ICT IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION – THE BENEFITS

ICT IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION – THE BENEFITS

Suresh.K¹ & Balamurugan. R²

¹Post Doctoral Fellow of ICSSR & ²Assistant Professor,

 ¹Department of Education, Central University of TamilNadu, Thiruvarur – 610 005, India

²Bharath College of Education, Thanjai Salai, Ammaiyappan, Thiruvarur – 610 001, India

¹ksureshtnr@gmail.com & ²balamurgan.vino@gmail.com

Abstract

In developing countries like India, the developmental tasks mostly depend on technological developments. Particularly in education, the teaching-learning process attained a high level of development, that is e-learning is one of that. The learning process may be simple while ones taking learning in their own time and place. We have a lot to choose from the world of technology, through Radio, TV, Computers, the Internet, Email, Audio cassettes, PowerPoint videos, DVDs, VCDs. The last two decades have witnessed a revolution due to the onset of technology and has changed the dynamics of various fields and has influenced the way people interact and work in society. Inclusive education is an education system which providing education to the students without any discrimination of background. In the traditional time, there are separate schools are running by the Indian government for disabled and non-disabled students. Nowadays we are shifting into the new education strategies is inclusive education. Inclusive education is not a process of dumping the disabled students in regular schools and it is a school which includes both disabled and non-disabled students in a single classroom regardless of their strength or weakness of anything. The authors of this paper have interested to describe about the uses of ICT in inclusive education.

Keywords: ICT, Inclusive Education, Communication, Technology, Disabled and Non-disabled Students

“Students are not discriminated by any means but the education stream discriminated the students by means of providing education as regular and special schools; Inclusive education is a tool to reform the discrimination and to cultivate and maintain equality regardless of discrimination of any means”

-          Authors

Introduction

We are living in the technology-enabled world and enormous information can be transmitted from one place to any other place of this universe easily. The classroom now immigrates its look from the traditional one i.e. from one way to two way communication. Two communication allows both teachers and students to participate in classroom discussions. The education is now shifted from teacher-centric to child-centric education. At present, the teacher should prepare to cope up with different technologies for using them in the classroom for making an interest in teaching-learning processes. For effective implementation of certain student-centric methodologies such as project-based learning which puts the students in the role of active researchers and technology becomes an appropriate tool. ICT has enabled better and swifter communication, presentation of ideas more effective and relevant manners. Most of the general educational institutions run for providing education to non-disabled students. Some of the special educational institutions are running for special children. Inclusive education is an education system for providing education to the students without any background of discrimination. The authors of the paper have presented the uses of ICT in inclusive education in the following passages.

Meaning of Inclusive Education

            In India, regular schools are run only for non-disabled students and special schools are run for disables students separately. Inclusive education means that all students are studying in the same classroom regardless of their strength or weakness or any discrimination in any area. It is a teaching or learning strategy which allows the students learning like the non-disable and disabled student in a single classroom environment.  It simply defined as the inclusion of regular and special schools having a common teaching process.  Kugelmass (2004) defined inclusive education as “It is an education which includes the children with disabilities in the regular classrooms that have been designed for children without disabilities”. Inclusive classroom enforces the high responsibility of the teacher because the teacher should do a lot of works in teaching due to the combination of non-disabled and disabled students. Segregation of students like ability, gender, language, colour, religion or ethnic origin is not possible is an advantage of inclusive education. This makes the teacher focus discriminative needs of the students.

            Inclusive education pertaining classrooms accommodate the children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistics and other conditions. It does not mean the ‘dumping’ process of children with special needs into the regular classroom. Inclusive schools accept diversity with respect to individuality and creating the classroom includes all such type diverse needy students. According to Thomas (1997) has defined Inclusion as “Acceptance of all pupils in the mainstream system, taught with a common framework, and identified as the responsibility of all teachers”.

