ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) LITERACY AMONG TEACHERS AND PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD OF DISABILITY

ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

(ICT) LITERACY AMONG TEACHERS AND PRACTITIONERS

IN THE FIELD OF DISABILITY

Archita Nanda* and D.B. Ramesh**

*Assistant Librarian, Institute of Technical Education & Research, SOAUniversity, Bhubaneswar-7510130

** Head, Library, CSIR-INSTITUTE OF MINERALS & MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar-751013

ABSTRACT

A total number of 335 teachers and practitioners from different fields of disability, i.e. Visual,Hearing and Speech Language, Mental retardation, and Locomotor disability are studied through aquestionnaire to assess the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy such asgeneral ICT skills and specially oriented Assistive devices for students with disability. They were alsoasked to identify sources of information, and use of different reference tools for getting informationfor teaching and professional development. The results showed that 87% respondents werecomputer literate. The practitioners have good computer skills in the field of Internet, E-mail, MS-Office, and WWW than the teachers. Only 28% respondents were Skillful in using Software programs.There was a mixed response regarding use of different Assistive technology and devices for thestudents with disabilities. Most of the respondents followed text books, reference books,newspapers, magazines, and dictionaries.

INTRODUCTION

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is indispensable and havebeen accepted as part of the contemporary world especially in theindustrialized societies. So, the pervasiveness of ICT has brought aboutrapid changes in technology, social, political and global economictransformation. However, the field of education has not been unaffected bythe penetrating influence of information and communication technology.

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Thus, ICT has impacted on the quality and quantity of teaching, learningand research in teacher education. Therefore, ICT provides opportunitiesfor teachers and students to communicate with one another more effectivelyduring formal and informal teaching and learning. Correspondingly, ICThave introduced a new era in traditional methods of teaching and offeringnew teaching and learning experiences to both teachers and students.

ICT literacy is a major component of information literacy. The term“information literacy” was coined in the 1970s by library and informationprofessionals. With the emergence of information technologies in the1980s, it became an acceptable educational term. American librariesassociation defines ICT literacy as “To be information literate, a personmust be able to recognize when information is needed and have the abilityto locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information”. Also,information literacy consists of many skills related to directing andseeking information and communication. ICT literacy contains informationlike storage, regulation, publishing and other outstanding changes inrecent years. Also, ICT literacy is using digital technology,communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate,evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledgesociety. The following five components represent a set of skills andknowledge presented in a sequence that suggests increasing cognitivecomplexity:

Access - knowing about and knowing how to collect and/or retrieve information.Manage - applying an existing organizational or classification scheme.Integrate - interpreting and representing information. It involves summarizing, comparing and contrasting.Evaluate - making judgments about the quality, relevance, usefulness, or efficiency of information.Create - generating information by adapting, applying, designing, inventing, or authoring information.

Disability is not a tragedy but an inconvenience. About 600 millionpersons or one-tenth of the world population are estimated to be disabledin one form or another e.g., visual, auditory, physical, speech,cognitive, and neurological. The proportion of the disability varies fromcountry to country. It is low in developed countries and high in thedeveloping countries. Approximately 80 percent of the disabled populationlives in developing countries. According to 2001 Census, about 21,906,769

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persons are disabled in India, which forms 2.1% of the total population(1,028,610,328). Of the total disabled population, 12,605,635 (57.5%) aremales and 9,301,134 (42.5%) are females. About 10,634,881 persons (48.5%)are disabled in seeing, 1,640,868 persons (7.5%) in speech, 1,261,722persons (5.8%) in hearing, 6,105,477 persons (27.9%) in movement, and2,263,821 persons (10.3%) in mental health. The World Health Organizationdefines Disability as follows: "Disabilities is an umbrella term, coveringimpairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.Impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activitylimitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing atask or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experiencedby an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is acomplex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of aperson’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.”

