How people with developmental disabilities navigate the Internet

We live at a time when the Internet is used increasingly for communication, for information, and for the exchange of goods and services. Questions arise about how people with learning disabilities make use of this new technology. In this article, Bjorn Harrysson, with two of his colleagues, A. Svensk and G. I. Johansson, from the Department of Design Sciences at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden, explores the opportunities and difficulties experienced by members of this group when navigating the Internet.
Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson observed seven people, aged between 15 and 44 and with mild to moderate developmental disabilities, as they navigated between different web pages using the general tools of Microsoft Internet Explorer Web Browser. The authors describe some of the strategies that were used for moving within and between web pages and for opening web pages, carrying out searches and finding preferred web sites.
The results of the study are partly optimistic. The people involved made good use of many of the features of the general software. They experienced greater difficulties when it became necessary to use text to navigate and explore the huge potential of the Internet. Harrysson, Svensk and Johansson close their article by making a series of recommendations for developments that would facilitate ease of access and independence in the use of the Internet for people with developmental disabilities.     

浅议网络学习资源及其管理问题

Internet已逐渐成为广大教育、教学、科研工作者获取学术(学习)资源、了解学术动态、进行教学活动学术交流的主要途径和场所之一。但是由于网络自身的快速发展和信息的快速膨胀,使网络中具有大量的冗余、粗制滥造乃至伪劣信息,这就给网络用户进行有效地检索学术(学习)资源带来了诸多的困难。摆在我们面前的一个亟待解决的问题是:如何对这些学习资源进行科学管理?网络学习资源管理过程中需要关注哪些问题?     

Websites as educational motivators for adults with learning disability

Adults with learning disability pose an educational challenge for teachers and support workers. They frequently have limited skills in reading and writing, and may find it difficult to pay attention to topics of little interest to them. Nevertheless, they can be keen to use new technology, and often have hobbies and interests that are catered for on the Internet. This article describes a project aimed to highlight the advantages and weaknesses of web‐based learning for adults with learning disability, and to suggest improvements. Eight students with mild to moderate learning disability were helped to find websites related to their interests, and supported in creating multimedia work linked to those sites. Results showed the powerfully motivating effect of the websites for students, but highlighted the access difficulties posed by websites for such students. Further work in this area is needed, to develop strategies for exploiting the motivating effect of websites, and to improve the accessibility of sites for people with low literacy levels.     

Therapeutic support for young people with learning difficulties: what enables effective practice?

Supporting children and young people’s mental health is a central aim of the UK government policy, with those with learning difficulties a particularly vulnerable group. This systematic review of research uses published literature to explore how access and participation in therapy might be facilitated for young people with learning difficulties. Twelve studies published 2000-2019 were identified, which described the experiences of access to, and participation in therapy for people with learning difficulties, although notably most of these involved adults. Findings indicated eight themes: pre-therapy, careful contracting, therapy is hard, idiosyncratic needs, therapeutic relationship, group therapy, reviewing therapy and it changed my life. These were organized into three chronological stages: setting up of therapy; therapeutic processes; and therapeutic outcomes. A number of strategies that can promote access and participation are suggested for professionals working therapeutically with young people with learning difficulties, around contracting, clear communication, the therapeutic alliance and the ending of therapy.     

The prospects for using the Internet in collaborative design education with China

The Internet has become widely available in higher educationinstitutions all over the world offering new possibilities incommunication, collaboration and delivery. This paper examines theprospects for using the Internet in the context of collaborative designeducation with China, using the School of Design of the Hong KongPolytechnic University as a case study. The critical success factors arediscussed. These involve serious investment of resources and changes atgovernment, institutional and personal levels on both sides of thecollaborative institutions. It is important to look into theinfrastructure and policy issues, access to information technology,curriculum adaptation and instructional design as well as staff andstudent attitudes in order to achieve the collaborative objectivesthrough an Internet supported strategy. Although the Internet is a costeffective delivery mechanism, the School does not intend to deliver itsdesign course materials to China purely online. Pedagogically, theSchool believes in a dynamic interaction between real and virtuallearning environments for quality student learning. Technically, thereare many impediments to overcome before teaching staff and students arefamiliar with the use of information technology and it will take sometime before most people in China can make full access of the Internet toconnect freely to electronic education. Therefore, a hybrid approach isproposed to train design educators and practitioners in Mainland Chinaby utilising traditional face-to-face teaching method and establishedtechnologies while developing the use of the Internetgradually.     

