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Assessing the provision of ICT for Inclusion: Tips 2 in a set of 8

Tips on how to use ICT to support inclusive practice

Use ICT to support different styles of learning

• The World Wide Web contains more than text. It has sounds, movie clips, animations and
symbols on some sites. Encourage pupils to browse different sorts of sites. Search for
images and clip art [such as http://www.film.com/watch/trailers.html].
• Don’t just use the computer as a word processor. Think about multimedia, PowerPoint,
children scanning in artwork or recording their voices. Let the computer help them to show
what they can do instead of being one more barrier.
• Make sure you can use digital cameras – a great way of recording achievement.

Think about group dynamics

• Don’t group people by ability – or rather don’t go on intellectual ability or literacy skills. Some
pupils who are poor communicators may be skilled on the computer and have a lot to
offer to their less technical peers.
• If pupils with limited spoken English or poor test results are always in the ‘bottom group’,
they come to feel a failure. Is this the message you want them to take from your lessons?
• Think about multiple intelligences. Think about groups based on complementary skills. Look at
Guidelines for group working with computers
[http://www.becta.org.uk/technology/software/curriculum/effectivegroupwork/groupwork.pdf]

Remember: not everyone has ICT at home

• And don’t assume they haven’t! Many pupils may be in a care setting and may be moved
around quite often, making it difficult for them to have consistent access to ICT.
Nevertheless, recent initiatives mean they may have better ICT facilities than some
children who are living at home with their families. Similarly, there are a significant
number of Travellers who see ICT as a useful support for their children’s education.
• Make sure that children know about homework clubs or other ways in which they can use the
school’s ICT facilities.
• Also make sure that if a pupil needs particular access devices such as switches or an
enlarged keyboard, these are provided throughout the school and not just in one
classroom or on one machine.

Respect cultural diversity

• Many people use Encarta as a reference material but how many make sure they have
Africana – Microsoft’s CD-ROM for the black community [http://www.africana.com/]?
• Check out how you are doing by using Schools in a Multicultural Society – an audit for
schools [http://vtc.ngfl.gov.uk/docserver.php?docid=2509]. For case studies and ideas for
ways of working, have a look at the examples proved by Portsmouth’s Bilingual Support
Service [http://www.blss.portsmouth.sch.uk/].

© Becta 2002 http://www.ictadvice.org.uk page 1 of 2

published March 2002
Becta | ict advice | timesaver | Assessing the provision of ICT for Inclusion: Tips

Celebrate other languages and cultures

• Although much of the information we use in schools is in English, ICT can support other
languages. Many staff find it invaluable for getting up-to-the-minute materials for MFL, but
it can also support community languages.
• One way of finding localised information on the Internet is to use a search engine, type in
the keywords and add the domain-name extension for a particular country. For example,
to find news in India, one could enter ‘newspapers’ in Colossus, a directory of search
engines arranged by country
[http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/index.html#anchor21885].
• Look at Becta’s Community Languages site for information about multilingual word
processing [http://www.becta.org.uk/inclusion/inclusion_lang/community/index.html].
• You can also use translation engines on the web. Type in information in English and turn it
into Urdu, Albanian or a host of other languages. Try
[http://www.tranexp.com/InterTran.cgi] and [http://foreignword.com].
• Check Becta’s Community Languages site for other translation engines as well as the Say IT
sheets which translate common IT terms and computer-related phrases from English into
24 other languages [http://www.becta.org.uk/technology/sayit/index.html].

Ask an expert
• You can obtain information on line from Becta through the technology information sheets
[http://www.becta.org.uk/technology/infosheets/index.html#sn], including advice on
support for deaf pupils [http://vtc.ngfl.gov.uk/docserver.php?docid=3691].
• Find out about a whole range of support organisations that can help you
[http://www.becta.org.uk/inclusion/sen/orgs/subject.html].
• Mailing lists such as SENCO-forum, managed by Becta, was started in 1995 to support
Sencos in their work. It offers a convenient way of keeping in touch, and users like it! “I
post a query and there may be two or three responses by the end of the day,” and “You
get real up-to-the-minute information on SENCO-forum because it comes from people
who are directly working in the field.”
• The Inclusion site [http://inclusion.ngfl.gov.uk] has an ‘Ask the Inclusion Panel’ facility to
assist you if you can’t find the resources you’re looking for.

It’s good to talk

• Share your ideas! Join in Online conferences such as the Becta-RNID From policy to
practice: supporting the inclusion of deaf pupils
[http://vtc.ngfl.gov.uk/docserver.php?docid=3691].
• Contribute to the Teacher Resource Exchange [http://tre.ngfl.gov.uk/]. You’ll find lots of ideas
for lessons at a whole range of levels. Contribute your first thoughts and see if anyone
can add to them.

Use your computer for administration

• Record keeping lies at the heart of the inclusion agenda, because without good record
keeping the needs of the individual child are lost and inclusion is unsuccessful. There are
many packages to help with this process and ICT can save you considerable time and make
the transfer of information between professionals a much simpler process.