A large number of professionals working in the field of disability agreeon the fact that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is animportant tool for teachers and practitioners to overcome barriers andpromote the acquisition of skills. ICT can promote school and socialinclusion by diminishing the obstacles for students with disability. Acorrect educational implementation of ICT depends strongly on theteachers' awareness of their possibilities in the classroom, theirtraining and their capacity to adapt to the differentiated learning stylesof disabled students. Technology can reduce the effects of impairment byimproved activity and greater participation, to promote inclusion ofstudents with disabilities. Access to ICT for students with disabilitiesmay require more (and more costly) resources than are provided for otherstudents. Different technologies are adopted or adapted for use forstudents with hearing, vision, communication, physical and intellectualdisabilities. Technology issues arise in two ways for students withdisability. First, the emphasis has been on the costs of providingservices to people with disability in the form of assistive technologies.Second, with the introduction of ICT as a new mode of pedagogy, access tocomputers enables students with disabilities to participate more fully inlearning activities. In turn, such participation will prepare them ‘toparticipate in the knowledge based economy of tomorrow’ (Fichten, Barile &Asuncion, 1999:6). The internet and the World Wide Web are the primarytools in the ICT world that enable learning.

In this study the practitioners are categorized as – (i) Occupationaltherapists (OT) who help patients improve their ability to perform tasks inliving and working environments. They work with individuals who suffer

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from a mentally, physically, developmentally, or emotionally disablingcondition. (ii) Physical therapists (PTs), are healthcare professionalswho diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the veryoldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions,illnesses, or injuries that limits their abilities to move and performfunctional activities as well as they would like in their daily lives.(iii) Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and Audiologists are primarilyconcerned with improving the communication of persons with communicationdisorders. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Though there is little research evaluating the use of technologyapplication to the problem yet some of this research has potential impactfor students with disability. For example, Lancioni, Olivia and Gnocchini(1996) taught two adults with Intellectual Disability and visualimpairments to use a radio/ light system to guide in travel familiar andnon-familiar indoor environments. May (1983), demonstrated that awheelchair user with severe cognitive and physical disability couldbenefit from a switch activated system that played music when she liftedher head into a desired position. Lancioni, O’Reilly & Campodonico (2002)through a case study showed that a young adult with multiple disabilitiesneeds less time to complete dressing and washing activities with audioprompts delivered by a portable tape than without it.

As stated by Lina Bardhan, Noble Mission of South Calcutta conducted asurvey on 109 parents and teachers from urban set up on technology use byPIDs. The study showed that 84% of teachers are aware that various skillscan be taught through computers. 66% teachers mentioned that theirstudents have computer access in school. 58% of teachers allow theirstudents to use computers. 66% to 76% teachers are aware that computerizeddevice can enhance vision and hearing power and can facilitate mobilityand independent living activity.

Generic ICT skills are required by all teachers but additional skills arerequired for teachers of students with disabilities, their aides, andsupport staff (Blackwood 1999). Furthermore, this means that additionalteacher training and in servicing about technology is required. In 1994the majority of teachers (46 per cent) were self-taught, 26 per centattended formal classes or workshops, and 22 per cent received assistancefrom colleagues (Lewis 1997:4). Teachers need to be aware of "how

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technology can be used by SWD to enhance their learning" (Blackwood,1999:2), including knowledge of adaptive technology that is available andcompliance with accessibility standards (Fine 2001). In addition, teachersneed to be able to use technology more flexibly in the classroom and tocustomize the use of different types of technology to an individualstudent’s needs (Blackwood 1999). Pre-service education and on-goingtraining are required.

In 2003, the World Bank Information Solutions Group (ISG) conducted asurvey to identify the ‘current level of accessibility for people withphysical or sensory impairment in several areas, including website andInternet presence, operating and software systems, telecommunicationssystems, video and multimedia products, office equipment and employeeaccommodation practices’. The study found that the ‘overall workenvironment, including web applications, software, telecommunicationsequipment, and office equipment, is not fully accessible to individualswith disabilities, creating unnecessary obstacles for those individuals inmeeting their responsibilities and/or demonstrating their individualcapabilities and potential for advancement’. In a comprehensivequestionnaire survey of Speech Language Therapists(SLT) in Ireland,McMenamin (2004) reported that 61% of SLTs had access to the internet atwork, 83% had self-taught ICT skills, and 6% had completed a ECDL.

