„E-LEARNING: LEADERSHIP AND LIFE COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEAF”
This topic was selected by organizers of the International Workshop that took place in Kyiv on 15-16 June, 2006 with participation of representatives of Ukraine 3000 Charitable Foundation, Ukrainian Deaf Association (UTOH), Loyola College, Maryland, U.S.A., National Pedagogical University named after M.Drahomanov, National Academy of Science and Ukrainian Distance learning System.

The Workshop started with Master-Class „E-course Management” conducted by Viktoriya Loboda, Methodologist of Ukrainian Distance Learning System, post-graduate student of National Pedagogical University named after M.Drahomanov, and Halyna Paykuch, Loyola College, Maryland, USA.

Kateryna Yushchenko in her greeting to the participants mentioned: „The majority of us do not imagine how to live in complete silence. But there are people who have never heard a sound in their life. It is our responsibility to help them. People with hearing impairments are separated from life. It is necessary to help them overcome barriers of their loneliness and isolation in the society of ordinary people. And you have taken this path. Providing access to education for deaf people is a chance for these special people to become an important part of the society. I would like to thank you for the opportunities that you open up for these people…

I do hope that this project will become an example for numerous initiatives in this area and will attract attention among the society to the necessity of systemic solution of the problem related to adaptation of people with hearing impairments. I appeal to you with the words of well-known Ukrainian Oleksandr Dovzhenko: “Life is so short. Hurry up to create the good!”. Yurij Gamota also addressed to the Workshop participants on behalf of Loyola College, USA, about the fact that in 2001 Professional development program “Deaf workforce education” was launched; as well as representatives of the Academy of Pedagogical Science and National Pedagogical University named after M.Drahomanov.

On the Development of Information and communication technologies in the system of UTOH Iryna Chepchyna, Head Deputy of Central Administration of UTOH . On the Role of up-to-date Information technologies in the Development of Creative Abilities of Youth with Hearing Impairments – Olena Andreyeva, teacher-gesture translator, Kharkiv oblast teaching and education complex for children with hearing impairments; Valentyna Butenko, Director of rehabilitation Center “Right to Choose”. On Diagnostics and Deaf Child Family Support Center – Yuriy Kramar, Headmaster of specialized school for deaf kids, Lviv.

On Global trends in deaf education. Potential threats of inclusive learning concept and the way they are projected in Ukraine. Ihor Kobel, working for doctor's degree at University of Alberta (Canada).

During the Workshop the participants had a chance to visit the Museum of History of the Deaf and exhibition of children’s pictures. Ensemble “Rayduha” of UTOH Cultural Center had their performance in front of the participants.

At the end of the Workshop the application was made concerning the formation of cross-sector partnership on education system development in Ukraine, which will allow to apply state-of-the-art information and communication technologies in order to guarantee open education for deaf people and will promote more effective development of their life competences.

Dear Friends, we continue the topic "New Learning Technologies in UTOH". You have a possibility to study in e-courses adapted for learning of the deaf through the Internet in the convenient for you format, step-by-step to learn illustrated content, fulfil tasks and pass self-tests in order to assess your knowledge as well as to communicate with your associates and colleagues from various regions of Ukraine. Access to the courses is free.

You can get more detailed information concerning the courses here, or from the regional distance learning coordinators

Undergraduate students from special schools for children with hearing impairments, their teachers and parents have a possibility TOGETHER to promote the development of students' life competences as well as to evaluate their readiness to independent life - in E-Campus, which now brings together 233 participants from various regions of Ukraine.

E-Campus is a place in the Internet where you can overcome distance between us and any barriers: we can communicate, study, make new friends, have good time, learn more about ourselves, our interests and character.

Work of kids, their parents and teachers is organized according to the approved schedule in regional IATP centers

On 28 October 2005, at the meeting of members of Deaf Workforce Education Consortium in Ukraine with participation of UTOH and UDL management teams, representatives of Loyola College and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the results of joint activities aimed at implementation of e-Learning among the deaf were discussed and new goals for 2007 were fixed, including: development of new generation of e-Learning resource, expansion of the network to other regions of Ukraine (Poltava, Khmelnytsky etc).

DWE mission was discussed during some strategic meetings and workshops in October 11-15, 2004: Meeting with UTOH President, Victor Maksymenko; Seminar at Drahomanov University; Seminar at UTOH Cultural Center. Maksymenko received reports of the course at Loyola and was eager to continue to work together to implement the program of helping the deaf community. Specifically, Gamota asked for and received his verbal and written agreement to offer courses at the cultural centers and provide access to the computer and the Internet to the people interested in using them, including the factory personnel in the area. With computers already available at two centers (Lviv, Kyiv) and the headquarters, we agreed to provide similar equipment at two other centers in Kharkiv and Mykolayiv. To ensure that the four support persons will be qualified, UDL will set up a short one week training course on the use of the computer, access to the Internet, and minor troubleshooting.

In February-May 2004 NGO Ukrainian Distance Learning System (www.udl.org.ua) in the course of implementation of initiative «E-Learning: Overcoming Educational and Social Isolation of the Disabled (people with hearing impairments)» (e-schola.org.ua) created the precedent of successful use of e-Learning technology for organisation of communication and training on leadership of 132 undergraduate students on the basis of 9 specialised schools for the deaf from various oblasts of Ukraine and, thus, proved the sustainability of networking learning of people with hearing impairments through the Internet aimed at overcoming their educational and social isolation as well as adaptation to hearing environment. As it was noted by the teachers of specialised schools - project participants, this first step of organising learning through the Internet is of key pedagogical and motivation importance, because today about 2700 deaf students study at specialized boarding schools, while only every 50th obtains higher education.

The results of 2004: precedent of networking learning of people with hearing difficulties in order to integrate in business and social environment, which will open way to the development of degree and continuous educational programs for people with limited physical abilities (LPA).

On July 3 - 30, 2004 in Loyola College (Maryland, US) the Internship Program "Asynchronous Learning and Professional Development" was organized within the framework of the Project "Deaf Workforce Education in Ukraine", supported by the US State Department (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs). During a month-long short course ten teachers were trained how to create a Web-based material. And as a result 10 distance courses were developed and will be introduced to the deaf people in the autumn 2004.

On 3 March 2004 in IATP center in Kyiv
(address: Parliamentary Library, Podol Branch, 13 Borychiv Uzviz)
the wprkshop "Active Methods and Emerging Technologies of Electronic Distance Learning" was organized within the framework of Loyola College (USA) Project "Deaf Workforce Education in Ukraine", supported by the US State Department (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs).

A Kick off Meeting (Kyiv, 16 October 2003)
A kick off meeting was conducted, which enabled all the stakeholders to participate in the program planning. Paul Shelp and Marta Pereyma from the US State Department; Yurij Gamota and Halyna Paykouch from Loyola College, USA; Andriy Bilyk from the National Deaf Business Institute, USA; Ihor Katernyak and Viktoriya Loboda from UDL System, Lviv; Ivan Drobot, a pro-rector of M.Drahomanov National Pedagogical University as well as Yuriy Maksymenko and other UTOH administration were present there.

Contact Information

• UDL System, Ukraine
• Tel. in Lviv: (+38 0322) 522 681
• Tel. in Kyiv: (+38 044) 234 8913
• e-mail: udlsystem@udl.org.ua