Preparing Special Educators to use Mobile Technology: A Review of the Literature

Since mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have become ubiquitous in our daily lives, their use in the modern public classrooms is an ever increasing occurrence. In order to meet the demands of the rising technology needs, teachers must be well versed in the pedagogical and curriculum uses of mobile devices. However, general and special education pre-service teacher education programs rarely provide the knowledge, skills and practice that are necessary to integrate mobile technology in ways that will affect positive changes in student learning. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to determine the prevalance of and current trends in mobile technology training in teacher preparation programs, especially as it applies to pre-service special education teachers. Results of the review revelaed a paucity of research on the topic in both special and general education.