Roger Blamire, European Schoolnet talks Inclusion, Differentiation and Special Educational Needs (SEN).
The commission funded a three-year project called SENnet: Special Educational Needs Network. The work will shortly be coming to an end but a dedicated Facebook page will remain active: www.facebook.com/groups/SENnetwork/
The definition of SEN students is not well defined internationally and sharing of good practice and inclusion and understanding of students with SEN differ greatly throughout Europe, however, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD: http://www.oecd.org/els/family/50325299.pdf do offer some guidance.
It’s important to think about how you can engage and cater for students when creating eTwinning projects and activities. It’s our responsibility to “open the door” and provide access and inclusion for our students. The use of video and photography can be used along with different roles and responsibilities for students within your group to support differentiated and inclusive learning.
The use of technology within schools differs greatly with some schools and colleges having their own ‘bring your own device’ policy, however, this in itself can highlight inequality, particularly for students within socially deprived or low-income families.
Roger talks about MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to support with training and development of staff around awareness raising and confidents of teaching and supporting students with SEN and shares a selection of resources from EU countries for students with SEN.
Blog post written and contributed by Joe Baldwin, eTwinning Ambassador UK (@JosephBaldwin)