There are three main categories that provide focused points of reference: accessible media for diverse learners, hearing impairment and deafness and low vision and blindness.
The Classroom Access Project was first piloted in Term 1, 2010 at La Salle Catholic College, Bankstown, NSW. This project was an initiative of Media Access Australia, and implemented through partnership with the Catholic Education Office Sydney and La Salle Catholic College, Bankstown.
The Classroom Access Project (CAP) operated for 20 weeks in both trial schools, which provided necessary longevity to test the concept of access to captioned video and other media and improved sound in mainstream schools.
WA Education Minister, Dr Liz Constable, said that IWBs are particularly beneficial for students with special needs, including those with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. “Students with autism are visual and the technology allows teachers to run image-based programs on the screen.”
IWBs are used in Media Access Australia’s Classroom Access Project, a series of prototype classrooms in mainstream schools which exemplify how technology can best be used to fully include Deaf and hearing impaired students.
