Now you have the opportunity to prove that you are a real expert on barriers! Of course, you may agree that it is always better to start "at home", that is to say, at your own school. Have you ever wondered whether your school is prepared to receive a disabled student (or teacher)? This is what you are going to find out during this activity, so let's start right now!

Visit the following pages and read the information carefully:

:: Webquest General Information Page: here you will find useful hints to facilitate your task and improve the final outcome of your project.

:: Final Task 1 Evaluation Sheet: here you will find what you are expected to do and how you are going to be rated.

:: Chart 1: Survey of Accessibility to Public Buildings
:: A map of your school
:: A digital camera
:: A video camera
:: A wheelchair
:: A large scarf and a stick

:: Make groups of 8 consisting of:
a) 1 "technician" expert on entrance, doors, stairs and ramps.
b) 1 "technician" expert on floors, corridors and lifts.
c) 1 "technician" expert on signs, signals, alarms and fire extinguishers.
d) 1 "technician" expert on toilets and accessibility to the entire building.
e) 2 "artists", who mark on the map of the school the points checked and the problems detected. They also take photos or film the activities.
f) 2 "actors" (who move about in a wheelchair or blindfolded) to verify the accessibility to your school.

:: Start from outside and go through every point marked on Chart 1.

:: Take down notes of all the elements that block your access to the building.

:: Once you have all the information, meet as a group to analyse your findings, discuss your conclusions and develop your presentation.

:: You may also want to discuss and interchange information with the other groups.

:: Make a poster or a PowerPoint final presentation.

:: Your presentation should include the following information:
a) Name, address and date of building.
b) A photo of your school.
c) Name of every person in the group and date of survey.
d) A photo of the group.
e) A brief comment on every point checked.
f) You may like to include some significant photos to illustrate your comment.
g) Total score obtained by your school and the category awarded (accessible, accessible with difficulty or not accessible).

:: A map of your school where you have painted the different areas checked according to the following colour code:
:: Accessible: green
:: Accessible with difficulty: yellow (or orange)
:: Not accessible: red

:: A video of the activity

:: Make an oral presentation to your class. It should include an account of your experience and your conclusions.

:: Your presentation should be conducted in English.

:: As a group, choose the best presentation and display it in a visible place.

:: Complete Final Task 1 Evaluation Sheet and give it to your teacher.

Now you should feel very proud because you have been able to use your knowledge on barriers to survey your own school.

Congratulations!

:: You may want to invite your headmaster/mistress/parents/other groups to your presentation or you may want to organize an extra one specially for them.

:: You may want to include useful suggestions on how to improve accessibility to your school.