By Jacqueline Queiroz | Project Leader
1. Brief History
The LEGO Braille Bricks Program is a globally innovative initiative by the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind in partnership with the LEGO Foundation and with the support of the Promotion Center for School and Social Digital Inclusion (CPIDES) at Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP). It is main objective is to promote the learning of children with visual impairments aged 4 to 10 years, as well as to enable the teaching of this system by teachers in the common room in an inclusive manner.
LEGO Braille Bricks was made with the objective of developing a pedagogical resource, the Kit consists of a set of LEGO bricks, a board and an instruction manual. It contains letters, numbers and basic arithmetic signs. It is resistant, long lasting, colorful and easy to clean. But, above all, it is a playful educational resource.
2. Justification of the action
The justification of the project is given by the following aspects:
- Data from the World Health Organization showing that 10% of the world population has some type of disability, with 3.5% being visually impaired;
- IBGE data showing about 6.5 million people with visual impairments in Brazil;
- IBGE data showing that 20,935 children aged 0 to 4 years are blind, 24,707 have low vision totaling 6% of the Brazilian population with visual impairment;
3. Objectives of the Pilot Project
The Lego Braille Bricks - Play, Learn and Include Project has the following objectives:
• Conceive and develop the inclusion of people with visual impairments, through the pedagogical resource;
• Transform the Braille System into a more accessible tool for visually impaired children in schools and, consequently, qualify students' literacy;
• Form a group of teachers trained in the Lego Braille Bricks Program, capable of being multipliers to promote the learning of visually impaired children;
• Enable children with visual impairments to be literate and have a basic understanding of mathematics;
• Expand opportunities to study and play, including the rights of the child;
• Sensitize and educate educators, families and government officials about the importance of using the Braille System in the literacy of blind children;
• Collaborate to build a full inclusive education;
4. ONLINE TRAINING
Teachers continue the training process on an online platform, where they exchange experiences using the tool and the proposed activities of the Braille Bricks Program, as well as being guided and permanently monitored by educators and specialists.
5. RESULTS
Teachers trained by the pedagogical team of the Braille Bricks Program present Pedagogical Intervention Plans that consist of developing new methods on the use of LEGO Braille Bricks in the classroom in which all students develop together as applied activities for those who are guaranteed as literacy activities because one of the forms of social inclusion is, in fact, present in public education units.
The entire process is monitored by the pedagogical team, in order to create guiding documents with results and perspectives that have outlined the training heritage.
6. Reguards
Our project is only possible through of donors like you!
We still have a lot to do!
Together, we can continue our work and benefit more children in favor of a more inclusive world!
Thank you so much for join with us!
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
