Use of Technologies in Special Education in Finland.

According to experiences in the Developing Project for Technology Education1, the Technologies for Children with Individual Needs Project2 and discussions with numerous teachers, technologies are on average made good use of in the Finnish special education. However, those technologies are rather traditional and based on various interface devices or entry-level uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Their purpose is typically to facilitate daily activities or to improve learning. Those technologies can be divided into four main groups: 1) assistive technologies, 2) communication technologies, and 3) software for supporting one’s learning. In addition, a small number of schools use 4) concretizing technologies, such as educational robotics, to support learning and to implement schoolwide curriculum. Unfortunately, nationwide statistical information about the degree of use of technologies in special education is not available in Finland.

In the following sections, we briefly describe the four central categories of technologies used in special education in Finland. This description is not meant to be comprehensive, but simply an overview of the topic. The categories have mainly been used as a framework to get an overall picture of the field in the Technologies for Children with Individual Needs Project.

1)Assistive Technologies: In special education, assistive technologies are tools or instruments that improve the capacity, independence and initiatives of individuals (Salminen, 2003). They are primarily used when a sickness or a disability has decreased the level of an individual’s activity or participation in society. Assistive technologies, in general, help individuals hear, see, communicate, move, live, work, study, or play. They range from walking sticks and magnifying glasses to speech synthesizers and highly-developed computer systems. Those devices include both personal and general instruments, such as personal hearing aids or induction loops.

According to Finland’s Basic Education Act 628/1998, handicapped and other children with special needs have a right to get interpretation and assistance services free of charge, including suitable technical devices that facilitate learning. This includes individual technical tools that assist action in everyday situations as well as materials and tools that support communication and learning. In Finland assistive technologies are, in general, easily accessible and widely used. However, no precise statistical information on the number of tools and instruments used in Finland is available.

2)Communication Devices Communication: is a crucial factor in teaching and learning. However, all people are not able to communicate through speech. Communication can be aided by devices that support speaking, writing and reading. In schools, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is widely used in special education. AAC refers to a) communication methods that clarify speech or support the learning of speech and b) non-verbal communication through using signs. People using AAC methods can apply two kinds of devices: traditional and technical. The traditional devices include, for example, simple communication boards and folders. The technical devices include, for example, electronic speech devices and computer-based communication programs (Communication and Technology Centre Tikoteekki, 2006).

Technical devices provide a variety of ways to support communication. For example, by using a computer, a person with a speaking disability is able to communicate with others and has an instrument for rehabilitation, learning, playing, working, or managing the environment. In addition, computers, mobile phones, vision phones and video conferencing systems of the future will provide more variety in electronic communication (Salminen, 2003), both in school and home environments.

Only a few studies have investigated the use of communication devices in special education in Finland. However, these studies have convincingly shown that communication devices strongly benefit their users. For example, computer augmented communication benefited interaction, play and school work of severely disabled speech impaired children (Salminen, 2003). At the same time, there are deficiencies in the usability and availability of telematic and communicative devices (Salminen, 2003; Topo et al., 2000). In general, the use of technical tools for communication increased rapidly in the 1990s and nowadays there are about 70 different types of communication tools available in Finland (Salminen, 2003). In the future, new technical devices will offer a wider spectrum of instruments for more unique and individualized applications.

3)Learning Software: such as computerized drills, tests, tutorials and intelligent tutoring systems; supports learning. Drills are typically used for practicing calculation, the vocabulary of foreign languages, or other mechanical training through multiple choice tasks or puzzles. Computerized tests with multiple choice tasks or simple questionnaires can be used instead of ordinary school exams, and tutorials initiate typically into a new subject matter (Meisalo et al., 2003). School students with learning disabilities usually need iterative training to gain competence at academic skills like reading, writing, mathematics, and problem solving. Thus, the drill types of learning tasks are effective in skill-building. Also educators’ attitudes about learning software have been mainly positive and a drill-based computer-aided instruction has been shown to benefit students with learning disabilities. Well-known learning software with Finnish versions for special education includes, for example, Lexia3 and Dyslex4 for practicing reading, writing and cognitive skills, and multiple versions of Cami5 for practicing mathematics and perceptual skills. These types of software can be used as practice tools, but they also provide statistical information and level of student’s progress for a teacher to follow and assess student’s development.

 According to our knowledge, Special Education learning software is generally well known and quite widely used in teaching among teachers and other specialists of education in Finland. However, we have observed they do not pay enough attention into the individual needs. Thus, there is the lack of meaningful learning software for minor groups of school students, such as autistic children or children with severe disabilities. The content and purpose of the software does not attract or advance enough these school students.

4)Educational Robotics as a Concretizing Tool: Concretizing technologies refer to physical technical artifacts; construction sets, programmable building blocks and educational robotics; that help make one’s mental models and ideas concrete. Concretization can happen, for example, by physically constructing an object; for example an elevator, vehicle, or imaginary device; and then writing a computer program to control it. Educational robotics sets; such as programmable LEGOs6, ELEKIT7, Sony Aibo8 and Vex Robotics9; are examples of concretizing technologies that can be used together with programming to create technology artifacts for deepening and conceptualizing one’s ideas. Commercial educational robotics sets range from readymade robots to self-made robots made from plastic, metal, and electronic components. There is often a lack of compatibility between different sets, which means that usually only one set can be used at a time. Also, the flexibility for building different kinds of robots varies between building sets.

Educational robotics make it possible to concretize models and functions, with handson experience, so that models can be observed, evaluated and developed both on conceptual and on concrete levels. Thus, by building, programming and documenting in technology projects, school children can learn design, logical thinking, problem solving, technical skills, programming and ICT skills, verbal skills, and social skills, among others. Typically educational robotics, such as programmable LEGOs, are used as a part of general education schools’ technology education curriculum. However, educational robotics as a concretizing tool is rarely used in special education, even though it has been found to support school students’ learning and to decrease the barriers of learning. (Miller et al., 2000; Sutinen et al., 2005).

Source: http://www.mii.lt/informatics_in_education/pdf/INFE090.pdf