Abstract:

Social inclusion is a core value of the European Union and a key priority of the Europe 2020 strategy. The three main reinforcing priorities “to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy” should help the EU and the Member States deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. The use of mobile devices and related to them digital resources for the purposes of educational and social integration is an innovative solution of a need, which has arisen in society. Mobile technologies give freedom both to teachers for complex presentation, and to students for extended study of a considered problem in accordance with their educational needs, what, according to the constructivist views, is a condition for manifestation of independence and initiative.

In order to identify the needs of using mobile technologies in learning/ teaching process for secondary/high school students and teachers, we gathered information from 106 students from secondary school suffering from hearing disabilities, musculoskeletal disorders, blindness, autism and 62 teachers.

As a general conclusion, we can observe that both students, as well as teachers, agree upon the fact that mobile technologies represent a useful tool in the process of teaching and learning for high school students with disabilities. Nevertheless, there is a difference in perception: the students are more interested in getting media information as quickly as possible, while the teachers are more focused on the educational benefits of the Internet. A second conclusion regards the emphasis this type of educational process puts on visual images, bringing the students closer to understanding the world. One particular aspect is represented by the possibility of having access to the Internet. Without it, the mobile technologies are not useful whatsoever.

Acknowledgements:
This study was supported from the Project Number 562113-EPP-1-2015-1-BG-EPPKA3-PI-FORWARD