Teaching the Lámh manual sign system
Blended learning course for Lámh
The Learning Rooms developed a blended learning course for Lámh consisting of six eLearning modules and a live session with a Lámh tutor. The online course was designed for staff members and professionals who work in an environment where Lámh is used.
About Lámh
Lámh is the manual sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs in Ireland. The Lámh sign system was originally developed to have a unified, standardised, Irish-based approach to signing for those with intellectual disabilities and communication needs. Lámh deliver face-to-face courses to suit the different training needs of families, professionals and other communication partners. They develop, promote and maintain Lámh as an augmentative system of communication for people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland.
The Challenge
Lámh training not only involves learning signs but the skills necessary to implement a signing programme. Their most popular training, Module One Lámh Course, was designed for staff members and professionals who work in an environment where Lámh is used. This training helps participants encourage and support the child or adult with communication needs as well as learning the Lámh signs. The Module One Lámh Course was traditionally delivered in the classroom over approximately six hours.
Lámh wanted to transform their Module One Lámh Course to make it available for online delivery.
The Solution
The eLearning modules include:
- An Introduction to Communication
- Augmented and Alternative Communication
- About Lámh
- Assessment and Planning
- Learning and Using Lámh
- Recording, Reviewing and Next Steps.
Training for 3500 communication partners per year
The online lessons feature videos of Lámh tutors, previous participants and demonstrations of Lámh signs. Following completion of the eLearning, participants will attend a live session with their Lámh Tutor. This is designed to support them to learn 100 Lámh signs to use with the Lámh users they work with. The highly engaging course is delivered through the Lámh eLearning hub, which provides Lámh with a Moodle platform for delivering courses to their wide range of clients. Approximately 3500 communication partners per year complete the blended learning course for Lámh.
We recently contracted The Learning Rooms to produce an online version of our Module One Lámh Course. The Learning Rooms worked closely with us over a number of months to ensure that along with our course content, the tone and clarity of the online course matched that of our face-to-face training. The Learning Rooms included animations that illustrate the key points of the training wonderfully.
Lámh
Awards
The Module One Online Course was shortlisted for the Excellence in Digital Learning award at IITD Awards in 2022.
