Unit 1.2

Role of information and communication technology in special needs

education]

The definition of special needs education refers to those with special educational needs are defined by the additional public and/or private resources provided to support their education.

A child has special educational needs (SEN) if he or she has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for him or her to learn than most other children of about the same age.

1.2.1

Changes in the Educational System in Information Age

* Information system*recent 20 years have

brought some remarkable innovations in the delivery

of education.

[traditional texts , sounds graphics and video merged into a single ‘multimedia’

document.]

Understanding of ICTs, in modern world of communication

Mastering of the basic skills as well as concepts of ICTs as part of the core education.Alongside;

*reading *writing*calculating

New approaches to teaching and

learning;

Teaching and learning are becoming more independent from

specific physical location.

the number of resources available to students

outside the classroom has increased dramatically.

The locus of control to initiate educational

encounters has now pass to the learners.

Progress in educational system impacted by ICT application

Table 1.2

Variable

• Teacher role• Learning• Criterion for success• Type of knowledge• Assessment • Instructional

paradigm• Grouping• Student activity

Traditional model

• Experts , recall facts and sage on the stage

• Focused on the teacher

• Demonstrate full competence

• Acquisition , accumulation or, reproduction of data.

• Based on test• Content-oriented,

teacher-oriented• Homogeneous• Personal work

Emerging model

• Collaborator , resource person and guide on the side.

• Focused on the student

• Demonstrate growth and personal abilities

• Construction or mental representation of meaning.

• Based on the student’s performance of real tasks

• Heterogeneous• Group work

BOX 1.2 changes in the learning process caused by information age

From teacher-centered instruction to student – centered learning

The educational paradigm has gone from the instructional paradigm that emphasized the role of education and the teacher ,to the ‘personal’ paradigm focused on the learning itself and the student who learns.

The roles of a teacher and a student are interchangeable.

From content – based classes to process- oriented lessons.

There has been a conceptual change that does not interpret the learning as acquisition , accumulation or reproductive of information data , but as constructions of mental representations of meanings.

Learners are engaged in task that are authentic and bear direct relationship to meaningful and relevant task in the ‘real’ world.

Assessment is based on a student’s implementation of real task’s.

Toward a more collaborative learning

Children often learn better from other children.

Students are no longer seen as passive recipients of information.

Students are now grouped heterogeneously so that each can contribute to the completion of a task collaboratively exactly as in the real world.

1.2.2 Equal opportunities for

all:Digital inclusion of people

with SEN

•Speedy development of information age brings possibilities and dangers to people with special needs.•Those who unequal access to information run the risk of losing some of the most basic rights.•There is a growing awareness that people with disabilities have the right to expect the same standard of service and access as every other member of the society.

Offer of the ICTs to the full:1.Blind people-appropriate hard , software to be created and braille.Ex. A text as an alternative to images

2. People with low vision – large format text and effective color contrast.

3. People who have cognitive impairment – simpler language or alternative text formats.Ex. Easy read, clear and logical layout of uncluttered structure of information.

4. People , whose first language is sign language may also find simple language indespensable.5. People with manual dexterity impairments – may navigate easier with a keyboard rather than with a mouse.

*We have just started to put into practice the potential of ICTs to support independent living and learning by persons with special needs.

1.2.3 Identification of barriers to learning

for students with SEN

Table 1.3 the main types of nature and impairments, and functional limitations caused

by them.Types of Impairments Nature of Impairments

Physical Impairments Neuromuscular impairments:• paralysis (total lack of muscularcontrol in part or most of the body)• weakness (paresis; lack of musclestrength, nerve enervation, or pain)• interference with control, viaspasticity (where muscles are tenseand contracted), ataxia (inaccuracyof motor programming andcoordination), and athetosis (extra,involuntary, uncontrolled, andpurposeless motion)Skeletal impairments include jointmovement limitations (eithermechanical or due to pain), small limbs,missing limbs, or abnormal trunk size

Sensory Impairments Visual impairments:• low vision• colour blindness• blindnessHearing impairments:• hard hearing• loss of sensor-neural hearing• loss of conductive hearing• deafness

Cognitive Impairments Mental retardation• Age-related diseases(Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease

Specific Learning Impairments • Dyslexia• Dysgraphia• Dyscalculia• Attention deficit

Speech and Language Impairments Speech disorders (developmental oracquired):• articulation disorders• voice disorders• fluency disordersLanguage disorders (developmentalor acquired):• expressive disorders• receptive disorders• mixed receptive and expressive

1.2.4 The Role of ICTs in SNE

The educational needs of people with disabilities are vastly diverse. On the one hand, they must, as their peers, get knowledge and skills required in the society in which they live. On the other, they have (by definition) additional demands (often referred to as special educational needs) caused by functional limitations which affect learners’ ability to access standard educational methods of instruction, therefore, prevent educational progress.

