Experiential Learning 3: "I can also do it" project; By Dr. Dorit Israeli

Rational:

We named this project by this title because it was based on the student's work with handicapped persons.
Each handicapped person is unable to function as everybody, in more than in one way.
In this project, the students helped the handicapped person performing difficult tasks by designing and building the right equipment the person needs for better performing of everyday tasks.

In this project every class chose a handicapped person to work with through the year (it could be a neighbor, a member of a family, a friend and so on).
The class is meeting the chosen person once a week for collaboration work.

Stages of work:

At the first stage the person talked with the students. He spoke about his special handicapped, how he/she got to this situation, how it effecting his/hers life and how he/she handle difficulties.

The second stage was finding together, the students and the person, which device or equipment could assist the person to function better in his everyday life, what else does he/she needs in order to make life easier.
One of the important condition in this project was to design and build a new device, one you can't find on market yet.

The last stage, and the most important, was actually to design and build the desired device and finally to test it in work with the handicapped person.

Examples of finished equipment:

One year all classes worked only with blind children from a special school. The students designed and built several box games suited for every grade of age.
The students developed a "like braille language" for music. It was a new language for music notes that you can feel with your hand. This invention can help playing any music by notes (see the pictures of the organ).
One more important equipment was a new walking stick. The students added lighting on it, so when the blind will walk at the evening or night everybody will see him/her.

One of the most exciting project was working with a young woman who was injured badly while driving an army car during her service. This woman could move only her right arm and hand. She asked the students to build her a small desk that will be attached to her wheelchair, one she will be able to fold whenever necessary. Also she asked for a device that will help her picking a paper from a table, something she hardly could do.

The students built an alarm device for using on the back of the wheelchair. Usually the person that uses the wheelchair puts his/hers bag in the back of the chair, so he/she can't see it all the time. Whenever someone is trying to take the bag, the alarm is operated by screaming loudly.

A very talented group worked with hospital pupils, children that are so ill that they stay at the hospital for several months.
Our students programed a computer game that teaches geography.
The students also thought the children how to play the game (see pictures).

---

To conclude this project I can say that the students learned a lot of varied things, about life, helping people in needs, designing and building tools, all this by enjoying learning.