Library is the hub of learning in any educational institute and therefore,addressing the accessibility issues through the libraries can certainlycreate awareness among all about disability issues. D. Rajyalakshmi andKuffalikar, stated that Library services play an important role inachievement of literacy of disabled individuals. The InternationalFederation of Library Associations (IFLA) meeting Discussion in 1977covered two major areas (i) Establishment of a Working Group devoted tothe coordination of library services for blind and physical handicappedindividuals; and (ii) Services and technical concerns given as (a) thedevelopment of an international inventory of library resources; (b) theneed or identification of existing production formats; (c) the need forstandardization of production formats; (d) the development of an effectiveinternational interlibrary loan mechanism; and (e) the need for acoordinated application of existing and future technologies to productionrequirements.

METHODOLOGY

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In this study, an attempt has been made to study the ICT literacy amongteachers and practitioners in the field of disability in the state ofOdisha. This study is a part of research work taken up by the scholar. Theparticipants in this study were 335nos. of teachers and practitionersworking in different fields of disability. The Special Schools and theInstitutions where the teachers and practitioners are working are locatedin different districts in Odisha. Among 335 respondents, 75 professionalswere working for visual Impaired, 104 professionals (teachers and SpeechLanguage pathologists) were working for Hearing Impaired, 58 professionalswere working for Mental Retarded children, and 98 professionals(Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Orthotists and Prosthetists)were working for Locomotor Disability. From 335 professionals 193 weremale (57.6) and 142 were female (42.4). The author has adopted theresearch tool as Questionnaire Method and the questions were multiplechoice type. The information sought include Educational qualification,Computer literacy, Computer skill, frequency of searching onlineinformation, using software program, using Assistive devices in theirfield, frequency of using library, type of information sought, sources ofinformation in context of journals and magazines, reference tools, etc.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The analysis and findings of data collected is presented in the belowtables:

Figure-1 presents categories of respondents in different fields ofdisabilities like, visual disability 75(22.4%), Hearing and SpeechLanguage Pathology (SLP) 104(31%), Mental Retardation 58(17.3%), andLocomotor Disability 98(29.3%)

Figure1-: Different categories of respondents

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According to Table-1, the highest no. of professionals (119) completedDiploma, 96 completed B.Ed(Spl). These two fields were highest no. ofprofessionals, because the professionals belong from each & every categorylike Blind, Hearing & SLP, MR, and Locomotors.

Table 1-: Professional Qualifications of the Respondents

Sl.No.

ProfessionalQualification

s

Different fields of Disability and Number ofProfessionals TOTALBLIND

(75)HEARING & SLP

(104)MR (58) LOCO MOTOR

(98)1 Certificate 3 1 0 4 82 Diploma 42 39 27 11 1193 B. Ed (Spl) 25 41 27 3 964 M. Ed 5 2 4 0 115 BPT 0 0 0 26 266 BOT 0 0 0 12 127 BPPOE 0 0 0 11 118 BASLP 0 13 0 0 139 MASLP 0 8 0 0 810 MPT 0 0 0 20 2011 MOT 0 0 0 11 11

TOTAL 75 104 58 100 335

Figure-2 indicates that 291(87%) respondents are computer literate.

Figure-2: Computer literacy

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Table-2 shows that out of 335 respondents, 291 having computer skills inmore than one field. When the computer skills among the respondent isconcerned, the highest 216(74.23%) respondents have knowledge of Internet.A significant number 203(69.76%) have knowledge of MS-Office, followed by179(61.51%) in E-mail, and 131(45.02%) in WWW, but only 36(12.37%) inMultimedia followed by 21(7.22%) in programming language. From the resultit is very clear that the Practitioners, i.e. PTs, OTs, SLP, andAudiologists have higher level of skill in ICT.

Table 2-: Computer SkillsSl.No.

Computerskills

Different fields of Disability and Number ofProfessionals

TOTAL335

BLIND (75) HEARING &SLP (104)

MR(58)

LOCO MOTOR(98)

1 MS- Office 33 52 45 73 2032 Multimedia 4 11 6 15 363 Programming 1 8 2 10 214 Internet 36 58 32 90 2165 World wide

web (WWW)13 32 24 62 131

6 Email 24 47 27 81 179

Figure-3 indicates that the same 291 respondents out of 335, evaluate theinformation downloaded from Internet. The respondents consider“Reliability” and “Usability”, the most important criteria for evaluation.The data depicts that 206(61.5%) were answered reliability, 170(50.7%)were answered usability, followed by 106(31.6%) accessibility.

