Computer technology in the pre-school (Italy)
Table of contents
- Aims
- Outline
- Outcomes
- Overview of reasons for inclusion of the case study
- Contact details
- Further information
- Other information
- Keywords
1. Aims
Tommaso is a tetraplegic child with cerebral palsy who has problems in using traditional teaching devices.
It was necessary to define a series of instruments that could allow the child to actively participate to all pre-school activities and to learn and master those pre-requisites needed for doing well in Elementary School.
The child is part of a class of 23 children and has significant motor disabilities.
The use of computer and software devices aims at achieving the goals which have been put forward in the Individual Educational Plan for the pre-school child.
Intervention areas: motor, linguistic, communication-relational, cognitive and autonomy.
AIMS related to each area:
- MOTOR SKILLS
- to guide the arm and head movements so that they can aid the realization of an action
- to acquire eye-hand coordination necessary for computer use (e.g. first follow the teacher's use of the cursor on the screen, then try to move the cursor and, finally, position the cursor before clicking on it)
- LINGUISTIC SKILLS
- to improve the language skills
- to verbalise
- to listen
- to ask for explanations
- COMMUNICATION-RELATIONAL SKILLS
- to express one's own needs
- to express one's own wishes
- to interact with others
- to interact with things
- to work in group
- to develop one's own self-esteem
- AUTONOMY SKILLS
- to gain independence from adults
- to master the use of instruments
- COGNITIVE SKILLS
- to improve attentional skills
- to develop thinking skills
- to acquire and strengthen the ability to forecast cause-effect relations
- to acquire space-time concepts
2. Outline
The devices used, have been recommended by the Local Health Unit of Prato following a series of observations of the child. The following devices have been used:
Touch-screen, "Big Keys" (or Pulsantoni) and "Smartkeys" (or Intellikeys) and the use of several software programmes. These devices have been modified and adapted by Ivana Sacchi, an expert of assistive and adaptive technologies to promote school integration.
Touch-screen
It consists of a screen that responds to simple touch and in which functions are activated by such a touch.
Big Keys (or Pulsantoni)
It consists of five keys of different colours indicating different directions for the arrows keys plus the enter key.
Smartkeys (or Intellikeys)
This device has been recommended to introduce the child to the use of the keyboard and to the knowledge of alphabet and spontaneous writing material. In this way, the graphic and sound elements of language were integrated.
Software programmes
The software programmes used (some of which have been adapted to Tommaso's needs and some of which were not) are:
- ADAPTIVE SOFTWARE: The three little bears (or "I 3 ORSI"); Pinocchio; Memory and Sounds (or "Memoria e Suoni")
- GENERAL SOFTWARE: Ordering (or "Metti a posto"), Winnie the pooh nursery school; The maze (or "LABIRINTO")
The three little bears
It involves the use of Touch screen device.
The story is divided into sequences on which one must click on arrow appearing on the screen to go on with the story. A little girl's voice reads the story aloud and the child has to follow the indications.
Winnie the pooh nursery school
This activity involves the use of Touch-screen device. By following different roads, it is possible to get to different characters' houses where different activities will be promoted such as:
Composing music: look for different sounds and compose a tune
Choosing letters: put the letters into a 'soup' pan
Colouring: drawing according to a given picture
Counting: count the elements and number them
Ordering
The game "Ordering" envisages the following steps:
- Ordering the objects from: the smallest to the biggest; the shortest to the highest; the shortest to the longest.
- Odering 3 or 4 sequences: For example, Tommaso is able to order the following action:
Telephone - the telephone rings - dad answers the phone
Memory and sounds
Two games, created by Ivana Sacchi, have been used. They involve memory (find the same element ) and sound (find the same sound).
The maze
The game consists in helping a penguin to find its way out of the maze.
Pinocchio
The story of Pinocchio has been computerised. An abridged version of Walt Disney's book has been used. The pages were scanned and the story was recorded. The children could choose among:
- listening to the story (press letter R)
- going forward (press letter A)
- going backward (press letter I)
- exit (press letter U)
3. Outcomes
Tommaso faced some difficulties is using Touch-screen because the child's movement on the screen was a dragging movement rather than 'touch and go' movement. Such movement prevented the child from clicking correctly on the chosen spot.
