Innovative methods and Artificial intelligence in
MOOC for special needs teacher Education
AN ERASMUS+PROGRAM – KEY ACTION 2
Cooperation partnerships in school education
The importance of Information and Communication Technologies in education
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are widely used in education as they play an important facilitating role in the process of school inclusion of pupils with special abilities. In addition to enhancing specific skills and, at the same time, compensating them by exploiting students’ strengths, ICTs contribute to creating an inclusive and equitable school environment.
Promoting the active participation of all students
Valuing individual differences rather than concealing them
Making learning and teaching flexible and tailored to the needs of each student
Supporting the building of an innovative school, able to adapt to the emerging digital era demands
IA-ME Design
The questions that guided the development of the IA-ME project were: is it possible to identify pupils’ educational needs and support their learning processes through ICTs? What are the requirements for an ICT to be identified as inclusive and usable by both the student with special educational needs and his or her peers? Would it be possible to train teachers and provide them with inclusive educational technologies and a tool to identify them?
In line with the Digital Education Action Plan, our project aims to support the transition to the digital age and at the same time ensure the creation of more inclusive, equitable, innovative school environments.
About
The IA-ME project (Innovative methods and Artificial intelligence in MOOC for special needs teacher Education) aims at supporting teachers in the assessment, monitoring, and planning of tailored educational plans for SEN students, using an innovative AI-based tool delivered through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The focus of the MOOC is to provide knowledge, strategies, tools and practical tips to make the school environment more inclusive. During the course, a new technological tool will be launched, in the form of an open, multilingual web app, which exploits AI systems to allow teachers to feel more confident in identifying students’ needs and drawing up personalised educational plans. Teachers will directly answer a questionnaire aimed at assessing their SEN students’ behaviour so that the tool will suggest useful procedures to achieve defined educational goals and, particularly, the most inclusive technologies that can be used to facilitate students’ learning and foster their inclusion.