Features of the Information and Communication Technology Application by the Subjects of Special Education

The main purpose of this study is to reveal the features of information and communication technologies application by the subjects of education in the conditions of special (correctional) school type VIII, and to identify the level of computer literacy of special education. The study was conducted on the basis of the State Budgetary Special (Correctional) Educational Institution of the Republic of Mordovia (SBS(C) EI RM) for the students and pupils with disabilities in the “Saransk special (correctional) general education school Type VIII”, Saransk (Russia). During the experiment, each group of respondents (teachers, students with intellectual disabilities and their parents) was offered the specially developed questionnaires. The assessment of responses was made by the following criteria: completeness of elementary computer skills the subjects possess; proficiency in computer programs and electronic products; degree of independence and the frequency of their application in practice. The results show us that the computer literacy of subjects is low. During the study we revealed that the use of modern information technologies is associated with certain difficulties, associated not only with the deficiency of computer and special software, but also with a low level of knowledge and skills of work on a personal computer among the subjects of special education.