Congratulations to the MCIU Office of Student Services Assistive Technology Program for receiving the Telepresence Education Grant from PaTTAN and PDE’s Bureau of Special Education. Grant funds will be used to purchase technology that will support students receiving virtual instruction in the home. This grant will allow MCIU to add five additional robots to the loaner library in the ATRC.
The robots are used primarily for regular education students that are unable to attend in-person school due to a medical condition. The robot is in the classroom and the student is able to navigate throughout the school from home! With an increase in virtual schooling, our program is using them on a trial basis in autistic support classrooms which will be the first time they are used with special education students. This will enable virtual students to attend specials and regular education classes and receive live instruction in the special education class. A special thank you to Zachary Trump, Julie Adinolfi, and Anne-Marie Taylor for their hard work in procuring this grant.
If you would like to see the robots in action and the impact they have on education, please watch the following video.