Programs
in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe
This provider of health and/or social services is chiefly an information centre offering information/advice exclusively for end-users. Educational activities are also organised for professionals and for personal assistants, and the issues of independent living and the role of AT are considered.
Educational activities began 5-10 years ago and those carried out over the past 5 years can be classified as follows:
The role played by AT is always very important, and almost all the areas related to AT are considered in these initiatives, except for cognition.
This organisation has described a lot of educational activities;
these are reported in the following table, followed by detailed
description of the organisational and implementation aspects.
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| Aaugepartsporten voor personen met een motorische handicap
(Adapted sports for persons with motor impairment) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Een klare kyk op TV-loepen
(Overview of TV: a magnifying glass) | mon. sem., series of seminars | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Moderne media: ook voor niet - en slechtzienden
(Lustrum: modern media also for blind people and the visually impaired) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Gebrvik van een communicatie hulpmiddel by de taalver - Werving van het kind
(The use of a type of helped communication for the child) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Hulpverleningter bevordering van de integratie van de auditief gehandicapte
(Lustrum. Assistance with an objective: integration of the hearing impaired) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Selectie van hulpmiddelen: een methodische aanpak
(Lustrum. Selection of technical means: a methodological package) | mon. sem., series of seminars | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank juni '96
(Vlibank Education: JUNE '96) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank december '96
(Vlibank Education: December '96) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank februari '97
(Vlibank Education: February 1997 A) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank mei'97 A
(Vlibank Education: May 1997 A) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank mei'97 B
(Vlibank Education: May 1997 B) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. | ||||
| Opleiding Vlibank februari'97 B
(Vlibank Education: February 1997 B) | mon. sem. | educ. prof., rehab. prof., social work., pers. with disab. |
Selection
This initiative was mainly publicised by means of leaflets, posters and advertisements in specialised journals, together with faxing to the organisation's address database. Mailing was done to other organisations in the field, user organisations and voluntary services. Participants were chosen on the basis of their impairment type (motor), while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were organised on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose; in this regard comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 600 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures and group discussions (a small exhibition was also held), a traditional tendency also reflected in the choice of good presentation as the pedagogical key-word. The most commonly used educational tools were overhead projection, slides, and handouts for participants, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration and presentation of products.
The participants' impressions were collected by means of a final questionnaire, and a follow-up was done through direct contact.
Selection
The initiative was mainly publicised by means of leaflets, posters and advertisements in specialised journals, as well as by word of mouth. Mailing was also done to other organisations in the field, user organisations. Participants were chosen on the basis of their impairment type (visual), while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose: in this respect comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 600 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures and group discussions with a small exhibition, a traditional tendency reflected also in the pedagogical key-words chosen, i.e. good presentation and discussion. The most commonly used educational tools were overhead projection, slides, and handouts for the participants, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration, presentation and individual use of products.
No information on participants was collected, but a final questionnaire was distributed to gauge the participants' impressions, and a follow-up was done through direct contact.
Selection
The initiative was chiefly publicised by means of leaflets, posters and advertisements on large-scale media such as radio and TV. Mailing involved the organisation's address database, but was also sent out to other organisations in the field, user organisations and voluntary services. Participants were chosen on the basis of their impairment type (visual), while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose: in this respect comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account, but also seating arrangements for the public. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks and welcome and farewell sessions. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 500 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures and group discussions, and this tendency is reflected in the key-word chosen to describe pedagogical preference, i.e. good presentation. All educational tools were used, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration and presentation of products.
No information on participants was collected at the beginning and no feedback gathered in the final phase.
Selection
This initiative was widely publicised through a variety of different advertisements channels, such as leaflets, posters, mass media and journals. Mailing was done to the organisation's address database, but was also sent out to other organisations in the field, user organisations and voluntary services; hand-outs were distributed at congresses and exhibitions. Participants were chosen on the basis of their language impairment, while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose: in this respect comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account, but also seating arrangements for the public. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks and welcome and farewell sessions. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 500 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures and group discussions, and this tendency is reflected in the key-word chosen to describe pedagogical preference, i.e. good presentation. All educational tools were used, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration and presentation of products.
No information on participants was collected at the beginning and no feedback gathered in the final phase.
Selection
This initiative was widely publicised through a variety of different advertisements channels, such as leaflets, posters, mass media and journals. Mailing was done to the organisation's address database, but also to other organisations in the field, user organisations and voluntary; hand-outs were distributed at congresses and exhibitions. Participants were chosen on the basis of their impairment type (visual), while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose: in this respect comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account, but also seating arrangements for the public. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks and welcome and farewell sessions. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 500 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures and group discussions, and this tendency is reflected in the key-word chosen to describe pedagogical preference, i.e. good presentation. All educational tools were used, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration and presentation of products.
