Research Article
Sultan Aldehami
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 2, Article No: ep353
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted in the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to investigate levels of teachers’ assistive technology (AT) knowledge and skills use in classrooms for students with intellectual disability (ID). A total of 98 special education teachers of students with ID completed an online survey. Results indicate that the teachers’ levels of knowledge and skills related to AT use in classrooms for students with ID were reaching proficiency. Teachers’ levels of AT knowledge and skills statistically significantly differed based on gender, training, level of education, teaching experience, and school location but not on grade level. However, there were statistically significant differences in teachers’ professional development based on gender and teaching experience but not based on training, level of education, grade level, and school location. Furthermore, results indicate that teachers’ perceptions of AT significantly predicted teachers’ knowledge and skills related to AT use in educational environments.
Keywords: special education, intellectual disability, assistive technology, attitudes, special education teachers
Research Article
Emeka Joshua Chukwuemeka, Dominic Samaila
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 99-109
ABSTRACT
The study investigated teachers’ perception and factors limiting the use of high-tech assistive technologies resources in special education schools in North-West Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design using a questionnaire to sought data from 120 respondents who were drawn using a multi-stage sampling technique from special education schools within the region. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. The questionnaire was subjected to expert validation and reliability was established through a pilot study using 20 teachers from two special education schools within the study area, but not part of the sampled schools. The reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained for the questionnaire using the Cronbach Alpha formula. The data collected were analyzed using percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that teachers do not use high-tech assistive devices regularly to teach students with physical disabilities. However, teachers perceived positively that there are great benefits to the use of these resources. It was recommended among others that both government and other stakeholders should organize workshop, seminars and other capacity building training regularly for teachers as means of updating their knowledge and skills in the use of assistive devices considering the dynamic nature of special education technology.
Keywords: assistive technology, high-tech, utilization, perception, special education, limiting factors
Research Article
Sunagul Sani-Bozkurt, Sezgin Vuran, Yavuz Akbulut
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 1-25
ABSTRACT
The current study aimed to design technology-supported interactive social stories to teach
social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A design-based research was
implemented with children with ASD along with the participation of their mothers, teachers,
peers and field experts. An iterative remediation process was followed through the
feedback of participants. The data collection process was further supported through
researcher notes, interviews, video-recorded observations and log files. Three cycles of
remediation were employed to improve the interactive materials, which lead them to be
perceived as pleasant, interesting, engaging and user-friendly. It was observed that children
gained useful non-target skills as well as the target behaviors. Interactive stories were
particularly helpful in raising satisfaction as they provided children with the opportunity to
make their own learning decisions.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, multimedia learning, interactive social stories, instructional design for special education, learners with special needs
Research Article
Esmaeel Azimi, Saeed Mousavipour
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 331-340
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present research is to study the effects of educational multimedia in dictation and its role in improving dysgraphia in students with dictation difficulty. Research methodology is categorized as being quasi-experimental. The statistical population of the study includes students with dictation difficulty of the second grade of primary schools of Arak in the 2011-2012 academic year. The population (including 39 students) is selected through utilization of Poisson sampling procedure. From the designated sample, 20 members are selected to be put in the experiment group and the remaining 19 members are put in the control group. Clinical interview, dictation test, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children- Revised (WISC-R) are utilized to distinguish students with dictation difficulty from normal-progress students in learning disability center. Dictation test for data compilation and Man-Whitney- Wilcoxon U-Test (MWW) for data analysis are used. The findings of the study depict that the level of improvement of dysgraphia of those students who rely on educational multimedia in dictation has a positive statistical significance in comparison with those who rely on normal educational procedures (p
Keywords: Educational multimedia, Dysgraphia, Special education, Dictation difficulty
Research Article
Cristina Portugal, Rita Maria de Souza Couto
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 60-75
ABSTRACT
This article describes a development work whose focus was examining whether designing a game as an educational technology based on interdisciplinary dialogue between design and education can contribute to education of deaf children in learning a language. Through methods and techniques of design it was sought to identify how this area of knowledge can be part of the processes of teaching and learning in terms of developing learning materials to enhance the strategies of acquiring knowledge. The work was guided by the Multi-Tracks, which is a game to help the acquisition of a second language by deaf children. This game was developed in light of methods and techniques of design, under the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Design/Education - LIDE, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in partnership with the National Institute of Education for the Deaf in Rio de Janeiro-INES/RJ. The development work was particularly interested in designing learning materials for deaf children by considering their special traits and dialogue with the surrounding reality. Considering that educational technology research in special education is rather weak, it was thought that this work may contribute to this interdisciplinary area.
Keywords: Interdisciplinary design, Educational technology, Learning games, Deaf Children, Special education