The aim of the project is to foster the accessibility and inclusion of students with special education needs to quality online education, thus the name of the project - 3A (Adapted Accessibility for All). In order to do so, the following objectives have been set: O1 - Develop the capacity of at least 120 teachers from at least 40 educational institutes from 3 partner countries to adapt teaching the disciplines of Mathematics, Self-care abilities, Communication and language abilities and Exploring the environment in special education classes and integrated special education for secondary level education, for students with mild to moderate disabilities; O2 - Integrate the newly adapted curriculums for 4 disciplines in secondary education in the didactic design within at least 15 schools in 3 partner countries; O3 - Equip at least 120 educational institutions (centers for special education, schools with special education classes and integrated special education) with motivation and resources on how to further adapt the teaching of Mathematics, Self-care abilities, Communication and language abilities and Exploring the environment to the needs of students with special learning needs, with mild to moderate disabilities. Based on the already mentioned needs emerging from internal researches in partner countries, we realized that educators need a set of digital competences specific to their profession in order to be able to seize the potential of digital technologies for enhancing and innovating education, with a focus on inclusion of students with special educational needs. In order to reach the set objectives, the project activities including the elaboration of the intellectual results that are strategically organized to contribute to the 4 levels corresponding to the 4 educators' pedagogical competences within the European Framework for the Digital competences of educators: - teaching and learning - digital resources - assessment - empowering learners The intellectual outputs are: IO1 – Redesign of curriculums for 4 main disciplines for 2 categories of special educational needs (Autism, Down Syndrome, oligophrenias) - light to moderate intellectual disabilities for secondary education (all 4 grades) for both special education and integrated special education classes in terms of methods, tools and evaluation methodology that would allow teachers to teach them exclusively online. IO2 – Tutorials for teachers to use the new teaching methodologies in special education classes and integrated special education. The pilot and dissemination of these activities will build the competences in teachers, which are the main project results. These learning results have been organized based on the 4 educators' pedagogical competences within the European Framework for the Digital competences of educators: - teaching and learning 120 teachers will be able to increase competencies in the following areas: 1. Teaching and learning - improve their teaching abilities in online to further integrate students with special learning needs, better cater to their needs and specificities; - get organized in further learning and improving themselves as professionals in special education 2. Digital Resources - navigate, chose and adapt online resources to the requirements of their students 3. Assessment - chose the most appropriate assessment tools and methods for online teaching and ensure corrective measures when learning objectives are not met. 4. Empowering learners - engage and cater to learning needs and profile of students with special educational needs - create a network of support around the students with special educational needs in order to support their learning - teachers, colleagues and parents The expected results at organizational level are the following: - integration of the intellectual outputs in the didactic design within at least 15 schools in 3 partner countries; - development of at least 30 project plans on how to further develop, adapt and exploit the 2 intellectual results. However, the most important aspect of adding up all these results is significantly increasing the quality of the learning process and results for students in secondary school with mild to moderate disabilities, supporting them in recovering and stabilizing cognitive and social competences and constantly acquiring new ones at their pace.
The project aimed to strengthen the capacity of teachers and other professionals involved in education with focus on special education to deliver online sessions tailored for children/youth with special needs. We aimed to improve their understanding and usage of the various learning strategies and get them acquainted with the different possibilities of different pedagogical approaches and teaching practices to delivering education online for students with special needs. They have gained access to new tools, adjusted and translated to their national contexts and now they will have the capacity to use the tools and knowledge to further diversify their teaching methods in order to facilitate learning process and environment for children with disabilities. Even though teachers are no longer in the situation where they need to fully deliver online classes, digital materials are extremely resourceful in order to diversify and enhance the teaching approaches and learning outcomes.
The aim of the project was to foster the accessibility and inclusion of students with special education needs to quality online education, thus the name of the project - 3A (Adapted Accessibility for All), based on the need to equip teachers working in special education settings with tools and capacity to use The quick adaptation to the critical situation created by Covid-19 pandemics was challenged by the disparities in the access to technology of both learners and teachers and by the lack of know-how & support within the teachers community. Vulnerable children and vulnerable schools such as special schools and rural communities were the most affected by the sudden change in the learning environment and we aimed to provide them with the necessary materials and alternatives to be able to deliver online classes, when needed, or use online tools to improve offline classes for students with mental disabilities.