Accessing the Future

12-08-2009

During August Hills Schools Industry Partnership put a call out to interested teachers and employers giving them the chance to attend The Accessing the Future: Assistive Technology in Education and Employment Forums for free. Subsequently we sponsored Matthew Smith from Headspace at Mt Druitt.

In Matthew’s report he has picked out some of the highlights of the day for him.

Tim Hart from the NDCO reports: The Accessing the Future: Assistive Technology in Education and Employment Forums held on the 19th and 21st August this year were attended by more than 620. This builds on the previous forums held in 2007 in Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong.

The Target audience was:

  • School, VET, and University staff (teaching and support staff)
  • People with a disability and Families of people with a disability
  • Employers, Employment Services staff and Australian Apprenticeships Centre staff
  • Disability Services
  • NSW DADHC staff, including 'Transition to Work' and 'Community Participation' Program Providers
  • Government and Non-Government Agencies

The aim of these two forums was to provide information to people with a disability and service providers in the School, Higher Education and VET, and Employment sectors of the range of assistive technology that is currently out there. To encourage the use of assistive technology in the School, Higher Education and VET, and Employment sectors and the portability of assistive technology between the sectors to improve the transitioning of people with a disability through education and onto employment.

One of the new innovations for the 2009 program was the provision of a 4Gb USB to each participant (with AccessApps, freeware assistive technology, see www.eduapps.org) which also contained a resource kit for school staff as well as for students with a disability.

Currently the organising NDCO team consisting of Kay Dean, University of Newcastle, Debi Toman, University of Western Sydney and Timothy Hart, Centre for Disability Studies, are looking at the next Forums which will be held either in late 2010 or early 2011.

Copies of the presentation's and notes will shortly be available from the forum download page.

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