Though specific applications of ICTs are extremely diverse and varied, they may be grouped into the following main categories:

• Compensation uses.• Didactic uses.• Communication uses.

1.2.5 Supporting Inclusive Education through ICT Implementation

Inclusive education presents an opportunity for students with special needs to attend mainstream classrooms with their age-group peers. To realize this we need to provide for the relevant conditions of overcoming the barriers to the learning process. Particularly speaking, these conditions are attained via the facilitation of ICT infrastructure for SNE, integration of ICTs into SNE curriculum and training of ICT specialists in SNE

Training of ICT specialists

in SNEIntegration of ICTs

into SNE curriculum

Promoting ICT infrastructure for SNE

The key ways in which ICTs can support educational opportunities for people with SEN are as follows:

• Identifying the preliminary level of personal development (experiences and skills), that is to say the starting point of a student;• Assisting in personal development by shaping new skills or updating existing ones;• Improving the access to information;• Overcoming geographical or social isolation v ia communication support and networks;• Improving the image/perception of an area by enhancing motivation and awareness regarding the ICT benefits in SNE.

1.2.6 Benefits of ICT Use in Education for People with SEN

According to the research of British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA, 2003), ICT usage in schools to support students with SEN can enable learners to communicate, participate in lessons, and learn more effectively.

Benefits of ICT use in education of people with special needs

General ICT benefits:• Enables greater learner autonomy;• Unlocks hidden potential for those with communication difficulties;• Enables students to demonstrate achievement in ways which might not be possible with traditional methods;• Enables tasks to be tailored to suit individual skills and abilities.

ICT benefits for students:• Computers can improve independent access for students to education (Moore and Taylor, 2000; Waddell, 2000);• Students with special educational needs are able to accomplish tasks working at their own pace (ACE CentreAdvisory Trust, 1999);• Visually impaired students using the internet can access information alongside their sighted peers (Waddell, 2000);• Students with profound and multiple learning difficulties can communicate more easily (Detheridge, 1997);• Students using voice communication aids gain confidence and social credibility at school and in their communities(Worth, 2001);• Increased ICT confidence amongst students motivates them to use the Internet at home for schoolwork and leisureinterests (Waddell, 2000).

ICT benefits for teachers, non−teaching staff:• Reduces isolation for teachers working in special educational needs by enabling them to communicateelectronically with colleagues (Abbott and Cribb, 2001; Lewis and Ogilvie, 2002);• Supports reflection on professional practice via online communication (Perceval-Price, 2002);• Improved skills for staff and a greater understanding of access technology used by students (Waddell, 2000);• Enhances professional development and the effectiveness of the use of ICTs with students through collaborationwith peers (Detheridge, 1997; Lewis and Ogilvie, 2002);• Materials already in electronic form (for example, from the Internet) are more easily adapted into accessibleresources such as large print or Braille (Waddell, 2000).ICT benefits for parents and carers:• Use of voice communication aids encourages parents and carers to have higher expectations of children’ssociability and potential level of participation (Worth, 2001).

Key Terms• Digital divide: A term which refers to the gaps between those who can

effectively use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and those who cannot.

• Digital inclusion: Several initiatives that work socially and technologically in order to reduce the existing gap in access to information and communication technologies and networks for people with special needs.

• Information Age: The period of social development when the production of information is more important than the production of physical goods; the service sector is much larger than the manufacturing sector.

• Information Society: Characterizes the level of community development being formed as a result of the fusion of information, media and telecommunications including far-reaching organizational and institutional changes in all aspects of human activity (e.g. workplace, leisure, shopping, commerce, education).

Thank you!