Figure-3-: Parameters for evaluation of the information downloaded from the Internet by theRespondents

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The frequency of searching online information is also crucial that only16.71% respondents were searching information daily, and 26.86% searchinginformation once a week whereas 32.84% search rarely and 17.02% were notat all searching online information as enumerated in Figure - 4.

Figure 4-: Searching of online information by the Respondents

Only 28% use software programmes and 72% were not using it. Table-3 showsthat the highest no. of professionals using software for teaching in thefield of Blind. Software programs like Doctor Speech, Hearing AidAnalyzer, VAGHMI (Voice & speech system), Gross Motor Ability Estimator(GMAE), ILeap, Job Access with Speech (JAWS), Shruti-Drishti, Win Braille,Screen Access For All (SAFA), SUPERNOVA, Open Book 8.0, Braille-to-text &Text-to-Braille, Speech-to-text, etc. used by the teachers andpractitioners.

Table 3-: Knowledge about software program Sl. No.

 Use of software program

Different fields of Disability and Numberof Professionals

 TOTAL 335

%BLIND(75)

HEARING &SLP (104)

MR(58)

LOCO MOTOR(98)

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1 Yes 39 33 5 18 95 282 No 36 71 53 80 240 723 TOTAL 75 104 58 98 335 100

Assistive Technology is specialized hardware or software that providesusers with an alternative format to communicate and access information andeducational resources. The frequency distributions of using assistivetechnology- mobility devices, 150 respondents were assisted Wheel Chairs,124 assisted white canes, followed by Tricycle (95), Prosthetic (89),Orthotic(85), and only 31 assisted Vans, vehicles as presented in Table-4.

Table 4-: Use of assistive technologies and devices - Mobility aidsSl.No.

Mobility aids

Different fields of Disability and Numberof Professionals

TOTAL 335

BLIND(75)

HEARING &SLP (104)

MR(58)

LOCO MOTOR (98)

1 Vans,vehicles

1 1 9 20 31

2 Wheel Chairs 2 15 48 85 1503 White Canes 75 6 4 39 1244 Tricycle 0 15 20 60 955 Prosthetic 0 11 9 69 896 Orthotic 0 6 5 74 85

Table-5 gives about frequency distributions of using assistive technology-Visual devices, 107 respondents were assisted Audio textbooks, 84 assistedBraille texts, followed by Brailler(81), Electronics Braille devices(68),Magnifying devices(67), and 56 assisted Braille printer, 54 assistedCCTV, the least no. of respondents (31) were assisted Speech Synthesizer .100% of the respondents from the blind field assisted White cane, Brailletexts and Audio textbooks.

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Table 5-: Use of assistive technologies and devices - Visual aids

Sl.No.

Visual aids Different fields of Disability and Numberof Professionals

TOTAL335

BLIND(75)

HEARING & SLP (104)

MR (58)

LOCO MOTOR (98)

1 Braille texts 75 2 4 3 842 Electronics

Braille devices63 3 1 1 68

3 Audio textbooks 73 23 10 1 1074 Magnifying

devices57 7 2 1 67

5 Closed captioned Television (CCTV)

37 4 7 6 54

6 Brailler 71 2 3 5 817 Braille printer

(Electronic version)

51 1 1 3 56

8 Speech Synthesizer

29 1 0 1 31

Table-6 presents the frequency distribution of using assistive technology-Hearing Devices,167 respondents assisted Hearing aids, 106 assisted Tactile devices, 78 respondents were assisted Loop Induction System, 73 assisted FM System, followed by Cochlear implants (31), Interactive videodiscs (21) and only 3 respondents assisted in Real time Captioning . 100% of the respondents from Hearing & SLP were assisted Hearing aids.

Table 6-: Use of assistive technologies and devices - Hearing Devices

Sl.No.

HearingDevices

Different fields of Disability and Numberof Professionals

TOTAL335

BLIND(75)

HEARING & SLP (104)

MR(58)

LOCO MOTOR(98)

1 Hearing aids 0 104 42 21 1672 FM System 2 59 8 4 73

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 3 Tactile device 66 28 8 4 106 4 Cochlear

implants0 28 0 3 31

 5 Real time Captioning

0 1 0 2 3

 6 Interactive videodiscs

0 15 4 2 21

 7 Loop InductionSystem

0 77 0 1 78

According to Figure-5, 263 respondents use Library regularly. As far asservices provided by library, the highest no. of respondents comment onpoor ICT facilities and lack of training about ICT skills by the Libraryprofessionals working in their Libraries.

