Computing Students Learning Disabled Students Beneficial Partnerships

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Computing StudentsLearning Disabled
StudentsBeneficial Partnerships

• Janet Hughes
• University of Dundee

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Outline

• What and why
• Question
• How
• Results
• Issues

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What and why

• Computing students pairing with Learning Disabled
  students
• Six 1-hour meetings over four months
• Practical work plus coffee n chat
• Work on topic chosen by each pair
• Demonstration of work done

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What and why

• Scottish learning disabled patients moving from
  long-stay hospitals into the community
• Need social communication skills
• Computing students should have social skills as
  well as technical skills
• Need to understand the range of client groups and
  REAL user interface issues

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Question

• Will a project-based partnership between
  computing students and learning disabled students
  benefit both groups?

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How

• Ethical approval
• Four self-selecting pairs
• Initial questionnaire expectations?
• Simple questionnaire at conclusion of each
  meeting
• Nurses record of learning disabled students
  reactions to each meeting
• Final questionnaire expectations met?

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My name is

• ANNE

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I LIKE

• TELEVISION

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MY FAVOURITES

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Issues 1

• Support
• from other students and staff
• from a charity (Baily Thomas) for costs
• Ethical approval NHS research ethics committee
• 26 page application form site approval
• Peer review approval
• Research ethics committee panel meeting

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Results learning disabled

• enjoyment
• IT skill
• interaction

• Lots of talking
• Wee blether in the middle
• Nice conversation
• Lots of laughter

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Results computing

• enjoyment
• tutoring skill
• insight

An understanding of how computers can be
difficult to people less trained and experienced
than us
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Consent and questionnaires
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Issues 2

• Commitment
• Different characters!
• I dont think I have the necessary level of
  patience and amiability for this kind of
  partnership
• Additional benefits
• Pedagogic experience that may help in future
  team projects
• Developing people skills. Its interesting to
  talk to non-students when you are always in the
  student atmosphere
• Real understanding of ethical matters

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Summary

• Peer learning and outreach work
• Social skills enhancement for computing students
  - sensitising them to non-standard users
• (thanks to one reviewer for the above summary)
• Genuine ethical issues
• Genuine benefit

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Questions?

• Janet Hughes
• University of Dundee
• jhughes_at_computing.dundee.ac.uk