<< Objectives >>Touching Maths+ aims to develop an Extended Mathematics Core Curriculum for braille readers thus giving them the possibility to achieve the same academic goals in learning mathematics as their sighted peers. Math teachers will be equipped with tools and teaching methods that will increase the inclusion of braille readers in the classroom. The established methodology of creating Extended Core Curricula can be further used for other mathematical topics or even other subjects than mathematics.<< Implementation >>The project will include-Writing of EMCC and (reverse) adaptation-Testing the EMCC and the (reverse) adaptations with braille readers, math teachers and braille professionals-Writing of manuals on how to use (reverse) adaptations for math teachers and braille professionals-Organise training programs for math teachers and braille professionals in each of the partner countries-Create website, organise dissemination and awareness activities and promotional events.<< Results >>-Overview of existing contents of math curricula for sighted students per partnering country -EMCC for graphs, mathematical equations and programming in maths -Manual for braille professionals -Manual for math teachers-Recommendation report for other countries: how to create Extended Core Curricula for braille readers-Testing plan and test reports-Dissemination and awareness plan-Training programs for braille professionals and math teachers-Project website-Dissemination events

In this project, four partners from three European countries intend to develop a new type of visual teaching material in the subject of mathematics for deaf students between 10-12 years.The unique thing for deaf students is that they need to get their education in their native language, the sign language, which is a visual language. Sign languages are different all over the world just like spoken languages. That is why the project includes Turkish Sign Language, Norwegian Sign Language and Swedish Sign Language.This project will produce a teaching material, in the sign languages of three different countries, in the subject of geometry where we use AR (Augmented Reality). AR is a technology that will enhance the comprehensibility of our deaf students, but which will equally work on other secondary target groups. The end product of this project will be able to be used in AR glasses and / or tablets or mobile phones. We will place both sign language content in the form of video as well as geometric graphics in an educational layer on these units.Together we will produce the script with our mathematics teachers and special pedagogues from the three countries. After translations into each different sign language it will be recorded with a deaf actor from each country in the greenscreen studio the Swedish partner possess. The sign language videos will then be merged together with geometry graphics into AR by our Turkish partner. The combined effort of all partners and the final result of the educational material of geometry in AR, will amaze the end users which opinions will be researched and evaluated by Örebro University. In the long term, this AR material, will probably set the standard become a whole new media of distribution of educational material for the deaf pupils.

Official data shows that people with disabilities continue to be disproportionately excluded from the labour market. Moreover, people with learning or intellectual disabilities are even less likely to be in work than those with physical disabilities. However, the exclusion of people with disabilities from the labour market is a serious concern from the perspective of equal opportunities. Countries should make it a priority to achieve better results for, among others, learners with special needs / disabilities, as well as to promote personalised learning through timely support and well-co-ordinated services, to integrate services within mainstream schooling and to ensure pathways to further education and training (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2013). Vocational education and training (VET) plays a crucial role, as it acts as the joint between school education and the working world. EICON’s main objective was to support organisations / institutions providing VET to become more inclusive. In particular, the aim was to put the organisations as a whole in the focus, and not just education and training practice. Managers of these organisations / institutions are particularly in need for guidance on how to further develop their organizations, as they often have to work towards multiple aims simultaneously, i.e. inclusion usually is one among other aims. The typical organizational response to address inclusion is to provide teaching personnel with further qualification and training. This is essential, but unfortunately not sufficient to reach the aim. Rather, systemic approaches are required to succeed in the inclusion endeavour. Hence, different organizational areas have been analysed, in particular those that are known - from research - to be essential in establishing and maintaining an organisation’s inclusive capacity. For each of these organizational areas EICON explored, if and how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used within this unit as a lever / amplifier to increase the overall organization’s inclusiveness. Six partners from Germany, Portugal, Greece, Sweden and Finland have joined forces to elaborate practice-oriented recommendations. Partners come from organisations that provide VET (Invalidisäätiö - Keskuspuisto vocational college - College LIVE (FI) and Cooperativa para a Educação e Reabilitação de Cidadãos Inadaptados de Cascais – CERCICA (PT)), that support organisations / institutions that provide VET (Specialpedagogiska skolmyndigheten – SPSM (SE) and the National Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs (EL)), that provide technology for VET organisations and individuals (EPISTIMI GIA SENA ASTIKI MI KERDOSKOPIKI ETAIRIA - SciFY (EL)) and that support organisations in complex change processes (Institut für Technologie und Arbeit – ITA (DE); project coordinator). The main project activities were arranged as a series of seven face-to-face meetings, each focusing on a central thematic area: (1) pedagogy & teaching / learning approaches, (2) technology & infrastructure, (3) establishing & maintaining links to employment / labour market, (4) stakeholder involvement, collaboration & partnerships, (5) leadership, (6) transition & target scenarios for VET organisations, (7) continuous improvement process. Each meeting produced specific draft outcomes. For the thematic issues (1) to (5), these drafts were published for a certain time on a consultation platform to collect further ideas, comments or suggested changes from a wider audience in Europe. Final / consolidated outcomes and recommendations have been published on the project’s dedicated website, see https://www.eicon-project.eu. Project participants gained a wider perspective on inclusion by applying an organisational / holistic view on inclusion. They learned from good examples from other European countries and gained knowledge about effective organisational levers of change. Organisations / institutions active in VET feel better prepared for the required change, and they may initiate change processes and collaborate / network with other organisations in this endeavour. The results of EICON are published as lists of inclusion opportunities for teachers, change agents / facilitators and managers in VET. They provide stimulus and support on how to make use of ICT to help organisations / institutions offering VET to become more and truly inclusive. All results / lists of inclusion opportunities are published under the Creative Commons License CC BY-SA.

