IT project to help educate children with disabilities

A three-year pilot project to educate children with disabilities through information technology (IT) would help equalise opportunities for all Vietnamese children, said Deputy Head of Primary Education Department Tran Thi Tham on August 19.

Tham was speaking at a workshop held in Hanoi on information and communication technology (ICT) for children with special needs.

It was funded by the US Agency for Development Project (USAID) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

One of the outcomes of the project, provided to more than 700 disabled primary and secondary school students in 10 cities and provinces, was an e-learning website for students unable to go to school, said Deputy Head of Secondary Education Department Nguyen Trong Hoan.

Surveys by Ministry of Education and Training show that most disabled children with mobility difficulties cannot afford to go to special schools.

"Nor those children can go to other schools that lack teaching materials or teachers to meet the special needs of the children," Hoan added.

The piloting e-learning model provides sixth-grade students with lessons in two subjects - Literature and Computer Science - on the website www.giaoduchoanhap.edu.vn. The lessons are through video or sound clips.

"The website provides lessons, which I really appreciate as there are few studying sources for blind students like me," said Nguyen Thi Chuc, a student at the Medical Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centre in Hai Duong province.

"I hope that there will be more lessons on other subjects as well so that we can study more".

The project also helped upgrade voice software for blind students and developed two educational video clip sets for Maths and Vietnamese subjects using sign language for fifth-grade deaf students.

"This is a proven methodology for students with disabilities. We now look forward to the use of the technology in schools and vocational institutions throughout Vietnam," said USAID's Christopher Abrams.-VNA