Grant Recipient
Joe Kwan and Joyce Lo, MET Students
Dr. Suzanne De Castell, Visiting Professor, UBC Faculty of Education
This project is now complete and can be found on our resources page.
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, learners with special needs have been experiencing increased challenges and barriers to accessing educational resources. Two years later, while many schools have developed online alternatives enabling typical students to continue their education, the options and resources for learners with special needs have lagged behind. The pandemic has widened the gap in resources and accommodations between typical students and learners with special needs.
The objective of this project is to mobilize digital tools to compile, curate and convey resources to enable the online and free provision of education materials, coaching, and networking for parents, caregivers and educators. The goal is to build knowledge, skills and materials to support underserved learners with special needs who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to supplement and/or replace verbal speech.
This project will help build bridges between home and school for high-needs learners, by filling significant gaps in the provision of their special educational requirements with online resources and innovative learning materials that supplement and enhance Special Needs Education. At its core, our initiative is to provide free and accessible tools, methods and resources that support students with special needs who use an AAC device for communication and learning in their educational and everyday lives.
