The aim of the project is to find new and innovative tool to support SEN (Special Educational Needs) students to understand the risks and challenges of being online and how to stay safe and the implications of technology in their everyday lives. This is a ground-breaking and ever changing area of the pupils’ lives and one that is often over-looked in relation to pupils with SEN. The project will include creating joint and individual resources for teachers, parents and pupils. There are many different risks associated with the digital age, and it is becoming more apparent that it is young people that are the most vulnerable and most targeted. Students with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) have shown particularly vulnerability in a variety of different contexts; nationally and locally observed within our school. This vulnerability needs and deserves further practical methodological research into how to address pupils’ areas of development with practical tips, ideas and guidance on how to keep pupils with SEN safe now and in the future, as technology advances. By collaborating with partners, we will be able to enhance the teaching and learning of pupils with SEN around their internet usage and safety. From this research, guides can then be created that can be used across a larger population of pupils and with the intention of developing the resources across various European countries. Based on the limited existing research, the partnership aim to create supportive documentation (resources/guides) for schools, parents and teachers around internet safety; through the use of a variety of pedagogical tools in order to enhance and stimulate pupil learning. The documentation will be created and developed by experts with input from teachers with experience and expertise in working with SEN and ASC, in order to facilitate the guided document and resources to use in different situations and for the different recipients. Aims: 1. Develop an interactive online resource for demonstrating the risks and challenges of the online world. Dependent on funding received we will either develop a prototype or a complete interactive tool. If we are only able to develop a prototype we will also adapt and evidence a Swedish tool that has already been trialled and working well in mainstream schools in Sweden for SEN. 2. Identify specific needs and educational challenges that SEN teachers and teachers with students of mixed groups have to do in order to meet pupils’ e-safety educational needs 3. Adopt a participatory action research methodology in which teachers of young people with SEN participate in piloting and adapting the materials. 4. Develop guidelines for teachers working with SEN students and students with learning disabilities that will aim for a more equal education for these students on how to be safe online a) Draw from the age related/ functional limitations of students with ASC and other SEN b) Address how to create appropriately engaging content and interfaces that will support the learning experience c) Help teachers select the right resources to use for their pupils’ needs d) Support parents to understand the challenges that come with modern technology and how to best support their child
The internet can be a place where SEN (Children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) and special educational needs (SEN) in general, who are disadvantaged, disaffected and marginalised.) children feel safe, calm and in control. Somewhere they can make friends without having to communicate face-to-face, and build a community which they may not have in their offline life. Online games and social media sites display the capacity to capture the mind of children with attention problems and can easily sustain their focus. Whilst recognising the internet is a great resource which young people enjoy using, life online for a child with SEND may pose additional challenges. Students with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) have shown particular vulnerability in a variety of different contexts. Resources on this for students with SEN were severely lacking. Using research from our previous project, which showed the benefit of using games to enhance learning, the StaySafe project has created a new interactive and innovative online learning game to support SEN (Special Educational Needs) students to understand the risks and challenges of being online and how to stay safe, and the implications of technology in their everyday lives. The game takes the student on a journey through the Jungle, that is the internet, helping the main character, Bao the Panda (whose name in Chinese means 'to protect'), to set up an online profile and overcome challenges faces on the way. Challenges include online bullying, thinking critically about what you see online and understanding that not everyone online is who they say they are online, which can be a difficult concept to understand. As a learning game the choices made are scored, which entices learners to return to the game to make better choices to beat their previous score. As well as engaging students we wanted to encourage parents and teachers to have conversations and establish a positive relationship with their children around their life online, as this is often an area they don't feel confident in. To address this we created a parent guidance document which allows them to play the game alongside their child to stimulate those conversations. There are also class lesson plans and activities for teachers to support pupils as, by playing the game, students learn to assess evidence, negotiate, make informed decisions, and solve problems. The lessons are split into each level of the game making it easy to teach one aspect of internet safety per lesson. Working with 25 teachers from all 3 countries, along with a software company with expertise in learning games to bring together ideas for the game and evaluating the different stages of the project including trialling in the classroom. By working closely together we were able to refine the game and make changes along the way to reflect feedback from students. We were also able to translate the game into the three languages to enable a wider dissemination of the product. A feedback form was given to all the parents, teachers and students involved in the trials and the results analysed. This showed a 100% positive enjoyment of the game, 100% feeling safer online after playing the game and 97% students showing an increased understanding of risks. . As well as trials in Special schools, teachers in mainstream environments have also been testing the game with students. Again the reception was 100% positive. In addition teachers have used the game to teach foreign languages to students in a fun and engaging way. Over 300 teachers have so far been shown the game in Bucks, Gothenburg, Paris and Ludovia. In addition we have been asked to present at the UK education show, BETT, in January 2022. The project outputs were in the form of: • 'Bao - It's a Jungle Out There' game • A digital parent and teacher guide • Case studies to provide concrete examples of using the game in formal educational setting with students • Workshops and dissemination organized in France, Sweden and UK. • A website containing all of the above We have been able to secure the long term output for this project. The software company have a new server on which to host the game so that it will be available into the future. The consortium The project is a (Erasmus+ K2) bilateral strategic partnership between three regions, England France and Sweden. Buckinghamshire Council (BC) in England is the lead partner. In each country there were carefully selected schools to pilot the project with students.