How Tech Can Help or Harm Instruction for English Learners With Disabilities
Oct. 23, 2026
From Chromebooks to AI-driven platforms in classrooms, technology plays a big — and often controversial — role in students’ lives. Tech’s capacity to help or distract from student learning was a key discussion point in a recent Education Week webinar on practical strategies district and school leaders and teachers should consider in supporting English learners with disabilities. Sara Kangas, associate professor and program director of the COE's special education program and webinar panelist, suggested teachers consider whether the technology being used is hurting or helping peer-to-peer interactions among English learners with disabilities.
“We’re losing some of the language riches that we want in a classroom when children are working on devices in isolation,” Kangas said.
Watch the webinar on demand via Education Week's website at https://bit.ly/4z8BTUh.
