ACCESS TO THE E-LEARNING PLATFORM:
WEB FOR EDUCATION OF LOW VISION CHILDREN
materials and digital tools for nursery school teachers and children with low vision
ORIGINAL ICT TOOL FOR THE INCLUSION
AN INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE TO PROMOTE THE INCLUSION OF THE CHILDREN WITH LOW VISION IN NURSERY SCHOOL
LOOKING OUT FOR A SCHOOL FOR ALLThis early attention has been historically conceived from a segregation perspective where blind people were 'educated in their world for their own world'; nowadays, however, the social inclusion of children with visual impairment is a priority. This is the main principle that sustains and gives life to the project Looking for a school for everyone: educational inclusion at early ages for students with reduced vision.
This initiative, a crosscutting partnership of entities from Spain, Norway and Italy promotes an equal inclusion of children with mild to severe visual impairments in standard early education and nursery schools, not only to enhance the children's psychological, motor and pedagogical training, but also to promote their future inclusion and social and occupational integration abilities. This make them able to participate and interact in normal ways with people without visual impairments, and also to compete at their level in productivity and efficiency.
The project has a great impact on early childhood education, especially on students with mild to severe visual deficiencies, as well as on the training of teachers at this level. It should be noted that the European Commission and the EU Member States, through EU's 'ET 2020 Thematic Working Group on Early Childhood Education and Care (2012-2014) have acknowledged that access to inclusive and high quality EAPI (Educacion y Atencion a la Primera Infancia) services is beneficial for everyone. EAPI are essential to an efficient education system: investing as early as possible in a high quality education for everyone avoids higher costs in later stages of education, where the differential costs to close the gaps between high and low performance students are higher. Many studies have shown the long-term positive effect of EAPI policies in the context of universal or large-scale provision financed with public funds; these benefits include a wide range of individual and social gain so the impact of this project can be highly significant and sustained over time.
LOOKING OUT FOR A SCHOOL FOR ALL
PREPARATION PHASE
The preparation stage is an essential step in this kind of projects, especially when the project is carried out by a new partnership. A good preparation stage allow us to avoid serious communication problems in the other stages of the project.
IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
The implementation stage brings together a large and diverse number of activities aimed at creating all the project results like the intellectual outputs and the, tangible or structural results.
DISSEMINATION PHASE
The dissemination and visibility stage allow the partners to make known the project, but also to promote the use of the project results. All this through activities aimed at the most appropriate multiplying agents so that the materials achieve a great impact on beneficiaries.
EVALUATION PHASE
The evaluation phase is transversal throughout the project and allow us to follow up to avoid problems with the quality of the results, with the adjustment to the budget or with the fulfillment of the calendar
INTELECTUAL OUTPUTS
VIRTUAL TRAINING COURSE
We offer a virtual course, easily accessible through an e-learning platform, to train pre-primary education teachers from existing centers so they can transform their classrooms into inclusive ones, for children between 1 to 6 years old with mild to severe visual impairment. This course is based on the conviction that Integrated Education offers more possibilities towards children’s psychosocial development than a segregated one. The goal of this type of education is the inclusion of students with visual impairment, so they…
ORIGINAL ICT TOOL FOR THE INCLUSION
This tool is conceived as a mechanism of inclusion in equity, so it is not considered for an exclusive use of SEN students, but as a resource for shared use throughout the classroom. This will not only generate a sensory-perception development of the user and stimulation of his/her creativity, but also promote group work and socialization among all students by fostering collaborative work on equal footing, regardless of their barriers.
LOOKING OUT FOR A SCHOOL FOR ALL IS CO-FUNDED BY ERASMUS + PROGRAM
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Supporting the efforts to improve access to a high quality inclusive school
Supporting the efforts to improve access to a high quality inclusive school that promotes the training of students with mild to severe visual impairment along with the rest of the students. PROGRESS: The development of the Educational Software (O2) has advanced more than was expected to this date, improving its quality through various planned pilot tests.
Generating open and innovative practices
Generating open and innovative practices in this digital age to facilitate integration in the classroom, thus reinforcing the profile of teaching work, including teachers, principals, and educators by giving them tools for an equitable inclusion of students with mild to severe visual impairment in the classroom environment. PROGRESS: The index of the online course has been improved with the contributions of experts and partner organizations, and is expected to have a high quality.
Raising awareness among schools and society in general
Raising awareness among schools and society in general about their responsibilities and commitment to the process of social integration of their members with disabilities. PROGRESS: The project is having a better reception than expected, there are many organizations and people who have been interested in it as a result of visibility activities.
Promoting the educational and social inclusion of children with mild to severe visual impairment
Promoting the educational and social inclusion of children with mild to severe visual impairment, understanding it as a bio-psychosocial training process whose purpose is the full integration of children with SSNN in nursery schools and nurseries that are not specialized for children with disabilities. PROGRESS: Infant schools in all countries involved in implementing the results of the project in their centers have already showed interest.
PARTNERSHIP
