Mary F. Rice

Systematic review of 19 studies on AI as assistive support for children and youth with disabilities. Finds a slim but growing evidence base with concerning patterns in how AI and learners are positioned (e.g., emphasizing efficiency and superiority of AI). Recommends research that centers empowerment of young people and families and critically interrogates AI’s role in identification, assessment, and support.

Introduces a pedagogical framework for teaching visual literacies with social‑media memes via multiple layers: technical construction, formal aesthetics, aesthetic response, media context, and social context. Demonstrates the approach using the viral “Bernie Sanders at the Inauguration” meme and offers classroom questions, activities, and research directions.

Proposes the Inclusive Online, Distance and Digital Education (IODDE) framework for K‑12 settings. Centers learners’ biopsychosocial needs and balances two types of supports (policy and direct learner supports) with two types of access (digital and instructional). Argues that success arises when supports and access are aligned with learner needs.

Positions Narrative Inquiry as a robust methodology for understanding lived experiences in online and distance education. Outlines theoretical underpinnings, relational ethics, and design decisions; illustrates with a special‑education case; and argues Narrative Inquiry can yield equitable insights into time, engagement, and identity in digital learning contexts.

A two‑year narrative inquiry with a special education teacher who claims intersecting cultural/ethnic identities and disability status. Describes how the teacher grappled with technologies not only for student learning but also in pursuit of broader justice commitments. Calls for teacher preparation and support that honors equity‑centered commitments in technology use.

Qualitative study of four special education teachers (K, 3, 6, 10) across five pandemic chronotopes (pre‑pandemic through Fall 2021). Teachers strove to use technologies for inclusion, adapt digital materials, maintain relationships, and navigate tensions between autonomy and the need for sustained institutional support. Implications stress planning for modality transitions and ongoing professional learning.

Interviews with 32 parents across six U.S. states show parents employ a range of technological literacies to: (a) perform basic computing tasks, (b) evaluate information to supplement instruction, and (c) communicate with schools. They use these literacies to instruct, monitor, advocate, and learn school expectations—pointing to the value of literacy‑based approaches to parent preparation for online learning.

Using grounded theory, the study explores how instructional designers at U.S. institutions of higher education perceived abrupt role shifts during Spring–Fall 2020. Designers emphasized relationship‑building across campus communities; gathering, organizing, and distributing resources; designing rapid faculty workshops; providing technology support; and advocating for students and for the profession.