Students create inclusive education platform

With the aim of promoting, supporting and strengthening autonomous learning in people between 5 and 12 years old, who are attending primary school and have a hearing disability, Dayana Aranda, Niyireth Lorena Cortes, César Leonardo Figueroa, Danilo Arturo Varon and Luz Adriana Yara from the Software Development Technology program of the Soacha extension create an inclusive education tool for children.

The students belong to the INFOSOFT research group, and from there, under the guidance of teacher Yudy Narváez, they are developing the SIGN TO ALL project: “It is a tool for social and educational inclusion; for collective learning. We want equality for all. Disabilities cannot be seen as limitations or barriers, but as challenges. We need to change the world by providing quality of life,” explained student Luz Adriana Yara.

The main motivation for the sixth-semester students of the Soacha Extension was to highlight the lack of didactic and educational strategies that currently exist for the deaf-mute population and the desire to contribute technological solutions to the territories and their communities, to provide solutions to real problems that include social innovation.

“The pilot project has contributed to the development and support of teaching and learning processes at the Pablo de Tarso school in Soacha. It is a dynamic and educational tool to improve sign language in different curricular areas. It includes interactive activities to facilitate communication between these children and their classmates and teachers,” explained teacher Yudy Narváez, who has advised on the process.

The web application will provide appropriate information, with modules from the different basic areas of knowledge, where specific activities and evaluations are proposed that will allow the student to develop their learning abilities to the fullest.

On the other hand, the teacher will obtain certain assessment tools to facilitate the educational process that will allow him to identify learning outcomes and monitor progress.

The student researchers are making progress on the interactive content, the development of the software prototype, and the pilot test with the children. “During this semester we are focused on the complete construction of the platform and carrying out the pilot test to evaluate the impact that the project can offer,” explained César Leonardo Figueroa.

The project began in 2019 when it was presented as an innovative proposal within the "Integrated Projects" program at UCundinamarca's Software Development Technology program. "We have strengthened our idea, incorporating materials and seeking the best technologies to carry out our development, with the support of our professors. Engineer Yudy Narváez, who directed the project and served as our graduation thesis, has contributed her knowledge, offering us a vision regarding the advancements in the design and modeling of the platform," Dayana Aranda pointed out.

The project is currently in the development phase; it is expected that after the results of the pilot test are obtained, it will also be implemented in higher education institutions.

More news from the Soacha Extension at the News Agency