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Session 5: Accessible ICTs for Education and Job Training Dónal Rice

Session 5: Accessible ICTs for Education and Job Training Dónal Rice. ITU CONNECT A SCHOOL CONNECT A COMMUNITY Using ICTs to Promote Education and Job Training for Persons with Disabilities.

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Session 5: Accessible ICTs for Education and Job Training Dónal Rice

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  1. Session 5: Accessible ICTs for Education and Job Training Dónal Rice ITU CONNECT A SCHOOL CONNECT A COMMUNITY Using ICTs to Promote Education and Job Training for Persons with Disabilities ITU Europe and CIS Regional Workshop on Mainstreaming ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities Odessa, Ukraine,  1-2 November 2010

  2. CONNECT A SCHOOL CONNECT A COMMUNITY • Why a Toolkit on use of ICTs in education and job training in developing countries • Using ICTs to realize human potential • Structure of Toolkit • Case studies

  3. Who am I? • Senior Design Advisor, ICT, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, National Disability Authority Ireland • PhD student, Centre for Disability law and Policy, NUI Galway • Editor, ITU/G3ict e-Accessibility Policy Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities • Author, ITU Connect A School, Connect A Community module on ICTs for persons with disabilities

  4. Why ICTs for education and job training • Persons with disabilities face blatant exclusion worldwide • The figures: • 10% of population worldwide (World Bank) • 690 million (2010) ------------- 915 million (2050) • One third of 75 million children out of school worldwide have disabilities– lowest of any cohort (UN) • 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school (UNESCO) with 97% not having basic literacy skills – 1% for women with disabilities (UNESCO) • Poverty and disability closely linked – 20% of worlds poorest (World Bank) • Reasons for exclusion: • Attitudinal • Physical • Pedagogical • Infrastructural • Policy

  5. International policy and legislation “UN Millennium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Target 1: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”

  6. Accessible ICTs for education and job training • Accessible ICTs include: • mainstream technologies such as computers and mobile phones that contain in-built accessibility features • (next presentation!) • accessible formats such as accessible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) books, Braille, captions etc • assistive technologies include standalone devices that aid • mobility (e.g. wheelchairs), • communication (e.g. hearing aids) • hardware and software that enable access to a computer (e.g. adaptive keyboard, screen reader)

  7. Assistive technology for education Low Tech Tools Pencil grips Color coding Highlighters Slanted surfaces Reading and writing guides Enlarged worksheets High Tech Tools Text readers Voice recognition Environmental control devices Augmentative communication device Software for manipulation of objects Electronic books Mid Tech Tools Books on tape Talking spell checker, dictionary Word processor Tape recorder Adaptive eating utensils Switch controlled toy, light, blender Example cited by Michigan Department of Education report on AT

  8. Examples of assistive technology - hardware • Switch input – enabling independent access to a computer and/or environmental controls • Augmentative and Alternative Communication • Braille notetaker

  9. Examples of assistive technology - software • Screen reader – video clip • Screen magnifier

  10. Policy areas for accessible ICTs in education and job training • Buy-in from teachers and students • Infrastructure – connectivity, accessible ICTs • Support for practice – teachers and students – pedagogical practice • Needs assessment • Training - during initial training and on the job • Co-operation/research – sustainable eco-system • Evaluation “If the real potential of ICT for pupils’ learning is to be reached, teachers will first have to be convinced of the value of using ICT” European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education

  11. CONNECT A SCHOOL CONNECT A COMMUNITYmodule on ICTs for persons with disabilities • Current situation in developing countries • Assistive Technology by disability type – understanding users needs • Developing and implementing accessible ICT connected schools • National and educational policy reform • Supporting teachers and students • Procurement policies • Trends in AT and ICT • Leveraging Accessible ICT enabled schools ascommunity hubs for skills and job training for adults with disabilities • Other: • Checklist for policymakers • International legislation in support of accessible ICTs in education • Case studies • Technical Resources

  12. http://www.connectaschool.org

  13. Case study 1: Tunisia - International Training Centre in Teleworking for Disabled People • A joint initiative between the Tunisia government , the Regional Council of the Provence Alpes Cotes d’Azur and the General Council of the Bouches du Rhône • Objective: to support the inclusion of people with disabilities within society by providing access to traditionally unavailable job opportunities by training People with Disabilities in teleworking careers • First Centre opened in 2006 • First 2 training sessions trained 15 students of which 13 were placed in a job (86.6% success rate) • Certificate in ‘Business Opportunities for Entrepreneurs’ developed with the National Agency for Employment and Independent Work. • Targeted 18 unemployed people with disabilities (February 2010) • Participants provided with 20 days training and mentoring • Participants identified a business opportunity, developed a business plan and presented this to potential investors • Participants who proceeded to develop their projects are receiving a small grant for a 12 month period plus ongoing training in technical and managerial skills Association Générale des Insuffisants Moteurs

  14. Case study 2: Brazil - Open Source Assistive Technology • Main barriers to access for Assistive Technology in Developing Countires – COST: • Cost of AT: cost of screen reader = 3-4 PCs • Lack of training in this AT • Potential employer unable to support cost of AT • EducaçãoLivreProject • A public-private partnership between Botelho & Paula Consultoria ( a technology consultancy) and Mais Diferenças, an NGO dediatced to the inclusion of people with disabilities in society • Location: São Paulo, Brazil • F123.org USB drive • Developed by Botelho & Paula Consultoria • Enables blind people to access Assistive Technologies on almost any computer though a USB drive • contains everything the user needs to navigate the Internet, edit documents and spreadsheets, and send e-mails and instant messages • Uses a range of Free and Open Source (FOSS) Technologies • Linux (Operating system) • Gnome (desktop GUI) • ORCA (screen reader) • Plug and play on any computer

  15. Brazil - Open Source Assistive Technology • Achievements to date: • EducaçãoLivre Project • Aims to train 55 students in use of this technology in Curitiba and Novo Hamburgo by end 2010 • Intensive courses planned for instructors working in blind NGOs • Inter-American Development Bank • New initiative to share the F123.org technology in workshops in Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Uruguay • Software to be made available in additional languages such as Spanish shortly

  16. Case study 3: Ethiopia – ITU funded Computer Training Centre • 2003- ITU and UNESCO in conjunction with local partner Adaptive Technology Centre for the Blind (ATCB) in Addis Abba: • Centre established • ITU and ATCB provided training equipment and software • UNESCO provided training and curriculum development materials • Cost: USD 70,000 • Outputs: • Centre established • Blind students and government employees trained to use voice synthesisers, magnifying software • Courses provided for trainers an and students at 5 technical colleges • Legacy: UNESCO and ATCB continue to work together to provide programmes and awareness workshops on the use of ICT for people with disabilities in Ethiopia eg • development by Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Addis Abba University of an Amharic text to speech synthesiser

  17. Case study 4: Kenya – laptops and ATs for University students • 2006 Joint initiative: • Sightsavers International • Computer Aid International • Dolphin • Objective: Provide 250 laptops with Assistive Technology to students in Nairobi’s university • Cost: USD250: • Laptop provided by Computer Aid International • Software by Dolphin (SuperNova on USB) • In conjunction with local partner Kenya Union of the Blind

  18. Thank you! Dónal Rice d.rice1@nuigalway.ie

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