Teching ICT for Special Need Pupil Between Theory and Practice - Essay Example

TEACHING ICT FOR SPECIAL NEEDS PUPIL: BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE Table of content page Table of content 2 2 Introduction .. 3 Main body a. Importance of ICT in school .... 3 b. ICT program for use by students with special needs .. 8 c. Factors limiting the practical application of ICT . 10 d. Bridging the gap .. 14 Conclusion ... 15 References .... 16 ABSTRACT The world is coming to a realization that disabled people can also achieve what others can achieve. There has been a wake up call to take the disabled children to schools to acquire education like others. This has been responded well and many of them are now attending school. However in school they are faced by many challenges that make them require special attention from teachers. Most of them are faced with physical disability which makes access to education difficult. Others have various forms of learning disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, and other behavioural disorders. The world of technology has woken up to the call of the need to have improved devices that makes education easier for those with special needs. This has been responded well and a number of ICT devices and software have been launched to help them. Ranging from physical hardware like digital cameras overlay keyboards, touch screens, and others to software like sentence master, creative games, word processing, and others. These have all been developed with an aim of making education accessible to those with special needs. Perhaps the greatest revolution is the internet which has helped those with learning disabilities to access educational materials independent of their teachers. But these have been theoretical discussions of the possibilities of making the process practical. This is because this has not been the case in many parts of the world. Lack of access to ICT devices, meeting the cost of ICT, lack of trained manpower and others, are just but few examples of factors that are hindering the implementation of the whole idea. There is need for improved collaboration between parents, teachers, and those in the technology world in order to make software that suits the need of the students. There is need to provide funds to help learners acquire ICT devices to help them learn well. To make ICT practical in addressing the needs of students with special needs, there is need to sensitize the community on the role that ICT can play in education of those with special needs. INTRODUCTION There are pupils faced with all manners of learning disabilities whether physical, educational, emotional, mental, or may be a combination of all the above problems. Problems like autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, epilepsy, spinal bifida, and others present compounding disabilities which teachers find difficult to deal with. These problems present various kinds of learning disabilities ranging from mental problems to behavioral problems. Behavioral problems make it difficult for student to associate with others in the learning environment which defies the order of learning as an associative activity. It is good to realize that the world has moved from early problems of deafness and blindness which has defined learning disabilities for along time, and has moved to addressing the previously mentioned problems. The world is coming to realization that disability is no inability. There has been a vigorous campaign from all over the world in a bid to encourage the education of those with special needs. For a long time disabled children have been considered as unfit to pursue higher levels of education as compared to their normal counterparts. Students with learning disabilities have faced a lot of problems integrating in the same classrooms with other students. This has led to development of special teaching classrooms for those students with special needs. In a learning environment, teachers are faced with various problems of addressing the needs of the students which are as diverse as the students themselves. Those with physical disabilities will require different needs to be addressed compared to those with mental disabilities. There are also those with behavioural disabilities who will also require special needs as well. It is only in the recent past that learning disabilities have been recognized as disabilities. It has been recognized that neurological disorders makes it difficult to organize information, integrate it in the mind and retrieve it later. This makes it difficult for the students to integrate activities like listening, writing, reading, comprehending, and reasoning. The early approach to learning disabilities has been the use of physical equipments in helping those with eye and sight impairment. This led to the development of Braille and hearing assisting devices. Braille has helped those with sight defects to master reading and writing skills using the Braille machine. On the other hand those with hearing disability have been assisted with hearing devices which helps them to hear what is being taught. But where does this approach leave others with other types of learning disabilities This has been addressed using the improved information and communication technology that has taken the world by storm. The revolutionary development of ICT has made it possible to enhance education in the world not only to normal students but also to those with impaired learning. It has made it possible to advance education for students with special needs. This has been made possible through the use of computer hardware and computer software programs specially designed for a specific disability. Various programs are designed for various kinds of learning disabilities to address special needs of students. Those with hearing disabilities can actually learn through special programs using a computer if they have good eyesight. Those with sight disability can learn through programs that have been enhanced through recording. There are also programs which are designed to address various behavioural problems that pose learning disabilities and disorders. ICT has been an important sector for people with disability not only in their learning process but also in the employment sector. It is a sector that has created many job opportunities in the world. People with disabilities have benefited especially those with physical disabilities since they can get jobs that require application of less body movements in the sector. ICT