No information on participants was collected at the beginning and no feedback gathered in the final phase.
Selection
Like many of the organisation's other initiatives, this initiative was widely publicised through a variety of different advertisements channels, such as leaflets, posters, mass media and journals. Mailing was done to the organisationÕs address database, but also to other organisations in the field, user organisations and voluntary; hand-outs were distributed at congresses and exhibitions. No specific criteria were adopted for selecting participants, while teachers and tutors had to be real experts in the field. No special preference was expressed for teachers and tutors with disabilities.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises using a space already fitted out for this purpose: in this respect comfort and overall accessibility were taken into account, but also seating arrangements for the public. Personal assistance, and assistance with travel reservation and accommodation were offered, as well as coffee-breaks and welcome and farewell sessions. Participants had to pay a token fee of BF 500 to enrol in the seminar. Each teacher planned his/her lesson individually, even though a co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative.
Implementation
From a methodological point of view, the activities were based on lectures, group discussions and work groups, and the key-word chosen to describe the pedagogical preferences are good presentation and discussion. All educational tools were used, while the hands-on sessions were based on demonstration and presentation of products.
No information on participants was collected at the beginning and no feedback gathered in the final phase.
Selection
This seminar was publicised by means of leaflets and via the Internet, the former proving the most effective for reaching interested people. Information was sent out only to those in the organisation's address database. No specific criteria were adopted for selecting participants, while in-house teachers and tutors were chosen on the basis of their expertise.
Organisation
Educational activities were organised off the organisation's premises in a place chosen for the occasion, taking into account comfort and overall accessibility, together with availability of the required computer equipment. Personal assistance and coffee-breaks were organised. A co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative, and a preparatory meeting between the teachers was held.
Implementation
The activity was based on computer use, so group work was the method mainly represented, and the educational aids used were software for content presentation and handouts for the participants. Lessons took the form of a slide presentation followed by guided exercises on the computers. After the break, free exercises on the computers were done. Consequently, the organisation described the hands-on sessions as experimentation, and the key-words to denote pedagogical preference are learning by doing and good presentation by the teacher. Some form of information collection was carried out through questioning of the participants at the beginning of the lesson, and this information was then used to readjust the contents and methods of the seminar on the basis of the real target. Progress meetings between the teachers were organised too, and feedback from participants was requested through personal impressions, which were then used to evaluate the success of the initiative and to readjust the organisation's educational activities.
Follow-up was done through direct contact.
Future remarks
In the future less participants will be needed to increase effectiveness, and a slower way of teaching during lessons, to let contents be better understood.
Selection
This seminar was publicised by means of leaflets sent out to the organisation's address database. No specific criteria were adopted for selecting participants, while teachers and tutors were chosen in-house on the basis of their expertise.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises, in a specially set up place, where comfort and overall accessibility were ensured, together with the necessary computer equipment. Personal assistance and coffee-breaks were organised. A co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative, and a preparatory meeting between the teachers was held.
Implementation
The activity was based on individual use of computers, so this was the method mainly represented, and educational aids comprised software for content presentation and handouts for the participants. Hands-on sessions were consequently described as experimentation, and the key-words to describe pedagogical preference were learning by doing and good presentation by the teacher. Some form of information collection was considered, and this information was then used to readjust the contents and methods of the seminar on the basis of the real target. Progress meetings between the teachers were held too, and feedback from participants was gained through personal impressions, which were then used to reflect on the success of the initiative and to readjust the organisation's educational activities.
Follow-up was done through direct contact.
Further remarks
To increase effectiveness, fewer participants were accepted than in past editions of the course, and the teaching pace in the lessons was reduced so that contents could be understood better.
Selection
This seminar was publicised by means of leaflets sent out the organisation's address database. No specific criteria were adopted for selecting participants, while teachers and tutors were chosen in-house on the basis of their expertise.
Organisation
Educational activities were held on the organisation's premises, in a specially set up place, where comfort and overall accessibility were ensured, together with the necessary computer equipment. Personal assistance and coffee-breaks were organised. A co-ordinator was in charge of the whole initiative, and a preparatory meeting between the teachers was held.
Implementation
The activity was based on individual use of computers, so this was the method mainly represented, and educational aids comprised software for content presentation and handouts for the participants. Hands-on sessions were consequently described as experimentation, and the key-words to describe pedagogical preference were learning by doing and good presentation by the teacher. Some form of information collection was considered, and this information was then used to readjust the contents and methods of the seminar on the basis of the real target. Progress meetings between the teachers were held too, and feedback from participants was gained through personal impressions, which were then used to reflect on the success of the initiative and to readjust the organisationÕs educational activities. Follow-up was done through direct contact.