Thematic focuses

Axe 1. Virtual Environments, Learning and Cognitive Development in Inclusive Education Context

Coordinators : Ecaterina Pacurar (epacurar@unistra.fr, LISEC, Université de Strasbourg), Claude-Alexandre Magot (LISEC, ESPE Université de Strasbourg), Julien Bugmann (CRIFPE Université de Montréal, Canada)

How can digital technology help learning and cognitive development of learners in an inclusive education context? How can it be particularly beneficial for students with special needs? And how to improve their everyday use in the context of inclusive education, while digital takes a prominent place in our society?

This problematic of the treatment of inclusive education in relation to technologies is complex but it is important when we know the potential and the importance of digital in education nowadays (OECD, 2015). For example, we have recently observed the emergence of virtual environments to support the training of future teachers in inclusive education, as is the case with the TeachLivE ™ environment. This type of tool can indeed help the training of future teachers, including those working in inclusive education, and even represents a strong opportunity in their professional career (Myers et al., 2016). By giving teachers confidence and allowing them to teach in a "virtual" way, this can really improve the learning and cognitive development of their future students.

This type of environment has great potential, including the fact that it can offer simulated experiences including support activity structures for such a public (Floyd & Shambaugh, 2017).

But digital education in inclusive education is not limited to virtual environments, far from it, and it is important to consider also other existing digital tools such as tablets that have seen their presence in schools increasing in the last few years. Also, many applications for mobile media have emerged to support the students (voice media, zoom, etc.), and there are also more and more frequent uses of social networks and online games for disable teenagers (Laidi, 2017). These multiple applications, such as those contained in the College + package (Fage, 2016), could help the inclusion of students with special needs in regular classrooms. We can even notice the recent emergence of some particularly innovative initiatives with the use of certain robots (Huijnen & al., 2016), and even humanoid robots (Hamzag & al., 2015) for students with autism spectrum disorders (TSA).

The objective of this axis is therefore to question these multiple digital practices in the context of inclusive education and to highlight projects, led or to come, mobilizing these tools to allow cognitive development and learning of students with special needs.

The authors' contributions will therefore address the uses, the benefits, but also the difficulties encountered by all actors in contact with such emerging digital devices, taking into account the complexity of their integration into inclusive education.

References

Charles Fage, Charles Consel, Etchegoyen K, Amestoy Anouck, Manuel Bouvard, et al.. Applications Numériques pour la Cognition Sociale pour Favoriser l’Inclusion Scolaire des Élèves avec Troubles du Spectre Autistique (TSA). V. Brun; J-M. Mazaux; P-A. Joseph; A. Prouteau. La Cognition Sociale, SAURAMPS MEDICAL, pp.85 -109, 2016.

Floyd, K. K.,  Shambaugh, N. (2017). Instructional Design for Simulations in Special Education Virtual Learning Spaces. In Handbook of Research on Instructional Systems and Educational Technology (pp. 202-215). IGI Global.

Hamzah, M. S. J., Shamsuddin, S., Miskam, M. A., Yussof, H.,  Hashim, K. S. (2014). Development of interaction scenarios based on pre-school curriculum in robotic intervention for children with autism. Procedia Computer Science, 42, 214-221.

Huijnen, C. A., Lexis, M. A., Jansens, R., de Witte, L. P. (2016). Mapping robots to therapy and educational objectives for children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 46(6), 2100-2114.Laidi, Louisa. (2017). Le rôle des réseaux sociaux et des jeux en ligne dans la socialisation juvénile des adolescents scolarisés en classe Ulis. Adjectif.net. Mis en ligne le lundi 5 juin URL : http://www.adjectif.net/spip/spip.php?article431

Myers, D., Starrett, T., Stewart, M. A., Hansen-Thomas, H. (2016, June). Using virtual reality technology to enhance instruction in teacher education programs. In 4th Annual (p. 51).