sector is currently one of the leading employment sectors in the world economy and also major determinant of the level of growth of a country. According to Ager (2003), the biggest challenge facing the academic needs of students with special needs through ICT is the link between theory and practical. It is challenging for science teacher taking these students through practical classes due to their learning impairment. It is also challenging in terms of translating the theoretical statement of the need to use ICT in addressing the needs of students with special needs and the actual implementation. There is a question between theory and practical approach in implementing the idea. There are many hurdles in the process of teaching these students using ICT. These have made it difficult for students to benefit fully from the advanced communication technology. It appears like the world has been theoretically giving it development record in terms of special education and ICT but which contrary does not match the practical aspects of the record. For one, this cannot be implemented in the whole world going with the level of development. While it is easier to implement it in the developed world, it is not that easy in developing world where access to computers and other electronic devices is a luxury. Access to ICT equipments has also been crippled by high cost associated with electronic devices used in the process. Coupled with lack of trained manpower makes the whole process flawed. ICT is a dynamic field in which technology keeps on changing day in day out and there is need to have trained manpower who can keep up with the changing technology. There has also been low community awareness of the usefulness of ICT in education process of students with special needs MAIN BODY Importance of ICT in education ICT has helped more students to have access to education. According to Moore and Taylor (2000), computers improve access to education for more students independent from their teachers. Information and communication technology does not involve the use of computers only but it also encompasses the use of related components like software, CDS, internet, Radio, Television, Sensing devices, Data control apparatus, and others. This has greatly contributed in the education of students with special needs. It has helped in simulations and modelling which has helped pupils to understand certain issues and phenomena more clearly. This is especially important for students who cannot attend practical lessons in the laboratories as it may prove to be too dangerous for them to handle the apparatus. Computer simulations give them a practical approach of what could happen in the laboratory. According to Cook and Finlayson (1999), it has also helped special education in the sides of data manipulation. Data logging is a very important aspect of learning especially for students with disabilities. It makes it easy to enter data and analyze it with ease with makes the students understand the concepts well. It has also helped in publishing and presentation. It has developed programs with enable students with special needs to print and present the data just like the normal students although they may be visually impaired. In the side of research it has helped the students with easy access of information with is presented in the internet, CD-ROM, and other devices from which information can be retrieved. ICT can be applied as a motivating medium for the learners. It creates a centre of attraction for many learners with special needs due to many learning packs incorporated in the same learning device. A computer will hold learning materials, games, internet for communicating, and other attractive applications like coloured pictures, animations, sounds and humour recorded in devices e.t.c. ICT also presents information in different ways which makes learning attractive to students with special needs. At the same time it provides for varies sources of information to the teachers and learners. Information can be form texts, graphics, recorded sounds, internet navigation tools, and others. It is also a good opportunity for social interaction. It encourages the interaction of students with special needs which strengthens their bonding. Interaction can be through focused learned from a computer or shared field study using electronic devices like digital cameras and others. Learning difficulties whether physical, sensory or any other can be resolved through the use of ICT devices. Taking into consideration that the learning environment is enabled and enhanced through effective communication process, ICT provides the basics that defines an enabling learning atmosphere. It has also helped in overcoming and reducing the problems that arise from learning in an inaccessible environment. The accessibility of the learning environment has been enabled by the fact that teachers and students can access each other through the internet. This has made it easier for learners with physical handicap to access learning materials in their homes. It has reduced the distance between teachers and learners. This accessibility of information has helped to overcome sensory, physical and cognitive disabilities through the use of multimedia or other means of improved ICT. It has also enabled the exchange of information between learners and their teachers. ICT has a lot of benefits to the teachers providing education to the students with special needs. According to Abbott and Cribb (2001), it helps in reducing isolation for teachers by enhancing communication between with the students and colleagues through use of electronic devices. Through online communication, it enables the exchange of ideas with the professionals in the same field and also helps in contribution in special education forums. According to Perceval (2000), this is important in development of professional communication in the field. Waddell (2000) further asserts that ICT provides an easy access to educational materials that can be used by teachers in the learning process. These materials can be easily converted to prints and Braille through the use of ICT technology to suit the special needs of the students. ICT is also advantageous to the parents as it enhances the level of socialization with other parents and students. According to Worth, (2001), it provides a mode of communication which makes the parents get more involved to the social life of the students. ICT programs for use by students with special needs There are many ways in which ICT has been developed to