Programs
in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe
This department of the Bloorview MacMillan Centre is an organisation of persons with disabilities, but also a provider of health and social services, mainly involved in rehabilitation and research. Training activities are also organised, addressed to persons with disabilities, families and professionals. In these activities, begun 5-10 years ago, AT (especially computers) is strongly considered as a support for independent living and for coping better with disability.
The educational activities carried out over the past 5 years can be classified as follows:
The role played by AT in these initiatives is minor, since little or no information on AT is included, while AT becomes relevant in the case of activities addresses to the individual. The areas covered are health maintenance, recreation, general accessibility issues, communication, reading/writing.
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| Switch on with technology | other | pers. with disab., fam. | ||||
| Special needs information fair | other | pers. dis., fam., rehab. prof. | ||||
| Ability Online Workshops | top. work. |
| pers. dis., fam., rehab. prof. |
Selection
"Ability Online" is a support network which links kids with disabilities or chronic illness to other kids or adults who care. The workshops (approximately two per year) were organised to publicise this initiative, and information was spread through leaflets, posters and a family newsletter on the same network. The initiative is also well known through media advertising (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV). No special criteria for selecting participants were adopted, since it was designed for persons of different ages, abilities, and professional backgrounds. The workshop was run by only one teacher.
Organisation
The workshops took place in different places, as need arose, but special attention was paid to some environmental aspects such as comfort, seating arrangements for participants and overall accessibility; personal assistance when needed was also included.
Implementation
The workshop was really lively, since together with the traditional lesson, ample space was given to participation activities like group discussions, brainstorming and simulation. All possible educational aids were used, and hands-on sessions took the form of presentation/demonstration of products and experimentation of products. In line with the above description, a strong accent was put on interactivity and learning by doing as the preferred pedagogical approaches. No personal information was requested, but verbal questions were addressed to participants at the beginning to determine their knowledge base. This information was very useful for readjusting contents on the basis of the real target.
Feedback was collected from participants at the end of the workshop through an open final group discussion. Participants were also requested to contact the teacher if they have further questions.
Further remarks
Some changes have been made over time. For example, more recently, educational activity has been organised on the basis of the workshop format, and contents adjusted to respond to groups requesting presentation. Contents vary to reflect the needs of participants. The teacher states she considers fine tuning of her presentations to be always important.
Selection
This initiative was publicised through leaflets, posters and media advertisements (radio, TV), but word of mouth together with leaflets proved to be the most effective means. The leaflets were distributed to a wide public, considering the organisation's own database, but also to other organisations in the field, rehabilitation centres, handed out at congresses, etc. No special criteria were adopted to select participants, and teachers were chosen for their level of expertise; whenever possible, teachers with disability were preferred, and chosen also in this case for their expertise.
Organisation
The course was held in a place found specially for the occasion; this venue was chosen for its comfort, aesthetics, overall accessibility and accessibility of bathrooms. Welcome sessions were also included. A co-ordinator was appointed for the whole process to give specific instructions to teachers.
Implementation
No traditional lesson was organised, but only demonstrations and exhibitions of products with the aid of slides, video, software for content presentations, and handouts distributed to participants. The accent was on learning by doing, while no information on participants was collected. A final questionnaire gave the organisation their feedback.
Further remarks
This kind of activity was chosen for the purpose of holding active, participatory exhibits, demonstrations that cover a broad spectrum, attracting a large crowd ("1-stop-shopping" concepts).
More co-sponsorship of events with grassroots consumer groups. There is a need to organise more off-site presentations closer to people's homes and away from institutions.