16
October
2015
|
14:30 PM
America/New_York

Mohawk professor to investigate using assistive technology to help students with significant learning challenges

Mohawk College professor Jennifer Jahnke is the recipient of an Applied Research and Innovation in Education Fund grant that she will use to investigate whether assistive technology can help improve learning and academic outcomes for students in Mohawk's Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program. Mohawk College professor Jennifer Jahnke is the recipient of an Applied Research and Innovation in Education Fund grant that she will use to investigate whether assistive technology can help improve learning and academic outcomes for students in Mohawk's Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program.

Can technology facilitate academic independence for students who face significant learning challenges?

That’s the question that Jennifer Jahnke wants to answer.

Jahnke has been awarded funding from the Applied Research and Innovation in Education Fund. Her project will investigate if Assistive Technology Training can help improve the learning and academic outcomes for students in Mohawk’s Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program. CICE students at Mohawk are heavily dependent upon learning facilitators for support with the completion of homework, assignments and projects. Providing an assistive technology enriched environment could significantly support CICE students’ independent learning and improve their overall learning outcomes.

This project will be completed in partnership with researchers at Brock University’s Faculty of Education and Department of Teacher Education and with start-up technology companies such as Strategic Transitions Inc..

The project hopes to demonstrate that students with intellectual disabilities in the CICE post-secondary program have significantly high learning outcomes and more independence when using assistive technology. The research from this project will provide information to either support the ongoing use of assistive technology in the CICE program or to encourage further research into additional learning resources that can be used to support CICE students.

For more information about the project, contact Mohawk’s Applied Research and Innovation department, iDeaWORKS at andrea.johnson4@mohawkcollege.ca