IITE was invited by the European Agency for Development of Special Needs Education to participate in the ICT for Inclusion project. The project will build upon the findings of the research project jointly implemented by IITE and the European Agency in 2011. Practice Review on the use of ICT in special needs education was published in September 2011.
The focus of the new project will be made upon
- updating the developments in the countries since 2001;
- reviewing current policy and practice in participating countries on ICT usage with pupils having special educational needs;
- development of main conclusions of the Practice Review completed in collaboration with UNESCO IITE on the use of ICTs in education for people with disabilities.
The project activities will include collection, analysis and dissemination of information from two sources: the existing literature in this area and Agency member countries reports.
To guide and coordinate the project activities the Agency established a Project Advisory Group (PAG) which includes representatives of the Agency member countries’ Ministries of Education, the Agency staff team, and country representatives. The extended PAG includes external experts nominated by the Ministerial Representatives of Austria and UK (England). IITE has also become a member of the extended PAG.
On 26 January 2012 the first PAG meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium. During the meeting the participants discussed the role of the PAG, the goals and planed activities of the ICT for Inclusion project. The next PAG meeting will be held in April 2012.