Project "The use of information and communication technologies in the education and therapy of students with disabilities as a chance for their success and social inclusion. Exchange of good practices between special schools from Poland, Finland and Malta "will be implemented by three special schools: Special Schools in Słupia near Kępno from Poland (coordinator), Valteri Ruskis from Finland and Guardian Angel Resource Centre from Malta. Students with various types of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, attend those facilities. The aim of the project is to exchange knowledge and skills in the field of information and communication technologies, used in education and therapy of people with various types of disabilities. Transfer of these competences will be carried out by highly qualified specialists from our schools who will create a team cooperating with each other. Each organization will bring to the project unique practices, absent in other schools: the use of Biofeedback and PECS (Poland), proprietary development and use of a set of devices, programs and applications, i.a. for speech therapy and revalidation therapy (Finland), use of OptiMusic and Multisensory Room (Malta). The goal is to get to know and implement those practices in each of the schools. The project involves the participation of 15 special educators - 5 from each institution, who will participate in both short training programs for employees and local activities carried out between mobilities - including using the eTwinning platform. The project will also be attended by 10 students from each institution. They will be included in both local activities and exchanges. This will enable the test use of specialized devices, programs and applications at work with students from those facilities that do not yet have adequate technological facilities (eg testing biofeedback by groups from Malta and Finland). The results assumed by us include: the increase of specialist staff skills, an implementation of new solutions in the field of ICT to work with students with disabilities, increase of students' skills in various areas (eg clearer speech, cognitive skills, online shopping skills and many more). Competences will grow not only in children and young people attending our facilities at the moment, but also in our future students, because the methods and tools that will be the subject of the transfer, we will introduce our centers permanently.
Project entitled "The use of information and communication technologies in education and therapy of students with disabilities as a chance for their success and social inclusion. Exchange of good practices between special schools from Poland, Finland and Malta" was implemented by three special schools: Special Schools Complex in Słupia near Kępno from Poland (coordinator), Valteri Ruskis from Finland and Guardian Angel Resource Center from Malta. These facilities are attended by students with various types of disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities. The main assumption of the project was the exchange of knowledge and skills in the use of information and communication technologies in the education and therapy of people with various types of disabilities. It was planned that each organization would bring to the project unique practices, absent in other schools: the use of RSA / EEG Biofeedback and PECS (Poland), proprietary development and use of a set of devices, programs and applications for therapy, inclusion and self-empowerment - incl. "Graphical Notes" (Finland), use of OptiMusic and Multisensory Room (Malta). All educators / therapists and all students attending our facilities were involved in local activities in each school. It was possible thanks to the commencement of the exchange of good practices already in the first month of the project through on-line cooperation of the staff. Moreover, 10 employees in each school and 10 students in each school were recruited to participate in short training programs. The implementation of the mobility allowed for testing the use of specialized devices, programs and applications that were not available to the sending school in work with students from these institutions. During the project implementation, each school purchased the missing ICT, thanks to which all students of our institutions use them today. The results of the project include, among others increase of specialist skills of the staff, implementation of new solutions in the field of ICT to work with students with disabilities in our institutions, increase of students' skills in various areas (e.g. alternative communication, artistic expression, key competences) and increase in the degree of social inclusion of this highly disadvantaged group people (e.g. by giving concerts, staging shows, taking part in contests, competitions, etc.). As a summary of the effects of our work, as well as for the sake of tools for disseminating the solutions we have developed, we have prepared 26 publications in English (additionally also in Polish), available e.g. on the websites of our branches. We are convinced that the results of the project will be long-lasting and the above-mentioned competences will increase not only in the children and adolescents attending our institutions now, but also in our future students, because the methods and tools that will be the subject of the transfer have been introduced into the work of our institutions on a permanent basis.