This article presents the results of a collaborative action research conducted with people living with intellectual disabilities (ID) who were going through a community integration process. To be successfully integrated into a community, they need to develop basic life skills as much as they need to learn to use mobile technologies for authentic interactions (Davidson, 2012) and to be self-advocates online (Davidson, 2009a). This study used the Capability Approach pioneered by Sen (1992) and Nussbaum (2000), which focusses on what people can do rather than on their deficiencies. I recruited a group of eight people with ID who wished to set goals, engage in developing new capabilities, share their goals and act as models for others with ID who want to learn to live on their own. In this article, I examine the process of developing self-advocacy videos with mobile technologies using the Capability Approach and I analyze the inventory of capabilities collected through this study. I provide recommendations for intervention through mobile technologies with the long term-goal of helping people with ID to become contributing citizens. I discuss the innovative action research methodology I used to help people with ID become self-advocates and take control of the messages they give through producing their own digital resources.
The maker movement in education is linked to better, more authentic learning that can help students develop 21st century competencies. Maker experiences, like any experiential learning, can be limited by decontextualized, recipe-style labs and fail to deliver on the promise of engaged learners ready to learn on demand and solve the ill-defined problems of the 21st century. Our multiphase research program on maker culture in education held a series of exploratory workshops and social events to discover the competencies required to turn experiential learning with technology into maker experiences that meet 21st century needs.
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