THE ROLE OF DIGITAL RESOURCES IN THE PRACTICAL TRAINING OF SPEECH THERAPY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

Abstract

The application of digital learning resources in promotion of the development of practical knowledge and skills in students is an issue going beyond the challenges of modern educational realities. The creation of a rich set of digital learning resources will enrich and vitalize the educational process for the students of Speech Therapy and Special Pedagogy, both in the electronic and in the traditional learning settings. The purpose of this article is to give rationale for the role and place of the digital learning resources in the teaching of these specialties and highlight student preferences in relation to the application of the types and the focus of the digital resources. Method. 102 students of Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees in the specialties of Speech and Language Therapy and Special Pedagogy of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" took part in an electronic survey (Google form type). The questionnaire contains eight closed questions, some of the answers to which have a Likert-type response scale. The results of the survey reveal the strong preference of students towards the use of digital learning resources - video and audio files - in the course of training. A key finding is that students report that this type of resources promote collaborative comments, facilitated by the lecturer, and a more in-depth review and analysis of greater variety of cases compared to the real learning environment.