Day 4 of CALEM at PU

Chandigarh, August 22, 2019: The fourth day of the seven days’ National Seminar-cum-Workshop on Inclusion: Moving Forward from 19th to 25th August 2019, organized by Centre for Academic Leadership and Education Management (CALEM), Department of Education, PU, Chandigarh in collaboration with Government Rehabilitation Institute for Intellectual Disabilities (GRIID) was initiated by Prof. Raj K. Gupta who extended a warm welcome to all the dignitaries as well as the participants.
Prof. Jayanti Dutta, Dy. Director, HRDC, Panjab University chaired the first session of the day and she also introduced the resource person of the session Dr. Wasim Ahmad, Assistant Professor, GRIID.
Dr. Wasim elaborated upon the various types of Assistive technologies like CAI (Computer-Assistant Instruction), ICT (Information and Communications Technology), AAC (Augmentative Alternative Communication) and PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) for persons with Intellectual Disability and loco-motor impairment.
The second session was presented by Prof. Priti Arun, Joint Director, GRIID and the chairperson of the session was Prof. Kuldip Puri, Professor, Panjab University. She highlighted the behavioral and social problems of the students in an inclusive setup and also dwelled upon how to manage their behaviour in a better way even in a regular classroom setup. She also shared her experiences as a psychiatrist and encouraged all the participants to share their observations and experiences.
Prof. J.S Saini, In charge NSQF Facilitation Unit & PWD Scheme, NITTTR educated upon the various Assistive technologies for the Hearing and Speech impaired and persons with Visual Impairment. He also pointed out how the person with hearing disability has a disadvantage just because it is not a visible disability. He elaborated upon the various hearing technologies (such as frequency modulation, induction loop, and other personal amplification hearing aids), communication technologies (such as IP relay services, teletypewriters) and technologies for the Visual Impaired (Electronic aids, Reading assistance software like JAWS etc).
Dr. Kuldeep Kaur, Associate Professor, PU talked about how we can implement inclusive education in our planning and teaching strategies. All the sessions were very interactive and evoked pertinent questions by the participants which were explicated vividly by the experts.