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Top1. Introduction
Disability is defined as limitations to accomplish a task in the way or within the range regarded normal for a person, as a result of an impairment (WHO, 2001). According to WHO, over 400 million of the global population are hearing impaired (WHO, 2021) and over 2.2 billion are visually impaired (WHO, 2019). These unique ailments can make everyday life very difficult, particularly learning. To support people who are visually and hearing impaired, scholars started to explore technology to support them. Assistive technology (AT) is any device whether purchased mass-produced, transformed or custom-made which maintains, increases or enhances the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities and enables them to execute an activity that would be impossible to execute without AT (Cowan & Turner-Smith, 1999). Students' use of AT has been approved by many nations globally. Some of the nations have enacted laws to support its use. In the U.S., the promulgation of the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with disabilities has permitted students with disabilities access to a universal education curriculum. In Ghana, the inclusive educational goal policy 2 is to “guarantee appropriate tools and assistive devices are provided to school children where required to help them access quality education” (MOE, 2015, p.7). The above policies manifest that countries that believe in inclusive education have endorsed AT in schools. AT including the JAWS screen reader, ZoomText, and Braille were developed to facilitate interaction among people who otherwise would not get the chance of having it (Göbel et al., 1995; Nam et al., 2012). While the aforementioned ATs were initially developed to aid all groups of persons with disability, they have evolved into a vital instrument with the ability to fundamentally revolutionize teaching and boost the academic work of students. The practice of AT in the classroom has evolved into a well-established approach for enabling students with disabilities to engage more wholly in the several activities related to the teaching and learning process (Derer et al., 1996; Hutinger et al., 1996). Having stated that, there is strong evidence that AT is applied in low optimum ways in educational environments (Derer et al., 1996; Scott, 1997).
The principal task of instructors in institutions for students with special educational needs is to help their students learn the basic facts and processes found in daily life. For students with disabilities, successful educational results are often based on a harmonized evaluation and application of AT (Copley & Ziviani, 2004). Yet, the acceptance of AT by teachers working with students with disabilities is low (Parker et al., 1990). Although these students will be afforded every opportunity to learn and receive special education services, technology will not be used in the classroom if special education teachers refuse to accept them. In an environment where technology plays a critical part in individuals’ everyday life, those who lack competence in this technology often struggle to compete. With the availability of technology nowadays, it is up to instructors to make sure that their learners have sufficient knowledge of the technological tools that are available (Carey & Sale, 1994).