Children and young people’s uses of the Internet for homework

This article extends current research by more closely examining children and young people’s uses of the Internet for homework support within the familial context. In particular, it examines how young people find and deploy resources, how levels and quality of access influence use and the participation of other family members in homework support. It argues that whilst families view the Internet as a useful resource for homework, there are pitfalls which centre on the relatively high cost of home access in the UK. In some families, these costs may impact negatively on the affordances of the Internet for supporting homework and learning the functional skills and competencies needed to use the Internet autonomously.     

网络图书馆在创建基层学习型党组织中的作用

创建高校基层学习型党组织是加强高校党组织建设的有效途径,如何建立党员学习的长效机制显得尤为重要.随着互联网信息技术的不断发展,人们开始依赖互联网进行数据交换和信息获取.网络图书馆在创建基层学习型党组织中能够以加强导读宣传、组织理论学习、拓展信息平台、促进专题研究等方式积极发挥服务职能作用,构建一个践行学习精神、增强学习能力的学习平台.     

Visions and realities of Internet use in schools: Canadian perspectives

Teachers in many countries are being expected to use the Internet in their work. Research on the Canadian experience of Internet implementation provides insights that may be valuable for researchers and educators in other countries. A three‐year study, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, examined both the visions for Internet use and the realities of everyday practice related to Internet use in Canadian schools. Participants in the study included ministry of education officials, teacher association officials, classroom teachers, and school administrators. Findings of the study suggest that all four participant groups were positive about the visions of the Internet as a tool with the potential to contribute to the enhancement of teaching and the development of information literate students. The realities of Internet use, however, were quite different from the visions. All four participant groups reported that the Internet was being used mostly to increase access to information. Its potential as an innovative learning tool for students and for teachers was largely unrealised. Few respondents reported using the collaboration, creation, and dissemination capabilities of the Internet. This outcome appeared to be the result of limited infrastructure support, difficulties in infusing Internet use into curriculum, and lack of appropriate teacher professional development.     

Mind,Brain, and Education in the Digital Era

Computers are everywhere, and they are transforming the human world. The technology of computers and the Internet is radically changing the ways that people learn and communicate. In the midst of this technology‐driven revolution people need to examine the changes to analyze how they are altering interaction and human culture. The changes have already permeated societies around the world, altering learning, teaching, communication, politics, and most aspects of human interaction. The possibilities for improving educational effectiveness seem powerful, as a result of an information revolution with online access to infinite information and numerous teaching and learning activities of adults and children at school, at home, and in public places. An urgent need is for systematic longitudinal studies of what happens with learning and teaching as people use computers and play with the Internet. Perhaps the new technologies make possible a new kind of constructive dialogue, with intertwining of teaching and learning in a dynamic double helix of questions and answers, of modeling and experimentation. This special section will deal with (1) uses of new technologies to help people teach and learn more effectively, (2) uses of individual laptops to help children learn, (3) creation of new tools for learning and assessment, and (4) techniques that image brain structure and activity.     

