Mosaic Cube
19/07/2019 - News, Projects
MOSAIC enters the test phase in schools
Reading time: 2 minutesScuola di Robotica is a partner of the CREW Cariplo project, MOSAIC. The introductory course to the participating teachers has been completed.
MOSAIC is one of the projects funded by Cariplo Foundation within the CREW project line, to promote the school integration of people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The project activities have been developed and have led to the construction of a KIT to be tested in schools.
The objectives of MOSAIC are as follows:
- to undertake an initial experimental path in schools, proposing the use of a product composed of digital content and intelligent physical objects with the function of social mediators between the pupil with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and the rest of the class.
- promote the experimented product.
The schools that proposed themselves for the experimentation were given a basic kit, and were included in a training plan on Autistic Spectrum Disorder, in support activities in 'use of the kit and a web portal for sharing content that can, later, be purchased by those who intend to use it.
In September 2019, the testing phase of MOSAIC will begin.
In order to design the project, among the teachers who have followed the training course, the trainers who will help us to spread the use of MOSAIC in schools all over Italy will be selected!
Discover and follow MOSAIC here: https://mosaic-app.org/
MOSAIC was born from the co-design of a multidisciplinary working group, where there are researchers and clinicians, therapists and teachers, patient associations, companies, policy makers, within the Laboratory of School Integration and Autism of the CREW project.
MOSAIC now enters the prototyping and testing phase, to arrive then in homes, rehabilitation centers and schools where there are girls and boys with autism spectrum disorders.
The school represents a great opportunity for girls and boys with autism, and for their families, because often for the first time they know a new environment, come into contact with peers, are part of a community that can promote their communication skills and learning.
If the environment is receptive and competent, the stay at school can become re-enabling, complementing with great effectiveness the activities carried out in other specialized locations or at home.
For this to happen - and in many schools it really happens - the teachers and support teachers must be prepared, the class and the families must be ready to welcome "special" classmates, the context and the tools must be adequate.
In recent years many schools have been able to acquire technological equipment, from PCs to interactive whiteboard, from tablets to Internet connection, used for school organization, for teaching, for training.
MOSAIC integrates and exploits the instrumentation already available, because it is a product composed of digital content and intelligent physical objects that have the function of social mediators between the child with autism and the rest of the class. Taking into account the importance of play as a crucial moment in the general development of a child and the peculiarities of children with autism, MOSAIC is a tool to create playful and educational experiences in the school context, which enhance the capabilities of each child and adapt to its needs.
Furthermore, MOSAIC is an information and training tool for teachers, both with regard to the specificity of autistic spectrum disorders, and with regard to the evolutionary possibilities of MOSAIC itself: games can be customized, take into account the therapeutic approach to which the child is accustomed, evolve, and be shared in the community of teachers.
The increasing number of cases of autism in schools suggests in fact to strengthen and qualify the school community, because teachers may find themselves facing the integration of a child with autism without having any experience in this regard. MOSAIC contributes to the growth of the community, because it promotes the exchange of experiences, technologies, teaching methods, with great advantages for girls and boys with autism spectrum disorders and for the class group.
The team participating in the realization of MOSAIC: Matteo Valoriani, Fifth Ingenium, Milan (project manager); Roberto Campi, Fondazione Asphi onlus; Massimo Festa, Cooperativa Fabula onlus; Maria Luisa Gava, Psychologist; Emanuele Micheli, Scuola di Robotica di Genova; Paola Golzi, professor at ICS Fabio Filzi Milano; Paolo Meucci, Centro Terapeutico e Riabilitativo Semiresidenziale di Milano and Centro Studi e Formazione della Fondazione Renato Piatti Onlus, Varese; Maria Federica Montuschi, Parole Tue, Milano...; Roberto Campi, Fondazione Asphi onlus.
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