Response to Intervention and Evidence-Based Practices: Where Does Technology Fit?

Abstract

Advancements in technology-based solutions for students with learning disabilities (LD) offer tremendous opportunities to enhance learning as well as meaningful access to the general education curriculum for this group of students. This article examines technology integration within the context of response to intervention (RTI). At the forefront of special education reform, RTI is reshaping special education practice. This article seeks to connect RTI components (e.g., evidence-based practice) with technology-based solutions in order to further ways in which technology tools can be incorporated into the lives of students with LD. Three effective practices (graphic organizers, written instruction, explicit instruction) are examined. For each area, we briefly describe the approach, examine the evidence behind the approach, and discuss technology-based tools that embed these effective features.