Inclusive Education Going Digital: The Education of “Digital Scouts”

Abstract

The paper presents the approach of the so-called Digital Scouts. Teacher students of a German University were educated in e-learning in inclusive school settings. Having dealt with the accessibility of digital materials (on the basis of scientific criteria catalogues) the students created e-learning materials for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in a project phase (media projects) – giving respect to the Universal Design for Learning (www.cast.org).

After that the Digital Scouts spent four lessons at comprehensive schools and augmented school staff. The practical phase aimed at promoting digital literacy in early grades for students with learning and mental disabilities.

The paper shows the improvement of the digital skills of the students (via interview studies) and the improvement of the inclusive skills of the future teachers in e-learning contexts and media education (via portfolio analyses).

All in all, it can be summarized that the students with and without handicaps in inclusive settings profited from the project with regard to their digital skills. The Digital Scouts reported positive effects with regard to their sensitivity towards pupils with SEN in the context of e-learning and media education. In the portfolios the Digital Scouts reflected the chances and risks of using digital media when trying to empower pupils with and without SEN. They stressed the necessity of a good teacher-student-relation and they reported that because of the project they could cope more easily with uncertainty in inclusive settings. It became clear that schools need a better internet and that teachers need better technical training.