Enabling design: a case of maker workshops as a method for including special educators in creating digital interactions for learners with profound disabilities

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to present findings from three workshops that aimed to enable learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities to have a richer, more meaningful experience of a digital curriculum and to bolster a more meaningful creative exchange than currently offered by off the shelf products. Design/methodology/approach Informed by the maker culture and participatory action research, this workshop method focussed on making prototypes and creating concepts that encourage a dialogic approach for envisioning future technologies. As a process of enabling design, this approach placed participants at the heart of iterative methods that support imaginative ideation and improvisation, rather than the production of marketable products. Findings A thematic analysis of post-workshop discussions revealed that participants felt inspired and supported to envision learner responses to stimuli as novel interactions, without prior knowledge of designing and coding. The collaborative approach provoked the articulation of narratives on learner ability and a reconsideration of “digital” with a contemporary curriculum for learners with profound disabilities. Practical implications Running a maker workshop requires a time and resource commitment from all parties. The emphasis is on easy-to-follow, direct teaching together with low cost electronics and non-digital materials, ensured that these demands were kept to a minimum. However, the gains of participation can only be maintained when support exists both in and out of the workshop environment through the provision of resources and communication channels. Originality/value The originality of the workshops lies in the focus on basic electronics, coding and prototyping as a means to think about digital futures. As a method of enabling technologies to tap into learner ability, this process fostered design dialogues through the social act of making, sharing and learning without the need for prerequisite skills.

Teacher Induction for Teachers Prepared Online

Innovation and change in university preparation of teachers requires acquisition of technological pedagogy in response to the demands of a knowledge economy where students are engaged in technology implementation in a constantly changing world. Teacher preparation programs historically have been contained on campus using face-to-face instruction. As the second decade of the twenty-first century unfolds, universities have adopted online learning in teacher preparation to accommodate the needs of a more diverse clientele. Educator preparation now faces two major challenges: a critical mass generated by net generation students who have increased demands for online access to learning and a teaching force without prerequisite skills and dispositions to dramatically alter modes of instruction.

Early identification and intervention to prevent reading failure: A response to intervention (RTI) initiative

This article describes a Response to Intervention (RTI) model of early identification and intervention to prevent reading failure. A simple screening system to alert teachers to children who may not have some of the prerequisite skills necessary for reading and a whole class intervention system will be described. The success of these initiatives was measured systematically, and the incidence of reading difficulties was reduced to 1.5% in the children who had English as a first language and in children who had English as an additional language. The article also examines the relative influence of students’ first language on learning to read in English and the benefits of bilingualism.

Analysis Of Prerequisite IT Skills And Competencies Of Professional Accountants

Due to the role of information technology (IT) in today’s business environment and the significant influence information technologies have on accounting operations, there is a growing need to continuous acquiring of IT knowledge and skills related to new and emerging IT. Given the current market demands for the accounting profession, the possession of IT skills and knowledge is imperative for both professional accountants in practice as well as accounting graduates. This paper investigates the skills that accounting graduates should develop through the analysis of a mixture of skills and competencies that are articulated by prominent professional accounting bodies along with the skills that employees deem important. In that context, special emphasis will be placed upon the analysis of the required IT skills and competencies. The paper aims to provide a detailed overview of the significant literature regarding prerequisite skills and competencies in ordering to identify expectations for future professional accountants that will serve as a basis for providing accounting education recommendations in that context. The results of the conducted analysis should provide useful information to higher education community as well as overall professional and scientific community.