Dr. Omar Al Noursi presented on using technology to promote inclusive education. He discussed that inclusive education is based on the right of all people to fully participate in society. In the UAE, inclusive learning technologies can help students with learning difficulties by bypassing or compensating for their challenges. Technologies support inclusive education by enhancing communication, motivation, and self-advocacy. However, challenges remain such as a lack of teacher training and standards. Different types of technologies were presented, including tools that allow independent living, voice recognition, screen reading, and interactive instructional tools.

1. USING TECHNOLOGY TO
PROMOTE INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION
Omar Al Noursi
Institute of Applied Technology
The International Conference on Inclusive
Education: Education for Diversity
15-17 March 2016 (ICIE2016)

2. Bio data
• Dr. Omar is currently working as the Lead Teacher of the English
department in the ATHS Ain Boys Campus .
• Has published refereed articles and presented papers in international
conferences on topics related to educational technology, teacher
education, learner autonomy and curriculum design.
• Mr. Al Noursi is also a member of reviewing teams for International
Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, African Educational
Research Journal and TESOL Perspective.
• Has an excellent experience in internal accreditation and is a member of
IAT Quality Assurance Council.
• Received GESS award for outstanding contributions in education in
2014,
• Received the Institute of Applied Technology External Participation Award
2014
• Received Sheikh Hamdan Award for Distinguished Academic
Performance in 2006
•

3. Agenda
• Inclusive Education
• Inclusive Education in the UAE
• What is Inclusive Learning Technologies ?
• Equality and Equity
• Learning Difficulties
• Ways Technology Supports Inclusive Education
• Challenges
• Types of Inclusive Technologies
• Conclusion

4. Inclusive Education

5. What is Inclusion?
Inclusion is a philosophy of Education based on the belief
that every person has the right to fully participate in
society

6. IE ..in the UAE

7. What is Inclusive Learning Technologies ?
Inclusive learning technologies can be described as those
technologies, whether software or hardware, that help students learn
strategies to bypass, work around or compensate for their difficulties.

8. Inclusive Technologies
Fostering the use of ICT in the teaching of, and learning by,
special needs pupils.
Technology plays an important role in creating an effective and
adaptable learning environment, especially when teaching pupils
with special educational needs and inclusive classrooms.

11. Inclusive vs. Segregated schools
Inclusive learning: all learners feel welcome, accepted, safe, valued and confident
that they will get the right support to assist them to develop their talent and achieve
their goals.

12. https://www.facebook.com/aljazeerachannel/videos/10154090777609893/

13. Types of Learning Disabilities
Memory
Focus
Academic fluency
Organization & time management
Speaking
Hearing
Mobility

14. Ways Technology Supports Inclusive Education
provides a much-needed medium to develop socialization and
communication skills
a means to enhance lifelong learning.
provides enhanced opportunities for individuals to learn actively
in self-directed ways

15. provides a venue where information can be presented using a
flexible, nonlinear interface, enabling students with learning
disabilities to access information otherwise unobtainable using
traditional expository texts (Twyman & Tindal, 2006)
Ways Technology Supports Inclusive Education
have positive effects on content area learning outcomes, critical
thinking skills (e.g., reiteration, summarization, illustration,
prediction, explanation, and evaluation), motivation , self-
advocacy and test-taking strategies.

16. can mediate students' performance through question prompts,
writing scaffolds, and procedural steps that lead to a strategic
plan for accomplishing goals and objectives (Englert, Wu, &
Zhao, 2005).
These tools (a) support cognitive and metacognitive processes,
(b) share cognitive load by providing information as needed,
thus allowing the user to concentrate on higher order thinking
processes, (c) allow users to conduct activities that would not be
possible in traditional classroom environments, and (d) allow
users to solve problems by generating hypotheses, collecting
data, and interpreting results in a simulated environment.
Ways Technology Supports Inclusive Education