Figure 5-: Use of library by the Respondents

Figure 6-: Sources of Information used by the Respondents

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The Users fulfill their information needs by finding the information fromdifferent sources. The data presented at Figure-6 predicts that most ofthe responses from different sources are very close to each other. Thehighest no. of respondents 312(93.13%) followed Text Books, 298(88.96%)followed Reference Books, 259(77.31%) followed News Papers, 228(68.06%)respondents followed Magazines, 168(50.15%) followed Journals, whereas theleast no. of respondents 69(20.60%) followed E-books, and 85(25.37%)followed E-journals. Other sources of information like ConferenceProceedings, E-books, and E-journals are less popular among theprofessionals.

Figure-7 reveals about various reference tools used by the respondents forsearching the information. 321(95.82%) respondents referred Dictionaries,167(49.85%) referred Encyclopedia, 122(36.42%) referred Directories, andonly 44(13.13%) referred Gazetteers whereas 53(15.82%) referred Thesaurus.

Figure 7-: Awareness about reference tools used

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

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The main result of this study shows that teachers have lower level ofskill in ICT than the practitioners. ICT provides an effective mode ofcommunication with professionals and they are well acquainted with theassistive technologies in some extent. Using of software and hardware bythe teachers is a big problem due to lack ICT skills. The findings alsoemphasizes that the practitioners use library and its resources andservices offered to them. Most of the practitioners read e-journals and e-books, whereas the responses of teachers were very meager. Teachers whoare working in rural areas have less knowledge about ICT and assistivetechnology than the Urban areas. Hence, it is very clear that teachersneed training not only in computer literacy but also the application ofvarious kinds of software and assistive devices.

The results seem to confirm other studies conclude that special educationteachers support the use of ICT as a useful tool in the education ofstudents with disabilities. For their greater proximity to the educationalprocess, teachers are clearly defenders of the use of ICT in education asshown in various studies, particularly in the survey conducted withItalian teachers by Benigno, Bocconi & Ott (2007) and with Swedishteachers by Brodin and Lindstrand (2003). In the first study there isrecognition of 75% of respondents of the potential of ICT in fosteringinclusion and, in the second, of 79%. The biggest slice of trainingprovided comes from higher education studies, but all the respondentsreveal lack of training and ask for more training, leading us to thinkthat even recent graduate teachers don’t possess enough ICT competencesand that there is a need to re-educate them as Peralta and Costa (2007)stated in their synthesis of an international research. The findings of astudy “Assessment and comparison of ICT’ Literacy between teachers andstudents in Iran’s Secondary schools” reveals that five components, dataretrieval, data application and classification, data representation andinterpretation, data evaluation, data designing and creation and theircorrect application in educational system are effective in developingteachers and students teaching-learning process and promote ICT in school,by Khalkhali, Moradi, and Amuei (2008).

The most appropriate suggestions will be taken regarding ICT literacy inthis study are:

To develop ICT Literacy Concept like general literacy.

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Training should aim towards helping teachers integrate ICT intotheir daily practice generally and the individual education plans ofstudents with disability.

The State Government should take necessary measures to meet theemerging ICT needs of teachers and practitioners working in thefield of disability.

The multinational ICT companies should fulfill their commitment inproviding the assistive technology equally accessible to all schoolsirrespective of their any limitation.

The cost of the technology should be commensurate with thepurchasing power for the persons with disabilities.

To prepare a condition for all special education organization, wherethe teachers and practitioners are working, they can access computerand internet, use assistive technologies and other data tools by lowcost.

The library of special education institutions should develop itsresources and services to fulfill the information need of theprofessionals. The library should start digital informationliteracy programme to educate the teachers and practitioners.

REFERENCES

1. American Library Associate, 1989. Presidential Committee on Information literacy: Report. Chicago: ALA

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14. McMenamin, R. 2004. Towards an Irish speech and language therapy knowledge centre: Building an online community. Trinity College, Dublin

15. Peralta, H., & Costa, F.A. (2007) Competência e confiança dos professores no uso das TIC. Síntese de um estudo internacional, sísifo/revista de ciências da educação, (n.º 3· mai/ago 07).

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