Eliciting web site preferences of people with learning disabilities

The Internet can be an excellent tool to help people with learning disabilities access relevant and appropriately written information. However, little work has been undertaken to ascertain web design or content preferences for this cohort. This paper examines methods to address this issue. Twenty five participants were presented with three web sites dealing with employment information. They were asked to browse each and carry out a series of set‐tasks. Interviews and a rating scale ascertained preferences. The problem of acquiescence bias, the tendency for people to automatically agree with those in perceived positions of authority, was minimised by the avoidance of ‘polar interrogatives’ (questions requiring a ‘yes/no’ or similarly polarised answer). Participants liked the use of pictures, especially when they featured other young people with learning disabilities. Abstract content related to money or benefits often went unnoticed. Audio was appreciated where offered, although not extensively used. Preferences regarding text size and menu position were also established. Results are compared to other relevant literature and recommendations formulated to help web developers and information providers. The methodological issues inherent in this study were the use of the rating system, and the interview technique. The former was adapted following early findings that the neutral position, on a three point scale, was confusing. Using four points avoided this problem and produced more varied results. Avoiding polar interrogatives greatly helped in minimising ‘acquiescence bias’. The study concludes that it is possible to elicit considerable information from people who find it difficult to articulate their views.     

Net generation at social software: Challenging assumptions,clarifying relationships and raising implications for learning

This paper takes as its starting point assumptions about use of information and communication technology (ICT) by people born after 1983, the so called net generation. The focus of the paper is on social networking. A questionnaire survey was carried out with 1070 students from schools in Eastern Finland. Data are presented on students’ ICT-skills generally; their access to the Internet; their use of social software; and time spent on the Internet compared to watching television. Results show that whereas there are some general characteristics of ICT use that can be applied to net generation students, when it comes to social networking there are differences in the way they use software. A critique is offered of generalisations about the net generation and some implications for learning arising from the findings are discussed.     

终身学习信息资源建设的战略意义与模式创新

网络信息资源从理论上讲,具有多媒体、即时性、协作化、研究资源的优势,是我国构建全民学习、终身学习的学习型社会的重要保障。要想将网络信息资源的理论优势转化为现实优势,需要站在时代高度审视当前我国终身学习信息资源建设的现状,在总结国内信息资源建设经验的同时,借鉴国际终身学习信息资源建设的办法,建立公建众享、视频担纲、学分银行、一馆统筹、门户直达、学科引领的终身学习信息资源建设模式,以此整合并建立优质的学习信息资源,促进终身学习的科学发展。     

Public Internet Usage Points in Schools for the Local Community – Concept, Implementation and Evaluation of a Project in Bremen, Germany

Experts agree that citizens of the information society will need new and additional skills in the future that are connected with the effective and efficient use of digital media technologies. Today, there is unequal access and use of those technologies, which is described as the 'digital divide'. In a unique project, the State of Bremen (Germany) has created Public Internet Usage Points in 25 schools. These 'Web.Punkte' offer access to computers and Internet for the community and support for external users by students. The project is embedded into a larger context of building a regional infrastructure for lifelong learning. Starting with interpretations of lifelong learning, this paper tries to combine those views with concepts to bridge the digital divide, explaining organizational barriers and success factors. Using formative evaluation, the results of the project will be highlighted and arguments for a regional learning network will be drawn.     

UK initiatives to promote inclusion in higher education for students with disabilities

ABSTRACT

The inclusion in higher education of students with disabilities and learning difficulties has become a matter of concern within the past eight years. Recent Higher Education Funding Council initiatives to promote greater inclusion have had some success in improving access to higher education (HE) and raising awareness across the sector of the need to ensure full participation by students with disabilities in the learning environment once they enter the university. Hopes that the new UK disability rights legislation would help promote equality of access to HE were disappointed when it became apparent that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 excluded education from its main provisions. The only requirement affecting post‐compulsory education is that institutions publish a statement on their provision for students with disabilities and learning difficulties. These disability statements confer no legal rights and it appeared that they would have little impact on access to HE for disabled people. This paper reports the findings of a survey of the anticipated effects upon the higher education sector in England of the requirement to produce disability statements. There may be some positive effects not only upon the nature and form of information available, but also on the provision offered in the sector.     

