SUUM - A MULTIMEDIA EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEM FOR ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

Rainer B. Brackhane

Summary

In an international project during the years 1997 and 1998 the SUUM software as a multimedia education and training system for adults with developmental disability was designed, developed and tested. Based on the "Detmold Pathways of Learning Model" (DLM) three learning packages were developed with exemplary themes from carpentry, agriculture and ceramics. The developed prototypes were tested in four workshops for people with a handicap in Germany, Greece and Luxembourg. The effect of the use of the programme was controlled by psychological tests (CPM and DAM) and by assessment sheets relating to learning objectives.

The results show, even after a rather short use, under experimental conditions clear tendencies: slight but obvious improvements of general cognitive abilities, as measured by the CPM, in the experimental groups who have been trained additionally with the SUUM software, significant decreasing of these abilities in the control groups who have only been trained and furthered in the traditional manner. These results are valid under the different conditions of the different workshops and countries, and they are especially significant for the people with a developmental age between 3 and 6 years.