Guest Editorial: Technology Support for Fostering Life-Long Learning of Learners with Disabilities

Technology enhanced learning environments have great potential to provide equality on diffusion of knowledge, sharing resources, social involvement and participation of the disabled learners within the society. Reaching out learning facilities with the support of technology, learners with special needs can enrich their potential for their learning experience anytime and anywhere. Studies have shown that children with special needs less likely to make decisions about their own lives (Cavet & Sloper, 2004; Franklin & Sloper, 2009; Mitchell, Malone, & Doebbeling, 2009). Also, their intellectual or physical disabilities cause lack of social inclusion. This causes problems related to their ability to make decisions on their own behalf and daily life activities. It is important to understand the nature of the learners' special educational needs in order to help remove the obstacles they encounter. This understanding might help to support an effective implementation of special education methods with appropriate technology. Use of technology in education of students with disabilities has a considerable history. The literature provided evidence that some technological instruments might be used effectively in the need of this group (King-Sears & Evmenova, 2007; Hasselbring & Glaser, 2000; Alper & Raharinirina, 2006). The technology not only targets teaching related to a certain content area but also might focus on limiting the difficulties caused by a disability (Hasselbring & Glasser, 2000; Lancioni et al., 2010). The literature pays attention on the impact of technology on learning, teaching and professional developments; however, there is still a need for studies conducted about the impact of technology or technology enhanced learning environments for people with special needs in the society. Individualized instruction and appropriate methodology are worth emphasizing in special education (Cook & Schirmer, 2003; Detterman & Thompson, 1997). The literature provided evidence for positive effects of computer-assisted instruction on the learning process for students with intellectual disabilities, when compared to traditional instruction (Bosseler & Massaro, 2003). Daily life skills are crucial component of education of individuals with special needs (Matson, Dempsey, & Fodstad, 2009a; Matson et al., 2009b; Neef et al., 1978). They include several skills such as toileting, grooming, and other personal care to banking and money management skills, grocery shopping, and communication and social skills. Limited acquisition of such skills possibly prevents such individuals from functioning independently within community based settings (Westling & Fox, 2004). More noticeably, limited social understanding, misinterpretation of social cues, and an inability to understand others' perspectives will make it extremely complicated for them to develop and maintain enduring interpersonal relationships. Combined, individuals with special needs likely remain dependent on others for care and are unable to be self-productive members of society. Current research in interactive technology development for special groups, especially digital games, indicates that they may have significant roles overcoming the barriers related to teaching daily life skills. For example, research shows that bodily and touch interaction are suitable for ASD children and children with other disabilities (Alper et al., 2012). Significantly Ramdoss et al. (2012) concluded that current research base is encouraging use of and developing technologies to teach different skills to individuals with special needs. They also pointed out that more research is needed to be more conclusive. Considering motivation, social inclusion, participation to the learning, and the societal practices with the support of technology and its facilities upon caring different types of learner disabilities within all implementations become crucial academic debate. …