bridge the gap in education of students with special needs. This has not only been through hardware and software for learning materials and equipments but also through enabled conference facilities for the students and their teachers. Information and communication technology has improved accessibility to teaching and learning environment in various ways. There are various ICT devices that can help learners with disability. Multimedia devices help students with different difficulties in their senses in reinforcing learning. It combines moving images, texts, sounds, and other graphics to help the learner understand more depending on their special need. There is also overlay keyboards or onscreen grids. These are improved keyboards which incorporate symbols which can be used to support the usual texts in expressing an idea. This keyboard has been designed with improved features like those found in traditional Braille machine to help learners with special needs. According to Higgins and Raskid (2000), there is speech recognition systems developed to run on personal computers. These systems help the user to create texts by recording and can also be applied to control the computer using personal voice. It provides a set of commands which uses the owner's voice. In the same line, there are spell checkers which helps to correct an individual voice grammatically. There are also glossaries which are meant for dyslexic learners for checking on accuracy of a text. The development of touch screens has helped in the display of information. It has led to the development of sensitive display screens in which computer react to the touch of the user. This is especially for learners who are visually impaired and who find it difficult to locate computer buttons. Various soft wares have been developed to help the learner. Worker processors are soft wares that have been developed using the world processor software which are modified to suit the use of learners with special needs which cannot be able to apply all commands required for world processor devices to perform. There are also drill and practice software for learners who have understanding difficulties. It assists the learner to over learn concepts and practice developed skills in an independent manner. In the line of software, there is assessment software which helps the teacher to place assessments to the students and at the same time for the student to respond to the assignment depending on their level of disabilities. Some of these special software developed for learners with special needs include creative games series, creature chorus sterling, sentence master series, language activity series, Talk time with Tucker, Talking series, Elementary Language and Reading Packages, Autism packages, Visual Impairments Packages, and others. There is also a new package in the market which addresses the need of special students which incorporates solutions for various learning disabilities i.e. Complete Special Needs Software Solutions Package. Having looked at the above provision for special education in the learning of students with special needs, it can be concluded that ICT is a mandatory learning tool which is supposed to be implemented in all learning institutions that cater for students with special needs. It makes their education easier and ensures that more children with disabilities have access to basic and advanced learning. But going by the trend in education sector of the world, this seems not to be the case. Let us now explore factors that are limiting the practical application of ICT in supporting the education of student with special needs to practical ones. Factors limiting practical application of ICT in special education In the first instance, we have already cited the limitations arising from the actual availability of ICT in the whole world. Due to the rising importance of ICT in the word, its demand has outlived its provision. This has made ICT services very expensive especially in the developing world. Provision of hardware devices for ICT is one of the largest hurdles that the education sector has to overcome in provision of ICT learning in schools. It has become difficult to provide each child with a computer in the whole world although there have been efforts to do so. Microsoft has liaised with other companies in ensuring that there is a computer for every child in a learning institution but this has not been achieved in the public offices leave alone in education institutions. The question has been failure of access to the technology. We have seen that there are many benefits that can be derived from using ICT in assisting pupils with special needs but this is only theoretical. The practical implementation of this will require that every student will have access to the hardware devices before learning how to use them. Lack of these hardware and software devices has been one of the major factors hindering the learning of students with special needs. Worse still, in the developing world access to power is another limiting factor. Many of the hardware in ICT use electrical power to operate. Many of these areas especially the rural areas have no access to power line or generators which can support the operation of these devices. According to Detherigde (1997), there is a great need to help the parents and schools catering for students with special needs to acquire equipments and material if the implementation of ICT is going to be a success. The other limitation to practical use of ICT is lack of manpower. The use of ICT requires trained manpower in order to use the devices effectively. Teachers handling students with special needs are only trained in special education field and lack enough training in the field of ICT. This has been due to low interest developed by the teachers towards learning ICT. According to Waddel (2000), the professional development of teaching staff is essential in the use of ICT in special education. This helps in imparting the necessary skills and confidence in the application of ICT programs which helps the student to understand better. If the teacher is not well trained in the field, there is likelihood that the students will also not understand well. This is perhaps the biggest problem facing the implementation of ICT projects in major teaching institutions. There is another limitation arising from the fact that teacher have low understanding of their students and their level of disability. This limits their understanding of the needs of each and individual children. This has limited