GESCI and the Ministry of Education in Kenya- Directorate of Special Needs Education (DSNE) organised a workshop with teachers and policy makers in the inclusive education space. This workshop is a follow up activity after the training of teachers on use of assistive technologies and development of accessible digital textbooks under the Accessible Digital Textbooks Project implemented by UNESCO.

The workshop, held virtually on 28th January 2022 aimed at providing an opportunity for  participants in the teacher training institutions to share insights and experiences and perspectives and to relate promising practices, lessons learnt and opportunities for improving the adoption of ATs and ADTs in teaching and learning for  learners with disabilities.

Officials from the Ministry of Education,  the National Centre for ICT integration (NI3C(, Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE),  The Action Foundation (TAF) and teachers from Kajiado, Nairobi, Machakos and Kiambu counties in Kenya participated in the workshop.

Speaking about Accessible Digital Textbooks in Kenya, Ms. Sheilah Lutta, an Education Officer from the Ministry of Education highlighted  the following:

• The training had covered 30 teachers and head teachers drawn from selected special and inclusive schools.

• The Education Assessment Research Centre EARC) Coordinators form the four counties also participated.
• Training was hosted for 5 days at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) from 4^th – 8^th October, 2021.
• The training was facilitated by a team comprising trainers form Ministry of Education, Directorate of Special needs Education (DSNE), KISE and GESCI.

On the impacts of the training, Ms. Lutta said that the training had been timely and had helped increase teachers’ knowledge and skills around inclusive education, assistive technologies  and the use of interactive digital textbooks in teaching and adapting content for improving learning outcomes.

The teachers also got a chance to share their experience on teaching after the training. Mr. Samuel Mwangi from Kilimani Primary Schools who said the following:

• The training was very useful as they learnt about new and modern Assistive Technologies (ATs) and Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADTs).
• The training helped him gain knowledge and confidence in using assistive technologies
• As a networking aspect after the training, they have been able to share information and exchange ideas on how to better utilize existing infrastructure in their school for leaners with disabilities.

Ms. Maryanne Mwangi, from  Agha Khan Primary school who said she appreciated the opportunity to have been able to participate in the training and mentioned that the knowledge they had acquired has been very useful in her work. ‘What I have experienced when you use assistive technologies, is that learners get excited to learn when they see gadgets, and this makes them concentrate better and get engaged making them learn better’’ she remarked.

To conclude the workshops, we sought to know what the participants' thoughts were on how to better accelerate integration of assistive technologies and development of ADTS in three areas : Infrastructure, Capacity Development for teachers and Policies.

On infrastructure, participants mentioned that the government should lower the costs of the devices required by learners living with disabilities.

When it comes to capacity development, participants noted that there is need for frequent training opportunities for in-service teacher training for teachers handling leaners with special needs.

The last part touched on policies; it was noted  Kenya has several policies on Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) but they are not implemented. To support the implementation of existing policies, participants suggested the following:

• Mapping out parts of these policies and narrow down to aspects of special needs education and particularly the one that speaks about the use of technology so that this can be used to inform various actor in special education.
• Ensure teachers handling learners with special needs know the content in these policies so that they can align their practice to what the polices say.
• Sensitize the public and create awareness among key stakeholders on existence of these policies to support implementation.

This activity was carried out under the framework of the Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADT) project, focusing on promoting inclusive education through accessible digital textbooks, funded by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, is promoting inclusive education through Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADTs).