Educational Inclusion and New Technologies

The development of new technologies creates affordances with the potential to remove barriers to learning faced by young people. New technologies have therefore been seen as both a panacea for problems in developing inclusive education, and as a way of allowing a diverse range of learners to access and engage with the curriculum in its broadest sense. This chapter critically considers these views by drawing on a range of selected research. This research uses different methodologies and educational contexts to sample different levels of use, and different aspects of new technology. The case studies included here illustrate particular issues in developing and using technology. The cases studies cover: using Tablet PCs in schools, developing educational robotics as an inclusive curriculum activity, developing pedagogic practice with morphing software and interactive software designed for dyslexic learners and Schome Park, an interactive virtual environment. The chapter considers how technology is used in these cases and the degree to which is has supported, educational inclusion. This offers an insight into innovative educational practice and research and supports an analysis of the factors which influence the impact of potentially inclusive technology.