10. ICT as compensating tool

It can make a world of difference to a student with special needs that ICT can help compensate in learning situations so that the student can participate on equal terms and work with the same material as the other students.

In this module you will find inspiration and tools to - in selected areas - utilize some of the many possibilities.

Focus is on students' use of some of the general compensatory tools in an inclusion perspective. The topics of the module are available options to adjust the computer, to make learning material accessible and to compensate through tools for reading and writing.

When you teach a student with special needs, you can help the student by using some of the general settings in the computer. The student will thus experience fewer difficulties when working with the computer and in software packages.

Students with impaired sight, with reading/writing difficulties or with physical disabilities often depend upon the availability of learning resources in digital format. Digital material offer students with special needs access to learning content that would otherwise be impossible to process. In this section you will work with accessible learning material, especially how you scan and process existing material.

When a student has severe reading difficulties and problems with writing, you must consider the use of speech as a compensatory tool. You must also pay attention to how dedicated writing tools can compensate for reading/writing difficulties or impaired writing function.

Reading tools and dedicated writing tools can be integrated with other programs where you are supposed to read and write: word processors, e-mail, internet etc. With these tools - that can read text on the computer and suggest what to write - the student can process reading matter and get a head start to writing.

Introducing and using compensatory tools as soon as possible is not only important in the learning situation. The tools can be used in continued education and in work. Knowing which tools are available and what they can do for you may thus influence the student's selection of education and career.

If a student uses dedicated ICT compensatory tools, you can integrate these in the module assignment, but it is not mandatory. There may be special circumstances that must be described; for instance if your student uses a dedicated operation panel or enlargement program together with learning material.

The section “If you want to know more about compensatory technology” offers you the opportunity to investigate and read more about ICT compensatory tools.

In this module you will work with the adjustment of the computer and the production of digital material. You can also try out how text can be read aloud and with dedicated writing tools.