Ict and education in the perspective of experts from business, government, academia and NGos

The overall aim of the book is to obtain the opinion of experts andactors that are involved in the provision of support to people with certaindisabilities. The following actors and experts were consulted in thestudy: social workers, ICT experts, business experts, teachers with expertisein social and migrant issues. The study data collected has helped inthe mapping of the issue at hand from four different viewpoints, includingeducation, technical, business and non-governmental sectors.Given the complexity of the study as a multicontinental and multifacetedproject, the researchers agreed on the use of a qualitative researchmethod. An expert interview technique was used to collect richand thoughtful opinion data from the four complimentary sectors. Mostof the interviewees are well-known experts, who have accrued severalyears of working experience in either developing ICT-based solutions foreducation, implementing decision as top-level executive in the businesssector or involved in providing care for the people with disabilities. Theinterpretative paradigm grounded was used to analyze the participants’responses regarding the roles played by ICT in supporting inclusive education.Furthermore, the analysis was undertaken to understand theroles played by the experts in bridging the interplay between educationand ICT and to know about the impact of ICT in learning and inclusionprocesses.Each chapter explores the reality of the different countries and providesinsights about the kinds of ICT tools used in current education settings.These notions of technology in terms of hardware, software, andcommunications have varied priority levels in the different counterparts.However, recurrent topics include digital divide, digital literacy, and theirimplications in teachers’ appropriation of technology, which effectivenessin technology integration could be tied to teacher involvement. Therange of solutions includes the use of proprietary and open source learningenvironments. Thus, the use of commercial solutions could hindersome population segments from accessing materials. Open sourced projectslike the Smart Ecosystem for Learning and Inclusion Platform (SELIlearning platform, https://seli.uazuay.edu.ec/) are a need! In any case, itis possible that innovation resides in what people do as they appropriatetechnology and not in technology itself.