17. Beneficial to all learners…
and essential to some

18. Challenges
• Education Policies
• The definition of ILT.
• Teacher Education Program/ lack of teacher training
• Most hardware and software is designed for the mainstream
population
• lack of attention to the application of ICT for people with
special educational needs
Most hardware and software is designed for the mainstream
population and does not pay sufficient attention to a wide
range of capabilities and to people with disabilities
(Wong et al., 2009, p. 109)

19. Challenges
• Standards and competencies for all teachers
All of today's educators must have adequate technology
knowledge and skills to serve the increasing number of students
with disabilities who participate in inclusive general education
classrooms (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, & Levine, 2006)

20. (a) Type I tools, which allow individuals to
complete every-day tasks more efficiently, and
(b) Type II tools, which allow users to synthesize
and communicate information in new ways.
Types of Inclusive Technologies
Christensen et al. (2006)

21. Tools for Independence
 Text to speech
 Speech to text
 Voice recorder
 Visual recorder
 Organization of thought
 Communication
 Hearing
 Location tracking
 Presentations
 Community forums
 Business

22. Livescribe Pulse Smartpen
Students have limitless access to teacher instruction plus the ability to utilize
multiple modalities, engage in tactile experiences, and self–monitor by
recording their own voice for fluency exams and oral reports.

23. Voice Recognition Technology
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition
software is used to gain independence,
freedom and confidence
 Create documents and emails hands free
 Command and control computer by voice
 Level the playing field for students with disabilities
 Express thoughts in writing with speed and ease
 The program tunes itself to what you say and how
you say it to deliver increasingly better recognition
results over time

24. Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• Improve writing fluency
• Increase productivity
• Improve student services
• Reduce paper consumption
• Multimodal messaging, dictation, and search
solutions
• Sync digital voice recording for transcription
http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-
industry/dragon/accessibility/index.htm

25. Text to Speech Technology
• Kurzweil 3000: comprehensive reading,
writing, and learning software solution
 Access to any curriculum
 Reading fluency
 Study skills tool
 Decoding support
 Writing and self editing
 Independent test taking
 High speed scanning and MP3 conversion
http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.html#q1

26. Screen Reading Technology
• Adobe Reader
 PDF file viewer opens and interacts with all
PDF documents
 View, search, digitally sign, verify, print, and
collaborate on Adobe PDF files
 Study tools and note generation
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
• ReadPlease 2003
 Reads any text seen on screen
• all purpose text-to-speech software
http://readplease.com/

27. Organizing and Planning Tools
• Inspiration Software
 Comprehend, create and communicate
 Visual learning and thinking
http://www.inspiration.com/
• Kidspiration Software (K-5)
 Develop reading, writing, and thinking skills
 Visual organization and note taking
 Build conceptual understanding in Math
http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration/Details

28. Interactive Tools for Instruction
• Real-time survey response clickers or web
enabled mobile devices
 Student response solutions
 Instant visual mapping
 Content and technology integration
http://www.turningtechnologies.com/
• Smartboards
 Ease of access
http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/

29. Creative Solutions
• Online textbooks
 Economic and interactive text books
• Online collaboration
 Open source community based options
• Wiki, Moodle and blog sites
• Social Media in the classroom
• Prezi
 Creativity and self-expression
 Zooming presentations
http://prezi.com/

30. • …...Many of these technologies incorporate Universal
Design features which focus on providing learning
resources that accommodate for learner differences. A
comprehensive source of information on topics relating to
Universal Design for Learning and Technology can be
found by going at the website for the Centre for Applied
Special Technology (CAST)
• http://www.cast.org/

31.  Touch screen
 Adapted keyboard
 Ball mouse
 Specific software (Super-Nova for
poor-sighted or blind people.)
Adapted Tools
http://www.inclusive.co.uk/

32. • Is any tool or service that is helpful in advancing
student learning
• Is an evidence-based applied science derived from
basic educational and psychological research
• Enhances capabilities of exploring ideas, innovations
and communicating meanings
In conclusion Inclusive Technology …

33. Thank You