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School of the Divine Child, Cork, Ireland

EagleEyes Winter 2008 Newsletter

The School of the Divine Child in Cork recently became the center for Camera Mouse assessment and training for the Republic of Ireland under the sponsorship of the Special Education Support Service (www.sess.ie).
 
During a program on Autism in Educational Settings last year at the Irish Institute at Boston College, participants toured the Campus School at Boston College and learned about Camera Mouse and EagleEyes.

In November, Maureen Gates, the EagleEyes teacher at the Campus School, traveled to Cork at the invitation of SESS to demonstrate Camera Mouse, to allow teachers and students to try Camera Mouse, and to train teachers on its use.  Here is Maureen’s account of her visit:

“The training included one-to-one hands-on use of the system by the teaching staff at the school.  Mary, the computer teacher, received special intense instruction so that she might be in a position to take over ownership of the program. Then five students were selected for assessment and inclusion into the program.

Each child was able to accomplish measurable amounts of success using the system.  One young boy, Edward, was immediately able to select educational sites and to obtain the necessary information he needed. Then he was able to take and pass the test at the end of the selected site.

“Another student, Patrick, was not able to participate in much, if any, of the physical activities that went on at the school. He was able to use the Camera Mouse to play Football and other activities on the computer. The more able-bodied students were standing by the door watching Patrick and felt left out. They all wanted a try. At the end of the week, I gave out Eagle pins to the students selected to help out with the program. At a goodbye ceremony, when Patrick received his pin, he said it was the proudest day of his life.”

The School of the Divine Child has decided to put Camera Mouse in each of its classrooms.

When the next batch of EagleEyes systems is available, the plan is for Maureen to go back to Cork to allow students who can move only their eyes to try it out.

maureen, cork, ireland, divine child