OCDE. (2015). Connectés pour apprendre ? Les élèves et les nouvelles technologies. Principaux résultats. Consulté à l’adresse https://www.oecd.org/fr/edu/scolaire/Connectes-pour-apprendre-les-eleves-et-les-nouvelles-technologies-principaux-resultats.pdf

Axe 2. Implementing inclusive education and technologies: the role of the actors’ representations

Coordination : Maria Popa-Roch (LISEC, ESPE, Université de Strasbourg), Nathalie Gavens (LISEC, Univerité de Haute Alsace)

In 2011 UNESCO was pointing out the need to train teachers to apply the principles of the inclusive education by integrating technology in a useful way and by exploiting the benefits of accessible technologies. Two strong educational policies characterize the French educational system these last decades and are put forward by the School Refunding Law (July 2013): the inclusive education of all students and the use of new technologies at school.

Research in social psychology suggests that the success in applying these education policies depends on the representations and on the perceptions of the education system actors, in general, and on their beliefs, stereotypes (cognitive aspects) and on their attitudes (affective aspects), in particular (Rohmer & Louvet, 2012).

The “Implementing inclusive education and technologies: the role of the actors’ representations?” section aim is twofold. On the one hand, it addresses the issue of the psychosocial barriers to the full application of the inclusive education principle. Indeed several governmental reports underlie the mixed results of the inclusive education in France more than ten years after the February 2005 Law (Pompili, 2016). Research focuses on the impact of negative attitudes (e.g., feeling uncomfortable, worried, frustrated) and negative stereotypes (e.g., the presence of disables students in the regular classrooms penalizes the rest of the students) in teachers towards disabilities on the quality of the pedagogic relation (e.g., les explanations, less encouragement, more distance, les peer acceptance) in the inclusive context (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002). On the other hand, it calls for research that shows that teachers' availability and willingness to transform teaching practices into an inclusive context by using, for example, technologies (i.e, adapting and differentiating to make the learning accessible) largely depends on conceptions and representations of teachers towards the disability.

This section converges on idea that changing teachers representations towards disability and inclusion is a prerequisite for the transformation of pedagogical practices in order to develop the potential of each child, with special educational needs or not. Indeed, many studies show that schools that carry out  an inclusive pedagogy are those that are also effective (Rousseau, Bergeron, & Vienneau, 2013).

References

Avramidis, E., Norwich, B. (2002). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration/inclusion: A review othe literature. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17, 129–147.

Pompili, B. (2015). Rapport sur l’école primaire inclusive. Rapport présenté en commission des affaires culturelles et de l’éducation de l’Assemblée Nationale.

Rohmer, O., & Louvet, E. (2012). Implicit and explicit measures of the stereotype content associated with disability. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51, 732-740.       

Rousseau, N., Bergeron, G., Vienneau, R. (2013). L’inclusion scolaire pour gérer la diversité : des aspects théoriques aux pratiques dites efficaces. Revue Suisse des Sciences de l’Education, 35, 71-90.

UNESCO (2011). Des TIC accessibles et un apprentissage personnalisé pour les élèves handicapés : un dialogue entre les éducateurs, l’industrie, les gouvernements et la société civile. Rapport

3. e-Inclusion and Life-long Learning

Coordination: Pierre-André Caron (Trigone-Cirel, Lille University); Elvio Fisler (SESAF-CellCIPS Lausanne, Switzerland ; Dominique Kern (LISEC, Haute-Alsace University ; Stéphane Guillon (LISEC, Strasbourg University)

In the context of long-life learning, the inclusion with digital technology can cover a wide range of dimensions. This technology can produce a significant impact, besides peers’ influence, on how students in continued training or in salaried dual training status are being socialized inside the disciplinary matrix (Guillon & Hinsinger, 2016). Thus digital technology in higher education can be analyzed as it participates of the inclusion of student populations with particular needs, whose constraints are specific (lesser autonomy, availability, isolation), at first as informative resource, then as tool of communication and sociability with the university community.

