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The Current State and Activation Strategy on ICT Uses in Visually Impaired Schools

  • Journal of Special Education: Theory and Practice
  • Abbr : JSPED
  • 2010, 11(1), pp.217-252
  • Publisher : Research Institute of the Korea Special Education
  • Research Area : Social Science > Education

Yoon-Mi Kim 1,  Lee Hae-Gyun 1

1대구대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to show the effects of ICT(information & communication technology) in education institutions for the visually impaired. The parts consisting of surveying and analyzing refer to the actual condition to use ICT, problems identification & solving, and activation strategy. In this study, I had to survey and analyze a questionnaire given to teachers working at specialized schools for the visually impaired. The questionaire analyzed the uses of ICT based on the teacher's gender, experience teaching, grade levels taught, in-service training and degree of visual handicap. Of the 240 given, 214 were analyzed. The results were as follows:First, ICT-based teachings were widely used among the teachers. ICT-based teachings were used more by elementary school teachers than middle and high school teachers. Furthermore, the teachers who had in-service training used ICT-based materials more than those who didn't. The male teachers who didn't use ICT-based teachings regularly said that their classes were not suitable for them and female teachers said they didn't have enough skills to use them. Usually male teachers made their own teaching materials with computers more often than female teachers. Female teachers frequently used ready made materials from the Internet or bought the materials more often than male. The teachers who had low vision usually made their own teaching materials by themselves more often than sighted teachers and teachers with visual impairment. Visual impaired teachers often borrowed materials from co-workers. In the part of using braille transcription software, male teachers had higher percentages of understanding than female teachers and low sighted teachers had higher abilities than sighted or visually impaired teachers. Also, High school teachers possessed the ability the software more than elementary or middle school teachers. In the section covering the abilities to use screen reader programs and teaching support equipment, female teachers had higher abilities than male, high school teachers had higher abilities than elementary or middle school teachers, and teacher with low vision and visual impaired teachers had higher abilities than sighted teachers. Typically, male teachers and high school teachers have higher computer usage abilities than female and elementary or middle school teachers. Second, the teachers who had low visual and visually impaired teachers felt low satisfaction about the software and content that was served to their specialized schools more than sighted teachers. It was shown that the software and content was enough in the schools, but the teachers' satisfaction towards them was not very high. Therefore, it seemed that there needed to be higher qualified materials to increase teachers' satisfactions of them. Third, most teachers wanted in-service training about making teaching materials which could be used in their classes directly. This study showed that to support effective ICT-based education, the software and content which is suitable for the students' special needs should be developed and served. Most teachers said that serving the electronic braille display to their students for free would be the most important device to facilitate ICT-based education. From this study, I have concluded that institutional support for ICT-based education in specialized schools is vital to develop and serve the materials which are suitable for the curriculum and special needs in visually impaired school.

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