From a teaching perspective, they offer many advantages ranging from classroom management, recordkeeping, assessment, lesson planning, and lesson presentation. Computer software exists that enables a teacher to accomplish all these tasks and more in less time than traditional methods. The time saving features of databases, spreadsheets, desk top publishing, and word processing software allow teachers to organize their lessons, their classroom budgets, their communication with parents, and children s IEPs, assessment portfolios, and personal records. Once created and stored on hard drive or floppy disk, the files containing these materials are accessible and available for modifying and updating. Using authoring software, such as Roger Wagner's HyperStudio , teachers can even create their own software that enhances a curricular activity or is individualized for a particular student.
Technology plays an especially essential role for teachers of children with disabilities.
Not only does it make some of the routine teaching tasks easier, but technology also allows a teacher to create learning activities and set up inclusive learning environments that enable the child with disabilities to learn and play along with the other children. In addition, special education teachers can take advantage of the plethora of information about disabilities and assistive technology that is posted on various web sites. Resources, chat rooms, and articles can be accessed to provide current, important information to any teacher, no matter how remote or rural her classroom is. The potential for future uses grows daily as new technologies are created and as inventive teachers realize the power computers have as teaching tools and begin to take advantage of their capabilities. Since 1980, Macomb Projects has been exploring the potential of computer and adaptive technologies as they relate to the education of young children with disabilities.