Browsing by Subject "äänioppikirja"

This study examined the use of audiobooks as a support to high school studies. An inquiry was targeted to the special education teachers working in high schools. They were viewed to have an expertise both in high school studying and in special education. This study examined the familiarity of audiobooks produced by the special library Celia to the special education teachers. It also surveyed the teachers' views about special learners' possibilities to benefit from the use of audiobooks, the use in different subjects and in different study phases. The special education teachers were also asked, why the audiobooks are much more used in primary school than with the high school studies. The use of audiobooks has earlier been studied in Finland in primary school level. According to Kuismanen and Holopainen (2013) 95 % of students felt that the use of audiobooks benefited their studies. The students felt that they learned easier by listening and that they understood better. Students liked the opportunity to read by themselves, without the help of any others. Most of all audiobooks were used in history and in biology. (Kuismanen & Holopainen 2013, 23, 52.) In this study the research material was collected using a web-inquiry. It was answered by 33 special education teachers. The questionnaire included claims and multiple-choice questions. The answerers were also given opportunity to clarify or complete their answers or otherwise comment the subject in question. The research material was analyzed by using descriptive statistical methods. Almost all teachers were familiar with audiobooks produced by Celia. 90 % of those teachers, who were familiar with audiobooks, had recommended the use of the audiobooks to students. Beside visually impaired students, the use of audiobooks was considered beneficial to the students with dyslexia or with special language impairment. Audiobooks were considered useful especially when preparing to exams or to the matriculation examination. It was thought to lighten the burden of studying. When asked why audiobooks are less used in high schools than in primary schools, the special education teachers supposed mostly that the costs of audiobooks were a problem after other book expenses. On the other hand, they also thought that the reason was the ignorance of the audiobooks.