Reflections of Teachers of Visually Impaired Students on Their Assistive Technology Competencies

In today's educational practices, teachers of students with visual impairments are required to demonstrate competencies in the use of assistive technology so they can adequately meet the diverse needs of their students (Abner & Lahm, 2002; D'Andrea, 2012; Gerber, 2003; Smith, Kelly, & Kapperman, 2011). Several researchers have investigated specific assistive technology issues related to students with visual impairments. For example, Lusk (2012), in her study of optimal optical devices for schoolaged students with low vision, noted that performance and preference varied among users. She provided evidence that the selection of optimal magnification devices is hinged on individual needs and preferences. Kamei-Hannan and Lawson (2012) found that students were engaged in writing tasks for extended periods and with higher quality when using the braille note taker with its unique features that were not present with the Perkins brailler. Bouck, Flanagan, Joshi, Sheikh, and Schleppenbach (2011) utilized a computer-based voice input, speech output (VISO) calculator to study how students completed basic mathematics problems, with a focus on efficiency as compared to the students' typical approach to calculation. Among their salient findings were: students were more efficient with their traditional calculation technique, although with time, performance with the VISO was equivalent; and the participants indicated that the new technology had great benefits, since it provided them with increased autonomy for solving difficult mathematics problems. Central to the issues of assistive technology utilization and competency is the need to understand how in-service and preservice teachers feel about their knowledge and skill levels. In order to identify teachers of students with visual impairments' perceptions of their mastery of assistive technology devices and services, two studies were conducted using online questionnaires. The first study included teachers from Texas only, and the second sampled teachers from all 50 U.S. states and contiguous territories. The quantitative analyses of these studies were published in two articles in the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (Zhou et al., 2012; Zhou, Parker, Smith, & Griffin-Shirley, 2011). For the Texas study, over half of the participants (57.5%) reported a lack of confidence (that is, no, limited, or some confidence) in instructing students with visual impairments in the use of assistive technology (Zhou et al., 2011). In the national study, over half the participants (59.29%) reported a lack of confidence (that is, no, limited, or some confidence) in assistive technology instruction (Zhou et al., 2012). The purpose of this report is to provide the results of the qualitative data from the two studies. METHODS Participants and procedures In this report, the researchers analyzed two sets of data. The first set comprised 165 participants in the Texas study, and 840 teachers of students with visual impairments were included in the national study. Texas Tech University's institutional review board approved both studies. Informed consent was obtained from the participants prior to their completion of the online surveys. The current report focuses on the analysis of the qualitative openended "comments" section. For the Texas study, the majority of the participants were women (96.97%), with a mean age of 48.25 years and average teaching experience of 19.42 years. Only 6.06% reported using assistive technology on a regular basis. Similarly, for the national study, the majority of the participants were women (90.95%), with a mean age of 48.17 years and average teaching experience of 20.09 years. Only 6.67% reported using assistive technology on a regular basis. Data analysis As the first step in the data analysis process, the researchers extracted the comments from the two surveys and transcribed them to form a database for this report. …