Enhancing Effective Teaching and Learning of ICT in the Schools for the Blind in Ghana: The Role of Assistive Technology

Introduction

Empirical evidence shows that most of the individuals who are completely blind and those who are visually impaired –those with visual acuity lower than 6/60 display normal behaviour patterns without exhibiting any cognitive, emotional and behavioural disorders (Falci & Pasqualotto, 2013). It has been established that the Blind and the Visually Impaired (B &VI) persons exhibit an equal level of astuteness and skills of sighted people (Vidhya & Kumari, 2015) and that there is no link between the Intelligent Quotient (I.Q) of the B&VI persons and their impairment. On the contrary, the B&VI persons acquire high cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills associated with the improvement of learning abilities. In the absence of visual input, the B&VI individuals extend the use of auditory, tactile, olfactory and kinesthetic senses so that they can live independently in a satisfactory manner. It is plausible to argue that the B&VI individuals can perform better than sighted individuals when it comes to attentiveness and spatial localization tasks (Wan, Wood, Reutens, & Wilson, 2010).

Furthermore, the blind and the visually impaired individuals exhibit exceptional mnemonic encoding, a technique that enables B&VI to recall a large amount of information (Falci & Pasqualotto, 2013). In fact, they are able to store about twice as many words in their right order of sequence more than what the sighted can (Zohar, Noga, Davidson, Kantor, & Fredman, 2007). Given equal opportunity, the B&VI individuals can perform better in the learning process and subsequently, excel in their educational endeavours. Indeed, visually impaired students are capable of using computers in handling a wider range of learning activities independently (Pradhan & Samanta, 2018; Smith & Kelley, 2007). Various researchers have shown that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can improve the quality of learning experience of the B&VI connecting theory with real-world applications when the right Assistive Technology (AT) Devices are used (Istenic Starcic & Bagon, 2014; Lowther, Inan, Daniel Strahl, & Ross, 2008; Zubov, 2018). It has also been established that effective utilization of AT devices such as the smartphones, iPads, braille, magnifiers and software such as Job Access With Speech (JAWS), Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) enable the B &VI persons to attain the maximum independence in their lives (Al-Busaidi & Tuzlukova, 2018; Patty, Koopmanschap, & Holtzer-Goor, 2018). Notwithstanding, general budget support for education in developing countries like Ghana has “flat” or “regressive” funding distribution patterns that ignore the need for additional funding in schools for special education needs (Ametepee & Anastasiou, 2015). Inadeqate funding support leads to challenges which primarily include, but not limited to, lack of proper infrastructure, lack of trained personnel, unreliable relevant equipment, internet connectivity and absence of technical support (Dündar & Akçayır, 2014) (Ametepee & Anastasiou, 2015); and (Dadzie-Bonney, 2015).

The researchers aim to review the teaching and learning of ICT in the schools for the B&VI in Ghana taking into consideration the role of Web Based Learning (WBL) and Assistive Technologies (ATs). This research became necessary following recent calls in the media waves on the low performance¹ of the B&VI in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in ICT, coupled with the Chief Examiner of West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) reports² which indicate that the B&VI students’ performance in ICT over the past years has not been encouraging. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) is an international body responsible for conducting all qualifying examinations in Anglophone countries of West Africa sub-region.