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 Erasmus Project

Project Title

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

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

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.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 115729 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zespol Szkol Specjalnych & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Valteri-koulu Ruskis
• Guardian Angel Resource Centre