ICT and Inclusive Education:

            Information Communication Technology (ICT) mostly synonymously used as Information Technology (IT) and ICT is widely used and emphasized communication through technology. It has the primary aim to bring special children to the mainstream of the society and making them self sustainable to the extent possible. ICT for inclusive education categorized into two types and they are Individual Level and Intuitional Level. The following are the tools are used to the special children.

ü  Braille Duplicator and Writer,

ü  Individual/Group Hearing/Device,

ü  Multi-Sensory Systems,

ü  Tactile Mathematical Device,

ü  Tactile Geographic Device,

ü  Tactile Science Device,

ü  Screen Readers’ and Magnifiers,

ü  Assessment and Evaluation Tool,

ü  Models, and

ü  Talking Calculator/Watch.

Measures to Promote ICT in Inclusive Education:

            The following are the measures to promote ICT among disabled students in Inclusive Education.

ü  Information can be provided in dual communication mode.

ü  Assistive devices to be adapted for improving access to technology.

ü  Indigenous production of devices to be taken up to increase the affordability by persons with disabilities.

ü  The existing curriculum for persons with disability to be expanded to include information technology inputs. 

ü  Open learning system to be encouraged to offer information technology-oriented courses for persons with disabilities.

ü  Some IT-related jobs in public and private sectors to be earmarked for persons with disabilities.

ü  In order to promote information technology among persons with disabilities, the organizations working for them should also inculcate the IT culture in their activities.

Benefits of ICT in Inclusive Education:

            The following are the benefits of the ICT in inclusive education.

ü  Independent usage of computers by the students can improve the ability to access education.

ü  ICT allows the students with special needs to accomplish their task in their own space.

ü  ICT develops the communicate ability of multi-learning difficulty students.

ü  It is useful to motivate the students in using interment and develop confidence against ICT.

ü  It provides an opportunity to access information by the visually impaired students alongside their sited peers.

ü  It is used to identify and bring concise subject concepts to the students easily

ü  It permits to select an appropriate  medium for teaching subject concept

ü  ICT is simplifying the task of measuring learning performance.

ü  It is used to the teacher who wants to modify their teaching or communicating methods

In addition to that, Meijer (2003) identifies factors in transforming classroom practice to support inclusion. It can be argued that these strategies, listed below, can all be facilitated and enhanced through the use of ICT:

ü  Co-operative teaching (support and cooperation of professional colleagues within and beyond the school);

ü  Co-operative learning (peer mentoring and flexible pupil grouping);

ü  Collaborative problem solving (focus on addressing behaviour issues);

ü  Heterogeneous grouping (but more differentiated when required to meet the diversity of need);

ü  Effective teaching (high expectations and individualized learning plans, with systematic monitoring, assessment, planning and evaluation of learners work);

ü  Home Area system (with fixed learning areas supported by a team of teachers);

ü  Alternative ways of learning (learning to learn and problem-solving).

Conclusion

            Inclusive education has the great advantage that the students are not segregated by means of ability, gender, language, colour, religion or ethnic origin. This makes the teacher to focus discriminative needs of the students. It is a teaching or learning strategy which allows the students to learn like a non-disable and disabled student in a single classroom environment. ICT plays a vital role in developing communication skills among students of inclusive classrooms and having many merits that already discussed above. Finally, the authors of the paper have concluded that ICT plays a vital role in inclusive education.

References:

ü  Rice, Donal. (2011). Use of ICTS for inclusive education. Retrieved, 24, June 2018 from http://inova.snv.jussieu.fr/evenements/colloques/colloques/article.php?c=70&l=en&a=31.

ü  Agarwal Rashmi. (2011). Technology and conceptual understanding. New Delhi: Anmol Publication Private Limited.

ü  Hemant Khandai and Shabnam Khan. (2011). Advanced educational technology: New Delhi.    APH Publishing Corporation.

ü  Monica Tomar and Sarita Kumari. (2005). Educational technology. New Delhi: Shree Publishers and Distributors.

ü  Weiser, M. (1991). The computer for the Twenty-First Century. Scientific American. 265(3). 66-75.