By using the Smartkeys Board, Tommaso became familiar with the words requested by the computer. As a consequence he was strongly motivated to play with the computer on his own. The constant presence of the teacher was not required anymore and the teacher acted as a spectator of the child. Tommaso used the keyboard to write freely all the words that came to his mind (even non sense words). He willingly kept repeating the words and he also wrote words such as Mum, Dad and Tommaso. In this way he could create something that belonged to him and he was very satisfied to see his work printed and finished.
Tommaso immediately became familiar with the position of the keys on the board and with the right hand he moved the cursor to order the objects on the screen. He slowly learnt how to speed up movements by using different strategies - e.g. using the left hand and the wrist and the elbow to move the Big Keys. The BIG KEYS positioned horizontally did not allow Tommaso to use them all easily. Therefore we decided to position the big keys in a circular way so that the child could use them with much more autonomy.
The activities with these technological devices and the daily work in the classroom helped Tommaso to develop those pre-requisites necessary to enter the Elementary School according to the Individual Educational Plan goals:
- Speeches and Words
- listening and repeating a story
- learning new vocabulary
- interacting orally with peers
- Body and Movement
- improving eye-hand coordination
- developing new strategies to use the Big Keys
- Space, Order and Measure
- experimenting space points
- experimenting time directions (before-after)
- developing cause-effect relations
- developing logical thinking related to daily life situations (observing, acting, forecasting, testing)
- Things, Time and Nature
- sequencing images (the growth of a little plant, the changing of seasons)
- Messages, Shapes and Media
- discovering sounds, noise and tunes
- drawing his own picture
- preserving his own material by printing it
- the Self and the Other
- becoming familiar with new rules different from those learnt at school
- expressing feelings and emotions related to specific situations
- understanding his classsmates' needs and intentions
- learning to stay alone and wait for his turn to play
- becoming more autonomous from the adults
- placing more trust in his personality
4. Overview of reasons for inclusion of the case study
This case study was chosen because it represents one of the best examples of school integration. School integration does not only concern the choice of the right technological devices but it is based on the collaboration among the school and the local units and institutions that made Tommaso's school and social inclusion possible. It is an example of co-operation among school, family and institutions (e.g. Local Health Unit of Prato, the Anastasis Cooperative for the technological devices, the work of the expert Ivana Sacchi)
The school and the family worked together in order to find the right strategies, to organize the activities, to solve the daily problems. This work resulted from a strong cooperation among the different actors. School and family should not follow parallel roads, but they should rather listen to each other's needs and priorities in a welcoming atmosphere of collaboration and mutual esteem.
The use of the technology is possible starting from pre-school so that both teachers and school confide more and more in the child's abilities and potential skills.
The present case study demostrates also that technological devices and software programmes are useful tools for the whole class and not only for the disabled child. As a consequence the child with disabilities will not be segregated by his peers because of his diversity and the all class will benefit from the use of computer technology.
From the teachers' perspective, the case study provides a good example of how teachers, as the author Severi stated, have learnt how 'to risk', be ready and follow the suggestions of the experts. Teachers should give up the idea that technological devices are 'monster' and are 'almighty' tools, and should instead look at them as 'fundamental tools to foster autonomy and relationships'. Such tools, in fact, may help students like Tommaso to become more independent in the family, at school and at work and in society.
5. Contact details
This case study is the final document of the 'Computer Technology Project' written by Magda Severi, a school teacher, and carried out in the school year 2002-2003. The setting is the school "G. Rodari" belonging to the 'Circolo Didattico di Montecatini Terme', and situated in Viale S. Francesco 20, 51016, telephone 0572/772339.
In the school year 2001-2002 the Local Health Unit of Prato started the period of observation of the child Tommaso. The observation took place in the Rehabilitation Center 'Stella Maris'. The feasibility of the project derived from the observation results and the efficiency and the availability of the specialised support teacher Antonella Grilli. The project gave rise to the computer technology literacy programme as well as a more successful school integration.
6. Further information
For more information about the case study, visit the following web page:
www.erickson.it
or
Material of Documentation
7. Other information
To download the software and adapt the instructional devices it is possible to visit Ivana Sacchi's web site (the expert from the province of Brescia): www.ivana.it
To download Ivana Sacchi's congress proceedings and other experts' proceedings and gather further information please visit the web site of "Handimatica": www.handimatica.it
To purchase the software programmes used in this case study please visit: www.anastasis.it.
8. Keywords
physical disability; integration/inclusion; cerebral palsy; language impairment; practice; assessment; assistive technology; software; ICT