Attitudes and coping practices of using mobile phones for teaching and learning in a Uganda secondary school

This study investigated the opportunities for learning afforded by access to mobile phones, and the associated challenges created by their use in a peri-urban private secondary school in Uganda. The study was motivated by availability of phones with facilities to connect to the Internet and to access free open education resources (OERs), which if used appropriately, could support changes in pedagogy required to promote learning in rural schools in Uganda. Information was collected using interviews, observations and focus group discussions with parents, students and their teachers between June 2014 and July 2015. Results show a slow positive change in attitude amongst teachers and parents that phones are useful in learning; an increased enthusiasm and eagerness among students, and more engaging and interactive lessons. Some teachers found challenges in accessing education resources due to poor Internet connectivity, while others required skills and knowledge about appropriate OERs that promote interactive learning. The study recommends re-skilling of teachers to use mobile phones to access the Internet, use of OERs and ICT interactive pedagogies especially in schools with limited access to computers and Internet connectivity.     

Computer science students’ use of the internet for academic purposes: difficulties and learning processes

ABSTRACT

Higher-education students now have more alternatives for searching for information than previous generations had. The Internet is a vast ocean of information sources, albeit with diverse reliability and quality. In Web 2.0 platforms, any participant can be a content creator. This reality is challenging for both the instructors and the students. We conducted interviews with 12 Computer Science students and 8 instructors from two universities to (a) identify the difficulties students encounter, if at all, (b) identify the learning processes that students undergo, if at all, when using the Internet for their CS studies, in particular, programming tasks; and (c) elicit instructors’ perceptions of students’ use of the Internet. Both students and instructors agreed that although using the Internet is not trivial, direct teaching of this skill is unnecessary. Instructors differed in their attitudes towards students’ use of the internet. We found that in the first year the students’ use of the Internet and their difficulties are similar to reports in the empirical literature, and echo the instructors’ concerns. However, after extensive experience, students undergo a learning process, and their ability to navigate the myriad sources, as well as to search, manage, and effectively evaluate Internet sources improves. Students mentioned their improved abilities to code as a means to effectively evaluate information sources.     

Selection and evaluation of Internet information by adults with intellectual disabilities

Internet offers people with intellectual disabilities (ID) unique opportunities to access information and to participate in society. But concerns have been raised about the potential risks they face when accessing the Internet (e.g. giving credit to false information, being exposed to manipulative content). As part of the current debate between positive risk-taking and overprotection, our study empirically tested the extent to which 43 adults with ID identified and selected topically relevant as well as trustworthy web pages while searching the Internet for several topics (e.g. Can social networks use your pictures for advertisement?). Participants also justified their search decisions. Results revealed that while searching familiar topics (i.e. social networks), participants selected more relevant and trustworthy pages than irrelevant and less trustworthy ones. Searches of less familiar topics (i.e. daily health), were carried out randomly, that is, without applying a specific criterion. Results point to the importance of topic familiarity on people’s with ID performance on Internet searching tasks. This pattern of results suggests that, first, we should avoid overprotection when people with ID search for familiar topics and, second, they need more support when searching for information about less familiar topics.     

Integrating studients with special educational needs into mainstream schools in OECD countries

After graduating from the University of London in psychology, Peter Evans completed his Ph.D. in the field of special education. He directed a research project, funded by the Department of Education and Science, on curriculum development for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. Subsequently he became responsible for programmes on special education at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Peter Evans has published many books and scientific papers in the area of learning difficulties. Recent books includeIntegrating students with special needs into mainstream schools (1995) andOur children at risk (1995).     

Lifeline and Moral Education

The recent Lifeline programme on moral education developed for adolescents by the Schools Council Moral Education Project can be successfully adapted for use by children with learning difficulties, writes Peter McPhail, director of this project and also of the Health Education Council Project, Cambridge University     

Cultural Issues of the Internet in Classrooms

Despite the rapid and broad diffusion of the Internet in schools, educators have paid relatively little attention to the cultural impact of this new technology in teaching and learning. This article investigates some cultural issues that the Internet has introduced into classrooms, with illustrations of good practice. It aims to stimulate critical discussions among educators on ethical and cultural aspects of Internet use, including equality of access and participation for all people, and mutual respect for, and promotion of, under-represented languages and cultures. This article finally demonstrates an urgent need to re-shape the Internet as a human, rather than merely computer, network.