The Center for Disability Services Studies, Universitas Brawijaya (PSLD UB) in collaboration with La Trobe University Melbourne, Australia, holds training on inclusive education for teachers, educators and people with disabilities. The activity is carried out online for seven days (13 / 4-29 / 4/2021).
Secretary of the Center for Disability Services Studies, Wahyu Widodo, M.Hum, explained that the training was held because the pandemic had a very big impact, especially for students with disabilities.
“Various reports stated that at the beginning of the implementation of distance learning, educators and students had difficulty in implementing the teaching and learning program. The problem of unavailability of tools such as cell phones, laptops, unstable internet networks, to the lack of ability of students to access technology. One important thing to note is that the difficulties faced by students with disabilities in the distance learning process are much more difficult than students without disabilities, “he said.
Changes in the use of technology result in uncertainty about the accessibility of the tools and facilities used by educators. Many of the educators at the beginning of the distance learning period used application platforms that were not fully accessible and met the needs of students with disabilities.
“For example, for students with blind, the applications used are not accessible for them. In addition, it is difficult for students with deaf to be able to participate properly during the learning process, ”he said.
Therefore, through this training, it is hoped that the teaching staff can adjust the Learning Implementation Plan (RPP) according to the needs of students.
The technical matters conveyed in the training were, for example, how to manage accessible learning media, how to evaluate or measure learning time for students with special needs, and how to translate abstract material for deaf learners.
“For example, students with blind usually have a screen reader to transfer the text, so how to translate a device that cannot be read by a screen reader, for example, graphics will be given in this training,” he said.
Some of the presenters who were presented at this event were Professor Umesh Sharma from Monash University, Dr. Ramunas Rar from La Trobe University, and Pujaningsih, Ed.D from Yogyakarta State University (UNT).
The training was attended by 72 participants from various regions in Indonesia.
“Initially there were 900 applicants who wanted to join this training. Finally, we selected 72 participants considering the limited space we provide, “he said. (OKY / Humas UB/ Trans. Iir).