The background of this project is that several professionals were working together on an EU project and identified the need for development of training and materials of educators of children with cerebral visual impairment. Since then the project idea has developed and the group became bigger because it's necessary to connect health care and education professionals together to address this area of need. Therefore the group behind this project comes from a cross sector of professionals that are all connected to the vision field in some way. The objectives of this project are to produce training and teaching materials for teachers, a scanning tool and guidelines for health care and educational professionals. The project group has seen that this kind of training, tools and guidelines are lacking in the European environment of vision. The number of project partners are seven and the profile of them are various. The National Institute for the Blind is experienced in participating in projects nationally and internationally and will be responsible for leading the project. Positive Eye is a training company that will be responsible for developing the seminars (where we train the teacher advisor) it is to be held for professionals across Europe and the partnership organizations. The Royal Blind School - Edinburgh . will be used as a pilot school to try out the resources. This allows the products developed by the partnership to be tried and tested with the teachers and the students with cerebral visual impairment. SPSM - the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools is a Research Centre for children with vision loss due to brain damage. SPSM conducts special needs vision assessments and educational advice. They will be responsible for gathering information for the project and pilot the screening and guidelines and other resources that will be put forward. The University of LEUVEN is to be involved in the project and will be represented by Prof Dr Els Ortibus. Dr. Els Ortibus who is a leading specialist in CVI within Europe and will be responsible for creating a screening tool for cerebral visual impairment. ChildVision, Dublin, is Ireland’s National Education Centre for Blind and Visually Impaired children and young people. ChildVision will fulfil the internal moderation function, ensuring through specific methodological means that the ongoing evaluation ensures the project remains on target, in terms of generating an end result with the potential to improve teaching strategies and benefit learners. The Icelandic Diagnostic Center is known for their extensive knowledge of children with disabilities. A paediatrician from the centre who is one of the most experienced doctors in the field in Iceland at working with children with visual impairment will have on their responsible for developing guidelines for health and educational professionals in partnership with University of Leuven. The activities that are going to be supported by this project is intellectual output of knowledge of cerebral vision impairment. This is done by making a educational resources, training materials and seminar for teachers. The methodology used in carrying out the project will be a typical project management methodology. 1. Initiation, 2. planning and design, 3. execution, 4. monitoring and control and 5. closing. We have already begun in the first steps of the project where we have already initiated the idea and started to plan it with budget control, scope and responsibilities. It's not until we have our first meeting where the execution of the project begins where we will over a three year period work on the resource material, web site, develop the screening and the guidelines, host a multiplier event and workshops in our own countries. We envisage that through our project there will be awareness raising in Europe that we can help to fulfill a need for special training for teachers working with students with cerebral visual impairment and that we can help to fulfill that need with our training material, screening and guidelines. Through our work we hope health care and educational professionals will be more interested and have increased knowledge in cerebral visual impairment and more children will be identified and receive the help they need for their disability. It is well known that children that don't recognize their fellow students because of things like face blindness experience barriers.The potential longer term benefits of the project is that the knowledge of CVI will be included in the training of teachers that work with students with CVI and they will no longer be thought to not have the ability to read or write, their right for literacy will be the same as fellow students in the school system.