New tech bid to help special needs pupils
EDUCATION: Trials of pioneering technology to help disabled pupils in the classroom are to take place across the country in the first programme of its kind in the world.
The Government has just announced plans to fund pilot schemes in up to 100 schools and colleges to test the benefits of assistive technology.
TRIALS OF pioneering technology to help disabled pupils in the classroom are to take place across the country in the first programme of its kind in the world.
The Government has just announced plans to fund pilot schemes in up to 100 schools and colleges to test the benefits of assistive technology when it comes to supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Innovations which will be trialed will include ‘text-to-speech’ and ‘speech recognition’ software, which can help pupils with dyslexia improve their reading and proof-reading.
Eye-gaze technology, which can help pupils with severe motor impairments to communicate, will also be tested with the aim of helping children with additional needs access education.
Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Chris Skidmore said: “Harnessing the power of modern technology can help us change lives and unlock the potential of every child.
“With technological advances happening at increasingly breakneck speed, it is only right that we ride the wave so pupils in our classrooms with special educational needs are given all the support they need.
“The trials of cutting-edge technology will be funded by an initial investment of £300,000, as part of a wider investment of £10m through the Department for Education’s EdTech Strategy, which aims to transform the use of technology in education to support innovation and raise the bar in schools, colleges and universities across England.”
The pilots, which are being supported by Sheffield Hallam University’s Institute of Education will run from this April until the end of the academic year.
The results will inform a longterm plan on which technology works best in a classroom environment.
EdTech exports are worth an estimated £170 million to the UK economy, and the strategy is part of a Government-led programme to encourage technology firms to work with the education sector to look at a number of key challengers.
Mr Skidmore added: “We want to promote the use of innovative tech to level the playing field for people with special educational needs and disabilities – identifying the technology that best suits individual needs.
“Additionally, it could play a key role in reducing teachers’ workload by cutting the time teachers they have to spend preparing and marking homework.”
A great deal of research has already taken place into the use of apps to improve literacy and the benefits of online learning and training for adults and this latest programme hopes to build on that work.
Professor Adam Boddison, chief executive of the National Association for Special Educational Needs, said: “Assistive technology is increasingly being used by schools to ensure that pupils with SEND have full access to the curriculum offer.
“This programme will play an important role in providing a reliable evidence base for schools so they can be as effective as possible in their use of assistive technology.
“It sits alongside the development of a network of what are known as ‘demonstrator’ schools and colleges to support peer-topeer learning in the use of technology, which will also launch this spring.”
We want to promote the use of innovative tech to level the playing field
Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Chris Skidmore