Education and assistive technology are both topics that I care a lot about. Throughout the years I have engaged in a number of projects that looked at the overlap between the two. In some instances, I focused on trying to understand how technology in general, and assistive technology in particular, could serve to make education more inclusive for learners with disabilities. Other times, I looked at how education can influence the next generations of assistive technology innovators, or how assistive technology modules that are delivered in university might be helpful in creating bespoke assistive devices while providing unique learning oportunities to students. Below are two examples of research publications I have collaborated on that focus on Education and AT.
TIP-Toy: a tactile, open-source computational toolkit to support learning across visual abilities
Recently, I have also collaborated on the Landscape Review of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) for Disability-inclusive Education, released by the World Bank on February 2022
Beyond research, I am also an active STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador. I regularly give talks or organise events in schools (often with an inclusive twist) to encourage students to pick STEM subjects in their future. In 2017, I was also able to run the amazing James Dyson Foundation Summer School on Redesigning the Wheelchair – originally developed by Prof Cathy Holloway, Prof Steve Hailes and Dr Pete Smitham – which remains one of the most fun and inspiring teaching experiences I had the opportunity to take part in.
