ICT Training for Special Education Frontline Professionals: A Perspective from Students of a Master's Degree on Special Education

Abstract

A large number of special education professionals agree on the fact that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is an important tool for teachers and students to overcome barriers and promote the acquisition of skills. ICT can promote school and social integration by diminishing the obstacles for students with Special Education Needs (SEN). A correct educational implementation of ICT depends strongly on the teacherâ??s awareness of the possibilities of their application and his/her training and capacity to adapt to the differentiated learning styles that he/she encounters in his/her teaching of SEN students. However, the lack of or no training on ICT is one of the most frequently pointed reasons for not using or for misusing the potential that ICT can offer to the education of pupils with SEN as pedagogical tools or as individual Assistive Technologies (AT). The findings of a survey conducted with teachers attending a Masterâ??s Degree on special education, balancing the acquisition of general ICT skills and facts on specially oriented ICT solutions for students with learning disabilities, will be reported here. The educational support provided by trained and specialized professionals at ease with basic ICT skills and assisted by specialized means and techniques constitute a form of aid for the student who needs to see his/her disadvantage reduced or overcome.