The aim of the project is to develop, disseminate and provide the sustainability of the use of innovative tools (60 lesson plans using the WebQuest method) in teaching youth deaf.These tools will allow for the activation of youth deaf, will increase the efficiency and attractiveness of teaching, will improve students “self-reliance”, will provide skills to use modern information and communication technologies (ICT) and will extend the time of concentration.By using modern technology during the lessons, in addition to the creative-, exercises-, control- and education- functions, meets the criteria of the so-called polisensory teaching - uses larger amounts of sensory or learning styles, which is particularly important in the education of the handicapped people.WQ method based on working with the personal computer, let leave the passive attitude among the students, promote thoughtful and constructive use of the Internet resources. It shows that the virtual network can be a tool of work, not just entertainment. Selected by the coach source material allow the students to focus on critical analysis and use of information.WQ will be implemented as a group exercise in which each group performs a different part of the project. The division into groups helps in motivating, this is related to the performance of a specific role which stimulates students' interest in the issue. From the technical part, WQ is the equivalent of instruction for the student, developed by an expert before working on the project method and takes the form of HTML document and is published online.The target groups are:1) Teachers of young deaf people, including surdopedagogues, educators and instructors from participating countries: Poland, Slovakia and Hungary2) Deaf / hard of hearing young people on ISCED level 2 from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.3) Dissemination phase- management bodies providing special education, authorities, policy makers, other educators and teachers, deaf and hard of hearing students at each education level.The project responds to the educational needs of deaf students and teachers by adapting effective and proven method the WebQuest to the expectations deaf. Moreover, it helps to eliminate communication and mental barriers.The essence of innovation in the transnational cooperation is the combination of experience and knowledge from 3 countries (European added value) to create a universal design, which will be more efficient and effective, and can be disseminated on a wider scale.The partnership consists of: Fundaton providing the technologies and innovative solutions, coordinate the implementation, and -three special schools with the great experience and background in the deaf education from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. This partnership for several years was successfully working in the area indicated in the application form, is seriously able to establish the WQ product. Thanks the supervision of the Inteliectual Work Team will be offered development, providing good value and quality management. Next steps will be: testing, effectiveness control, evaluate to the final version and finally dissemination. Thanks to such form of the Partnership will be saved project live in both the product and influence.Dissemination phase provides the transfer of developed innovations to the participantes of the project from Poland, Hungary and Slovakia: teachers/educators working in schools offering education for the deaf, representatives of training institutions, societies, associations, Polish, Hungarian and Slovak Association of the Deaf, acting repesenting an interest of the deaf community. This transfer will be carried out in the so-called model “technological push”. It involves the development of innovation then customisation and finally practical application by leading an intensive promotional activities, marketing and building the positive image of innovation. The objective associated to dissemination strategy is to inform the public opinion about the activities carried out during the project. Popularization of innovation is also associated to the formation of a positive image of the Deaf community as language and culture minority.Potential users will be informed about the advantages of developed products, the benefits generated by their use and advantages advantage in relation to existing teaching methods. All the message will be supported by PR activities forwarded online and traditional.Additionally will be used so-called “whispered advertising” especially effective within the deaf community. Information to the media will be transferred by the press articles, notes and brifings informing about the results and progress in the project. The interest by the media these topics will distribute information to the general public. In this action will be involved regional and national media incl. deaf community newspapers and Internet portals.
The main aim of this project was the use of WebQuest method in education of deaf people. WebQuest method is a very effective tool developing various mental skills: comparing, classifying, inducing, deducing, errors studying, arguments creating, prescinding, views studying. Additionally, this method in a natural way uses young generation’s interest in new IT technologies. It enables to direct this interest into precious cognitive activities and shape the culture of using the Internet, not only in ludic way but also in educational one. This method builds among students the attitude of deliberate and constructive use of on-line resources, it also teaches participants of activities that they don’t have to be only the passive information receivers but they can process and create it by themselves. This attitude changes the perception of a pupil in the educational process, and in contact with new methods from the consumer attitude into the prosumer position – a receiver and creator of information in the same time. WebQuest as an educational tool has its structure, which matches its steps of realisation. Typical WebQuest structure consists of: 1. Subject- it should be interesting for students and cognitively valuable, it will be good if it matches current curriculum 2. Introduction- its aim is to make the subject more precise, interest and introduce the subject of each WebQuest. 3. Task- it’s the detailed description of tasks for each groups (people) engaged in the project. 4. Process- it’s a description of an educational process during realisation of the project 5. Sources/Resources- it’s the description of resources and sources which students should make use of in order to reach planned results. The aim of the project was creating, promoting and providing stability in applying innovative tools (60 lesson plans with the use of WebQuest method) in didactic of deaf students. Those tools influence on making deaf students more active, increasing effectiveness and attractiveness of teaching, improving independence of students and providing increase in use of new ICT technologies, as well as prolonging concentration span. The use of new ICT technologies during activities, apart from cognitive-creative, exercising, controlling and pedagogic functions, meets criteria of polysensory teaching- it uses more senses or teaching styles what is very important in education of people with impairment senses. Participants of the project: VIBRUS UNITS Fund (a grant recipient) – the fund supporting deaf people in social and vocational activities, the leader of innovative ways in deaf teaching, The Special Schools for deaf from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic (after changing the partner from Hungary, in I quarter of the project) - Kindergartens, Primary and secondary schools for hearing impaired, Valasske Mezirici, Czech Republic, - Special Education Center for deaf and hearing impaired, Tarnow, Poland - Jan Voitassek’s Combined School, Levoca, Slovak Republic Fulfilled activities: 1. 60 lesson plans were created with the use of WebQuest method, taking into consideration specific needs of the deaf and being adjusted to their perception. WQ were created in the most important teaching fields: science, natural science, ICT technology, business studies, social competence. There was a relatively wide attitude towards themes of WQ in order to use it in the most effective way in deaf education. During creating of WQ, current curriculum of each school subject was taken into consideration. Each was created in 3 language versions: Polish, Slovak and Czech. WQ includes all the needed elements of a lesson plan (according to Bartnowski) which means: 1. subject of the lesson. 2. aims of the lesson. 3.methods of teaching. 4. teaching tools. 5.timing – telling the time for each stage of the lesson. 2. The testing stage of 60WQ will be done with 3 partners: in school in Poland, school in Slovakia and school in The Czech Republic according to previously prepared tests. Partners tested WQ in 5- person groups. All WQ were tested within 2 school years. During the testing stage all the groups have fulfilled all WQ, and the whole testing process was directed to gain feedback from the students and teachers concerning the way of realising WQ, faced difficulties, problems in realising given WQ, observing students’ behaviour while realising WQ, gaining surveys from students, finding out about suggestions, possible amendments to a given WQ. 3. Gaining suggestions from tested groups. Data analysis. In order to gain health information such research instruments were used: - Survey for a student - Survey for a teacher - Student’s observation questionnaire - Report from the testing stage- including other suggestions, not included in surveys and student’s observation questionnaire Gained research material was aggregated, statistically analysed and then quantity and quality inference was done. 4. The result of tested preparatory version