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There is a growing body of research that suggests that video-based interventions, such as video modeling and video prompting, are effective tools for teaching academic skills to struggling learners. This study used a single subject, multiple-baseline-across-subjects design to evaluate whether a video-prompting intervention could effectively assist five second grade students who had been identified by their teachers as "struggling" in mathematics to better solve multiplication story problems. Five second grade students (one female and four males) ages 7 to 8 viewed the intervention videos on an iPad that modeled how to solve multiplication word problems. To evaluate the effectiveness of the videos, a rubric was used as the primary measure to assess the domains of problem-solving, communicating, and representing with numbers. Based on visual analysis between baseline and intervention, there was a functional relationship between the introduction of the intervention and the performance on the mathematic problems. In addition, a visual analysis between intervention and maintenance appeared stable for all participants. Lastly, the social validity data had overall positive results. These results indicate that technology can be used to implement interventions for struggling learners and may be utilized in regular classrooms. Results also demonstrate that video modeling can be a useful instructional tool for helping many individuals, not just those with an identified disability, to learn complex tasks. Implementing video models in a classroom setting could enable teachers to consistently provide interventions to students that work more independently, allowing teachers to work on a more one-on-one or small group basis with their students.

This article explores the emerging promise touchscreen devices hold for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Many individuals with ID that struggle to read, write or use voice assisted strategies can use touchscreen devices in many aspects of their lives. Research has shown that touchscreen technology is available, easy to use and can open an array of empowering possibilities for individuals with ID. In this article we will be sharing research and a vision for possible uses of touchscreen devices in the future for individuals with ID. Our perspectives are shaped by our experiences with using touchscreen technology in collaboration with people who have ID. A special aspect of our research methodology is the fact that one of our co-researchers has ID.

Individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities struggle to acquire and appropriately use social skills to improve the quality of their lives. These critical skills can be difficult to teach because they are context dependent and many students are not motivated to engage in instruction to learn them. The use of multi-modal technologies shows promise in the teaching a variety of skills to individuals with disabilities. iAnimate Live is a project that makes virtual environments, virtual characters (avatars), augmented reality, and animation more accessible for teachers and clinicians. These emerging technologies have the potential to provide more efficient, portable, accessible, and engaging instructional materials to teach a variety of social skills. After reviewing the relevant research on using virtual environments virtual characters (avatars) and animation for social skills instruction, this article describes current experimental applications exploring their use via the iAnimate Live project.