Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teaching and Learning Process of Students with Disabilities

Abstract

This is a survey research design which investigated the application of Information and Communication Technology in teaching and learning process of students with disabilities in secondary schools of Anambra State; Nigeria.. Three research questions guided the study. The population comprised five thousand five hundred and eighty seven secondary school teachers in Anambra State public secondary schools. Proportionate stratified-random sampling was adopted in selecting one thousand two hundred and nineteen teachers for the study. A 31- items four point questionnaire titled \Application of ICTs in Education of Students with Disabilities (AICTESD). was developed by the researcher, validated by experts and used for data collection. The instrument elicited information on the areas of teaching and learning process of students with disabilities that require application of ICT, challenges militating against the use of ICT in teaching and learning, and strategies to improve the application of ICT in education. Split half method was used in testing the reliability of the instrument using 20 teachers from schools in Enugu state. Pearsones Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient was used to obtain a reliability co-efficient of 0.80 which seems to be justified for the study. Data were collected and analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed that ICT can be applied in Admission process, general administration, diagnostic assessment, time tabling, library services, delivering of learning content, and communication of academic records to parents among others. It also revealed challenges as: lack of ICT facilities, assistive technologies, skilled teachers of ICT, computer illiteracy, fear of the new technology, studentse lack of access to personal computers, internet services & WWW, equity issues, etc. It was recommended among others based on the findings that the government should embark on a massive ICT/computer training program for teachers through seminars,
workshops and conferences and promotes equity in educational opportunities at all levels of lifelong learning.

Key word: Application, Information and Communication Technology, teaching &learning process, students with disabilities