has been applied in various learning environments and activities to promote meaningful, efficient, and effective learning. LT has also been adopted by researchers and teacher-practitioners in the field of special education, but as yet little review-based research has been published. This review research thus carefully examined the trends of LT implementations in special education, providing a comprehensive analysis of 26 studies published in indexed journals in the past five years (2008-2012). Two research questions were addressed: (a) What are the major research aims, methodologies, and outcomes in these studies of implementing LT in the field of special education? and (b) What types of LT are mainly used with special education students, and for what kinds of students? Major findings include that examining the learning effectiveness of LT using was the most common research purpose (75%); researchers primarily relied on experimental studies (46%, 12 studies), followed by interviews and questionnaires (19%, 5 studies). Moreover, the most common use of LT was computer-assisted technology (such as web-based mentoring, educational computer games, laptop computers) in special education; studies investigating the use of LT with mentally disabled students were more than those with physically disabled ones. It is expected that the findings of this work and their implications will serve as valuable references with regard to the use of LT with special education students.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.07.007