Presentation at Techshare India 2014 by Amy S. Glodman, Co-Executive Director, Institute on disabilities, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA. A model policy framework developed by UNESCO and G3ict with the European Agency

1. Inclusive ICTs in Education:
A Model Policy Framework
Amy S. Goldman, Co-Executive Director
Institute on Disabilities, Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
A model policy framework developed by UNESCO and G3ict with the European
Agency, in collaboration with educators, public sector and private sector experts
from around the world following sessions organized by UNESCO in the context of
the World Summit on the Information Society
A collaborative work made possible by a grant of the Microsoft Corporation
www.g3ict.org

2. WHY INCLUSIVE ICTS IN
EDUCATION?
Societal trends, educational trends, technology
development, and the UN CRPD
Slide 2

3. Societal Trends

Integration of people previously
excluded from society

Universal design

Self-advocacy/disability rights
movement

Recognition of the importance of ICT
skills for future success in life
(employment, economic self-sufficiency)

Values of a Civil Society as embodied in
the UN CRPD
Slide 3

4. Educational Trends
 Inclusive
education: ALL learners
 Universal
design for learning
 Personalized
learning
 UNESCO’s
strategies, e.g. positions
on (accessible) ICT competencies
for teachers
Slide 4

5. Technology trends
 Availability
of internet service in
the community
 “Digital
 Mobile
 Cloud
natives”
technologies
technology
Slide 5

6. Technology trends and ICT in
education
 Availability
 Increasing
schools
of computers
access to “wired”
 Educators
who have ICT skills
and/or availability of ICT/IT
“supports” in schools
 BYOT
to support student
engagement
Slide 6

7. Accessible ICT and Students with
Disabilities

Policy convergence

Implications for “lifelong learners”

Accessibility features in generic
technologies (no additional cost)

Improvements to WWW accessibility

Mobile technology “apps” as viable
(lower cost) alternatives to dedicated
devices when appropriate

Other options in commercially-available
AT
Slide 7

8. ICTs in Inclusive Education Model
Policy
A
living document
 To
be customized by each country
for relevance
A
needs assessment instrument
A
blueprint for short-,mid- and
long-term action
A
tool for benchmarking progress
Slide 8

9. The Model Policy Builds on…
 Previous
work from UNESCO and
G3ict (Teacher competencies for
Accessible ICT [2012]; WSIS+10
Review Event [2013];
contributions and peer review from
international experts in accessible
ICT and inclusive education)
 Feedback
from participants in this
and future sessions
 Feedback
countries
from implementing
Slide 9

10. Vision
 Inclusive
ICTs are used effectively
in education to enable all learners
– including but not limited to those
with disabilities – to learn
according to their individual
learning preferences and to
promote long term social inclusion
and employment opportunities
Slide 10

11. Goal
 To
provide access to an appropriate
learning environment that is
supported by inclusive ICTs for
learners with disabilities.
 Outcome:
Learners with
disabilities are able to effectively
use inclusive ICTs for life-long
learning
Slide 11

12. Policy Structure

Forward

Glossary

Preamble

National Mandate

Policy Objectives

Policy Actions

Developing a National Implementation
strategy

Budget and Financing
Slide 12

13. Policy Objectives
 Learner
level (2)
 Organization
 Systems
level (1)
level (5)
Slide 13

14. Policy Objectives: Learner Level

Inclusive ICTs are tools to facilitate
participation and inclusion. Learners
identify their accessibility needs and
preferences (“built in” features in
accessible ICT, “dedicated” AT) to
achieve “personalized learning” and are
empowered to communicate those
needs to others.

Inclusive ICTs are available in
educational settings and are
transferable to other contexts
Slide 14

15. Policy Objectives: Organization
Level
 Educational
organizations and the
professionals working within and
around these organizations are
effectively supported to use ICTs to
increase participation and learning
opportunities for learners with
disabilities.
Slide 15

16. Policy Objectives: System Level
 All
stakeholders agree inclusive
ICTs can improve participation and
increase educational opportunity
 An
effective infrastructure for
inclusive ICT is developed and
maintained within all educational
settings (including procurement,
maintenance, training and
support).
Slide 16

17. Policy Objectives: System Level
(more)
 There is on-going dialogue and
consultation among stakeholders
including learners with disabilities,
their families and advocates,
educators, community
rehabilitation service providers,
and other professionals.
 Research
and development efforts
for new ICT tools involve users
with disabilities and result in
accessible ICTs.
Slide 17

18. Policy Objectives: System Level
(more)
A
plan exists for evaluating the
success of policy implementation,
including data collection and shortterm, mid- and long-term
benchmarks.
Slide 18

19. Policy Actions

Where are we today? Where do we want to
be?

What are the baseline requirements for policy
implementation and are they reasonable,
measurable and achievable?

What actions will we (who?!) take? In what
order? What resources do we need? how
long will it take?

How will we know we have achieved the
objectives? What information do we need to
collect, how often? How will we share the
results?
Slide 19

20. Prioritization and Localization
 Assessment
of status of education and
inclusive ICTs on the local and national
levels will result in prioritization and
individualization of the policy to
respond to local and national needs.
 Assessment
should involve multiple
stakeholders to develop a shared
understanding of needs, existing
infrastructure/supports, and specific
actions needed to promote change.
Slide 20

21. Possible Beginning Actions
 Awareness
raising
 Interdisciplinary
training
 Training
the trainers (including
post-secondary institutions)
 Supporting
educational leaders
 Identifying
and supporting
local/regional models of success
(where they exist)
Slide 21

22. Identifying Responsibility for
Implementation
 Key
involvement of the Lead
Ministry who can authorize actions
and ensure links among different
sectors
 New
structures/appointments e.g.
Chief Accessibility Officer
 Maintain
broad stakeholder
involvement and oversight e.g.
formation of an advisory
committee
Slide 22

23. FIRST RELEASE: NEW DELHI
FEBRUARY 18, 2014
For more information, visit G3ict,
Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs,
http://www.g3ict.org and UNESCO
www.unesco.org
Slide 23