the use of ICT in the fact that teacher do not know the right software to use for the students and may end up acquiring the wrong software for the students which does not help them. Clarke and Kirton (2003), argues that there is need for the teacher to understand the characteristics of interaction for the student when they use the augmentative and alternative communication aids and the conversation patterns. This is important in deciding the kind of software that is to be implemented for the children. There has also been the problem of lack of inclusion for the students in implementing the ICT programs. This has left the student fraternity out of the process. This results from implementing ICT programs that are not targeted. This calls for the need to implement programs that clearly defines the purpose of the program, its goals and the target objectives. Implementation of ICT is very sensitive to many compounding factors. Lack of proper supervision of the programs has made many of the program to be short lived and far below the expected outcome. Management is very important in implementing any project. The other limitation to the use of ICT is the cost of software developed for various disabilities. Although the internet is relatively cheap, some of the soft ware that caters for the needs of students with special needs are quite expensive and are not accessible to all. In most developing countries, they can only access the internet and even some cannot access it. This cost is too much for parents to bear taking into consideration that most of the students with special needs have other medical expenses to be met by the parent. According to OFSTEAD (2002), this has been a great hindrance to the implementation of the program. These are among many factors that have hindered the practical application of ICT in helping student with learning disabilities. This has greatly affected the learning of students in many schools who still finds it difficult to access basic education. It has implicating effects as many of disabled students are left in the home and they shy away from competing with their fellow children in the education arena due to their disability. As it has been discussed above, it is evident that the use of ICT can bridge the gap between learning disabilities for in normal and disabled students. Although it has been argued that ICT does not improve the IQ of the students, it goes a long way into improving their understanding and hence making education more interesting to them. There are a number of approaches that can be used to help make the use of ICT a reality in assisting learners with disability. But these approaches will require a holistic approach in their implementation. They will require a consulted efforts between teacher, parents, students, and the technology world in order to develop software that are practical to use and affordable to the schools and parents. Bridging the gap According to Clarke and Kirton (2001), there is need for collaboration between teachers who knows the needs of the students and the software manufactures in order to produce software that helps the students according to the level of their need. Worth (2001), argues for a case of the current assistive technologies supposed to meet the needs of leaning disabilities but which does not help students. He asserts that there are no laid down criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the devices. In line with this it is important for teachers to be well trained in the use of developed devices. Teachers have sighted lack of time and know how in the current technology in the market as the greatest barriers in helping students with special needs through use of ICT. There is need to have ongoing training programs to the teachers in order to make them more informed of the technology available in the market Lancioni et al., (2001), argues that there is need for more training, advice and support to teacher in order to make the use of ICT devices more effective in schools to make the use more practical. There is also need for improved access to ICT in schools catering for students with special needs. European Agency for Development in special Education points out that more access to online discussion between different players in the sector can make the use of ICT more practical and more helpful to teachers and students. This will ensure access to various education materials for students and teacher. Lewis and Ogilvie (2002), asserts that improved peer access to ICT to these students will make learning more conducive and make it easier for teachers to follow the progress of the students. To make ICT more practical to students with special needs, it is also good to start with training the community first of the importance that ICT can play in education of these children. This will involve mobilization of the community which turns out to be holding teachers, parents and the children themselves. Burnet (2003) says that this initiative should come from the school leaders and create a network for information sharing between the community and the school. This would provide a network that will raise the awareness of the whole community on the issue. CONCLUSION As we have seen, the use of ICT in the learning process of students with special needs is very vital. It is very important models of learning that can help student with learning disability achieve the same education calibre like other children. It is beneficial not only to the students but also to the community as a whole. However we have seen the many hurdles that make the process impractical. This is the point that all the authorities in the world should strive to address right now. Implementing ICT in special schools should not be seen only as a burden of the parents and teacher alone nor should it be taken as a problem to be tackled by the authority alone but rather it should be seen as burden that everybody has to tackle. All of us have an input that can make the process more practical. It is time the world moved from the theoretical mentioning of the process and moves to make it more practical. Going by its benefits, it is worth our trial. There is need for the world to move fast and address the digital divide that has currently rocked the world. The ICT gap between the developed and the developing world has increased with a huge gap and there is need for it to be addressed fast. This can only be done through increasing access to ICT facilities to the developing world. 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