Training seminar “ICT in teaching students with hearing impairments and students with communication and speech impairments“

A training seminar “ICT in teaching students with hearing impairments and students with communication and speech impairments”, organized by UNESCO IITE jointly with International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and Belorussian State Academy of Telecommunications (BSAT, Minsk) with the support of the Group of Companies “Istok-Audio”, took place in Minsk on May 15 and 16, 2017. The event brought together 40 specialists of educational institutions. At the opening ceremony, the participants were welcomed by Natalia Amelina, head of the Teacher Professional Development and Networking Section of the UNESCO IITE; Farid Nakhli (in distance mode), programme officer of the ITU Area Office for CIS Region (Moscow, Russia); Andrey Zenevich, rector of Belorussian State Academy of Telecommunications (BSAT); and Elena Mulitsa, chief specialist of the special education department of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. During the two-days seminar,  participants heard presentations by Elena Nikitina, head of Educational technology and rehabilitation laboratory of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University Center for Complex Rehabilitation of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (Russia); Maria Ivanchenko, leading specialist of the education department of the Group of companies “Istok-Audio” (Phryazino Science Town, Russia); Elena Muntyan, director of the Center for Rehabilitation after Cochlear Implantation “Tosha&Co” (Phryazino Science Town, Russia); and UNESCO IITE experts – Natalia Amelina (Russia) and Ian Bin (UK). The participants became familiar with the basic principles of ensuring the accessibility of the educational process and the formation of the educational institution infrastructure, the selection and use of assistive technologies for people with hearing, speech and communication impairments.