Teaching computer science pupils with special needs

Otroci dandanes veliko prostega časa namenijo uporabi informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije in igranju raznih računalniških iger, zato se nam zdi, da bi bilo spoznavanje nove snovi oziroma ponovitev stare s pomočjo izobraževalnih računalniških iger za učence zanimivo in zabavno. V magistrskem delu smo najprej pregledali obstoječo literaturo in ugotovili, kakšne so značilnosti frontalnega pristopa k poučevanju. Ko učitelj pri pouku uporablja izobraževalne računalniške igre, je zelo pomembno, da naredi frontalni uvod, nato učencem predstavi igro, potem pa jih opazuje pri igranju in po potrebi daje povratne informacije ter se po igranju igre pogovori z njimi in preveri, ali so dosegli zastavljene učne cilje. Če jih niso, jim mora snov dodatno predstaviti in jih opozoriti na stvari, ki jih morajo znati. Ker je cilj našega dela vpeljati v pouk izobraževalne računalniške igre, smo tudi za ta način poučevanja pregledali obstoječo literaturo ter raziskali prednosti in slabosti uporabe iger v izobraževanju. Glede na to, da obstaja vse več razvijalcev računalniških iger, smo si pogledali tudi priporočila za izdelavo dobre izobraževalne računalniške igre ter specifične pristope pri poučevanju učencev s posebnimi potrebami, ki obiskujejo osnovne šole s prilagojenim programom. Ugotovili smo, na kakšen način je treba prilagoditi pouk, da vsi učenci dosežejo zastavljene učne cilje, in naredili tudi pregled, na kakšen način pri izobraževanju otrok s posebnimi potrebami drugod po svetu uporabljajo IKT in druge učne pripomočke. V empiričnem delu magistrske naloge smo uporabili kavzalno-eksperimentalno metodo in kvalitativni raziskovalni pristop z opazovanjem in strukturiranim intervjujem. Vzorec, na katerem je bila izpeljana raziskava, je bil priložnostni. Predstavljali so ga učenci 6. razreda dveh osnovnih šol s prilagojenim programom. Poleg učencev so v raziskavi sodelovali tudi en učitelj in dve učiteljici računalništva, ki poučujejo na teh dveh šolah. Med uro smo učencem pokazali izobraževalno računalniško igro za ponovitev in utrditev že znane snovi (igra internetne nevarnosti). S pomočjo raziskave smo ugotovili, da se je uporaba izobraževalne računalniške igre med poukom računalništva učencem zdela zanimiva, da so z njeno pomočjo utrdili svoje znanje in da bi v prihodnje radi še kdaj odigrali kakšno podobno igro. Poleg tega se je tak način poučevanja zdel primeren tudi njihovim učiteljem.Nowadays, children dedicate a large portion of their free time to information and communications technology, as well as to various computer games. This is why it is our opinion that using educational computer games in the classroom in order to learn new topics or resume old topics would make the process both interesting and entertaining. In this master’s thesis, we first examined existing studies and determined the characteristics of frontal instruction. If we wish to use educational computer games in the classroom, it is crucial for the teacher first to make a frontal introduction, next to present the game to the students and then to supervise them whilst they play the game, to give feedback if necessary, and at the end to discuss the experience with the students and to check if they have reached the objectives pursued. If the objectives have not been reached, the teacher is obliged to further explain the topic and to point out what needs to be learned. Because we strive to introduce educational computer games into the classroom, we also examined existing literature on this way of learning and explored the advantages and disadvantages of using games in the education system. Seeing that there is an increasing number of such computer game developers, we also delved into the recommendations on how to create an efficient educational computer game. Furthermore, we considered the specific approaches to teaching students with special needs who attend primary schools with adjusted programs and determined in what way classes should be adjusted, so that all students attain given learning objectives. Moreover, we will review in what way ICT and other teaching aids are used elsewhere around the world for the teaching of children with special needs. In the empirical part of the master’s thesis, we adopted causal-experimental methods and a qualitative research approach by means of observation and a structured interview. The sample, based on which this study was conducted, was ad hoc: the participants were Grade 6 students of two special needs primary schools. Three computer science teachers who teach in these two schools also participated in the survey. In the classroom, students were presented with an educational computer game, with which they revised and refreshed their knowledge of topics already dealt with during classes (a game on Internet safety). Whilst conducting this survey we found that the educational computer game did prove to be interesting to the students, who refreshed their knowledge of certain topics and would gladly play another such game in the future. Furthermore, we found that this way of learning was also considered appropriate to their teachers