Students with disabilities have much to gain by using new technology and new media. The Special Needs and Distance Learning Network (SNDL Network) is one more proof of this.
The goal of the project is to create a collection of experiences for a network-based continuing education concept that combines modern information technology with special educational competence.
Distance learning is nothing new in Sweden, but our project is the first to use this technology to support disabled students and their support staff.
There are many advantages to distance learning, or instruction at a distance. Especially in rural areas there is a need to reduce the number of trips that eat up resources which could be used in other activities. Moreover, there are large gains to be made in following up learning activities and reinforcing them with regular instructional sessions at a distance. In the end, it’s all about giving the best possible support to disabled students so that they can fully participate in their schooling.
The Swedish National Agency for Special Needs Education (SIH) is conducting this project together with the Tomteboda School Resource Center (TRC) and the Stockholm Institute of Education (LHS, Lärarhögskolan). The project is financed by the Foundation for Knowledge and Communication and the Swedish Handicap Institute, as well as by a regional EU project.
Continuing Education for Instructional Staff
The SNDL Network is aimed in the initial stages at students with visual impairments, as well as the teaching teams who work with them. Municipalities today send their teaching staff to TRC in Solna for basic courses dealing with visual impairments. The SNDL Network now wants to evaluate the distance learning methods used, as well as the methods used for following up and continuing education of educational staff involved with disabled students.
Five teaching teams from around the country are participating in the pilot phase through a video conference system and lectures delivered over Internet, among other things. A large advantage is that the whole teaching team participates and not just one or two teachers. It’s important to bear in mind that distance learning should not be seen as replacing existing support programs, but as a follow up and reinforcing complement.
Guidance at a distance
Students with disabilities will begin participating in the project in the Spring of 1999. With the help of computers it will be possible to offer training in, for example, study methods, using programs or choosing educational materials.
Competence network
The word "network" in the project title doesn’t mean anything technical. We are referring instead to a competence network, in which knowledge is used and shared across existing institutional and structural boundaries. People with a variety of competencies can be connected to selected teaching teams or courses by using video technology in a simple and cost-efficient way.
International contacts
The SNDL Network is not unique. Similar pilots are underway in the USA, among other places. At the University of Washington, much of the education of disabled students is conducted at a distance. Another example is the Texas School for the Blind in Austin, where they are also trying distance learning models for delivering training for teaching staff involved with blind students. Further contacts will be made as our project continues.
Web-based information
We will publish project updates on our web site at http://www.ndu.sih.se. This site will also include a password-protected section for the exclusive use of project members, including, for example, multimedia presentations which project members can access on their own computers. Other projected web services are forums, virtual libraries, frequenty asked questions, event calendars and project reports and evaluations.
Evaluation is important
To assure a level of research and evaluation credibility, we have instituted a special reference group with representatives from Mid Sweden University (Mitthögskolan), the Stockholm Institute of Education, and SIH. Since a central focus of the project is evaluation of methods, a good deal of effort will be expended on this point.
Inspiring other disabled groups
The project started in January 1998 and is expected to run in its first phase through the end of 1999. By that time a decision will be made about potential expansions and continuations. Emphasis will be placed on dissemination of the results we achieve. The current project plan calls for two seminars and a video production. The project’s goal is to create interest for this type of continuing education at a distance, on a broad front. Anyone who would like to participate – whether on a small or large scale – or anyone wanting to be informed of the project’s activities, is requested to contact the project group.
"We hope this pilot project will serve as an inspirational model for other disabled groups who are considering trying distance learning," says project director Anders Söderberg of SIH in Härnösand.
Visit our web site for more information
To contact the project group:
Anders Söderberg, Project Director SIH
Box 1100
871 29 Härnösand
Sweden
+46-611-88 789
anders.soderberg@sih.se
Marianne Svanheim
SIH
Box 47611
117 94 Stockholm
Sweden
+46-8-18 66 51
marianne.svanheim@sih.se
Bengt-Olof Sennerö
TRC
Box 1313
171 25 Solna
Sweden
+46-8-4700 700
sennero@trc.se
Kerstin Fellenius
LHS
Box 47 308
100 74 Stockholm
Sweden
+46-8-737 55 88
kerstin.fellenius@lhs.se