Visual Incapacity and the potential of ICT in References Schools

After reading the excellent post by Miguel Monteiro, reveling the most positive side of the use of supportive technologies in peoples disability’s daily life - I couldn’t stop wondering how urgent must be the increment on the access to those digital devices, in every  Reference School, from students whit lack of vision

It´s a fact, while since their appearance in the years 90, the technologies of Information and communication (ICT), assumed immediately a total domain in several areas of the contemporary societies and more specifically, in the restructuring of many educational teaching programs in a global scale.  The hall new potential bring by the ICT devices, in methodological strategies – in the fields of teaching and learning in scientific disciplines: Allowed that students whit low vision capacity or whit total lack of vision could dispose of new opportunities - till then, not really accessed by the incapacity of society answers to those problems of social inclusion and school integration in public institutions.

From this perspective, it’s important that technological education could represent a radical change for the young blind students – not just during their scholar training but as well, promoting the development of new skills that could lead them in to a future platform of higher competences, in the way to a better professional dominium adaptable to their action and knowledge capacities.  In that sense of guarantee the maximum openness of technological access and social inclusion, must the governable entities in national territory, provide the necessary politics implements in the way to lead risk groups, to get urgently  the real access on ICT use (according to the intents of Riga Declaration of 2006).

The recent development of the devices from ICT can transport a different vision on educational needs in to public schools:  From linked ideas from scholar organizations and politician powers, it’s possible to create new programs, find the right partnerships to develop open information systems, inside pedagogical initiatives integrated in the teaching and use of ICT tools. Related whit this question, it’s necessary to reflect as well in the situation of students’ whit lack of vision that – can be integrated in regular classes, in the way to increased all their potential in the use of ICT equipments, inside natural and health environments – without fear of social exclusion.

However, present in this refection subject is also involved, the question of the insufficient or inexistence number of qualified schools, adaptable to this necessity of equal participation in the space of the education. Indeed, no less important than the right to an open and technological education, the student whit special needs must have a permanent and specialized support from the teachers in the maxim sense to known how to conduct the students in to the most navel of successful in their studies. Certainly that in the education horizon, there will be always space to question about many of the  education decisions taken – in the total access in order to a  inclusive educational system of the blind students, in the use of the ICT and in the potential of communication that those digital devices aloud. In this field on intervention, anyone can think - till where can be considerable, a future collaboration between all the school entities in the defense of the right to access on the ICT devices, from students whit visual incapacity? Could be a determinant factor or not, in the way of what can be done - in direction to a new changing society more equal, fair and tolerant in relation to all the citizens?    

Key words: Access technologies, social inclusion, scholar integration.