The implementation of assistive technologies (AT) is made in a vast and complex panorama including explicitly the stakes in the digital technology, in particular through the axis of the socialization behaviors and the accessibility for the people in inclusion. We were besides able to highlight, in particular in our "Practical model of support for the integration of the assistive technologies in the classroom" (Fisler, E. & Schneider, C. (2014), that it is essential to benefit from specialized supports including AT, through a clearly identified device which can introduce, accompany then follow the various proposed solutions. This technical assistance should be used even after the end of the schooling period, i.e. throughout life.

We can hope, with the democratizing access to AT tools (smartphones and tablets in particular), that the today still noticed digital divide will diminish or even disappear. If the artificial intelligence is used with common sense, people with digital needs (Domenjoz, J.-C., 2016) will be fewer (Charles-Edouard Bouée, 2017). For us, self-determination is the central point of any educational action towards people with particular educational needs. Today the needs for communications can be filled more easily with appropriate and easily organized "apps". What needs and which technological answers to propose, in which space-time, with which resources? At what autonomy to aim and for which ends? Civil society which all must be able to join must be accessible all the time.

To our opinion, if AT can turn out to be quite effective in certain well framed situations, it is nonetheless necessary to plan adapted and calibrated contents, prepared to be understandable. The studies and the trainings proposed by France Santi are exemplary: she puts the ERAU (Easy to Read and to understand) in the center of her concerns. The best speech synthesis can only express the chosen words. We are persuaded that the writing of this chapter on inclusion (by and thanks to AT) can be made only with a significant higher level of knowledge on these techniques. Resource persons, trainers’ trainers are essential to implement these tools which evolve quickly, and change with fashion. And these tools are submitted to market forces, a market not always friendly to people with differences (except for the aspect ‘economic niche market’).

Today we are in a transition and the environments welcoming people with particular needs have to evolve, adapt themselves and include this "helping digital technology", by establishing a politics in favor of innovation and risk-taking. The effort is probably consequent. We observe it on the ground: more and more schools, training centers, workshops are interested today and opened to these transformations. Our seniors are also very concerned by these changes and their exclusion from the current systems (governed by the IT technique) is not acceptable.

References

Fisler E., Schneider, C. (2014). Modèle pratique de soutien à l’intégration des aides technologiques dans la classe. Dans Rousseau, N. & Agelucci, V. (dir.) http://www.puq.ca/catalogue/livres/les-aides-technologiques-apprentissage-pour-soutenir-2531.html. Québec, Canada : Presses de l’Université du Québec.

Fisler E. (2014). La technologie d’aide pour les élèves bénéficiant de mesures renforcées: un plus certain, mais à certaines conditions, revues PRISMES HEP Vaud

Guillon, S., & Hinsinger, S. (2016). Risque de décrochage après une rupture de contrat d’apprentissage : l’exemple d’un CFA en Alsace, Questions Vives, Recherches en Éducation, n°25, L’activité des enseignants face au décrochage scolaire : Quelles difficultés et quelles mises en œuvre professionnelles ? ISBN : 9782912643490, p. 161-178. DOI : 10.4000/questionsvives.1928

Plantard P., Le Chêne, V. (2014). Les perspectives d’E-inclusion dans le secteur du handicap mental In TERMINAL N°115, Pratiques des outils numériques et relations sociales, Paris, L’Harmattan. pp. 11-30

Rousseau N., Paquet-Bélanger N., Stanké B., Bergeron L. (2014). Pédagogie universelle et technologie d’aide.Deux voies complémentaires favorisant le soutien tantôt collectif, tantôt individuel aux apprentissages. Dans Rousseau, N. & Agelucci, V. (dir.) http://www.puq.ca/catalogue/livres/les-aides-technologiques-apprentissage-pour-soutenir 2531.html.Québec, Canada : Presses de l’Université du Québec.

Santi F. (2013).  Insieme. Une tablette dans le cartable.