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ICT in Portuguese reference schools for the education of blind and partially sighted students

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Abstract

Technology has become an essential component in our society and considering its impact in the educational system, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) cannot be dissociated from the educational process and, in particular, from pedagogical practices adopted for students who are blind or partially sighted. This study focuses on Portuguese reference schools for the education of blind and partially sighted students, regulated by the Decree-Law No. 3/2008, in which are concentrated the human and material resources that can offer an educational response with quality for these students with special education needs. The study intends to analyse the perceptions of the teachers, who teach visually impaired students in middle school and secondary school education in these reference schools, of their knowledge, teaching and training in the area of ICT, as well as of the real ICT integration in the teaching and learning of these students. A survey, which has been applied to these teachers in the 2012/13 school year, was adopted as a method of data collection. The results reveal a sample confident in their technological capabilities, however with little resourcefulness in some tools and software specific to the area of visual impairment and a very significant number of teachers ignoring many of these. The implementation of ICT with students who have visual disabilities is lower compared with the sighted students. The lack of specific training is considered to be the main obstacle for teachers, with regard to the real integration of ICT in the teaching and learning of these students.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEDH – Centre for Studies in Human Development, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Catholic University of Portugal (Oporto Regional Centre), Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005, Porto, Portugal

    Sara Isabel Moça Ramos

  2. CEGE – Centre for Studies in Management and Economics, School of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Portugal (Oporto Regional Centre), Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005, Porto, Portugal

    António Manuel Valente de Andrade

Authors
  1. Sara Isabel Moça Ramos
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  2. António Manuel Valente de Andrade
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Correspondence to Sara Isabel Moça Ramos.

Glossary

ABBYY FineReader

Reading/scanning software that enables conversion of text images, received from scanner, into e-text that can be editable.

Braille embosser

Hardware that transfers computer-generated text into embossed braille.

Braille Fácil

Text-to-braille translation software.

CCTV

Closed Circuit Television – Electronic magnification reading system, which makes use of electronics and video cameras to produce a magnified image of a variety of materials and writing.

Cubarithm

Tool to teach the layout of arithmetic problems. It consists of a work board divided into square compartments into which cubes that are embossed with braille characters may be placed.

Dosvox

Operating system that contains the elements of the user interface; speech synthesis system; editor, reader and printer text files; educational and playfulness games; screen reader and screen magnifier.

Electronic braille note-taker

Portable device with braille keyboard used to input, store and output text either in braille or print. A speech synthesizer or braille display is used for output.

Electronic pocket magnifier

Portable magnification device designed to fit in the palm of a hand.

Heat fusing machine

Hardware that makes flat print images tactually accessible.

Jaws

Screen reader software.

Magic

Magnifying software.

NVDA

Screen reader software.

OPENBook

Reading/scanning software that enables conversion of text images, received from scanner, into e-text that can be edited.

Refreshable braille display

Tactile device with pins controlled electronically, which pop up and down to show up to one computer line at a time in braille. As the pins move up and down, they form a refreshable braille line that can be read by touch.

Screen magnifier

Software that magnify a section of a computer screen.

Screen reader

Software that uses synthesized speech to convert electronic graphics and text represented in computer screen into an audio format.

Speech synthesizer

Computer system used for simulation of human speech.

Text to braille translation software

Software that translate print to braille.

Winbraille

Text-to-braille translation software.

Window Eyes

Screen reader software.

ZoomText

Magnifying software.

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Ramos, S.I.M., de Andrade, A.M.V. ICT in Portuguese reference schools for the education of blind and partially sighted students. Educ Inf Technol 21, 625–641 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-014-9344-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-014-9344-6

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