Our Assistive Technology Week at Sense College Loughborough took place from Monday 20th to Friday 24th April, and it was a great success. There were 16 online sessions on the Tuesday and Thursday and 6 face to face sessions for Sense College students and staff on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Overall we had 278 participants over the two days online workshops and 60 students attended the face to face sessions over the three days.
Day one of AT Week 2026 saw Jason Shaw from VisionAid Technologies set the bar high. Our students and staff got hands-on practice with vision support technology in a session that was practical, engaging, and interactive throughout! Seeing students interact with tools that could make a real difference to their day-to-day lives is exactly why we do this.
Across Tuesday 21st and Thursday 23rd April, we hosted a full programme of free online sessions as part of AT Week 2026, and there were 8 workshops each day.
One of our goals this year was to bring these topics into focus specifically for students, parents/carers, and professionals in further education settings like Sense College Loughborough and in other settings, and our presenters delivered on all levels. Every session had practical, applicable lessons that participants could take away with them and use in their own settings.
A massive thank you to each presenter who gave their time and expertise:
- Mark Cooper from Newfriars College – The Human Algorithm: Bridging the SEND gap with contextual AI
- Tim Jones from Booost Education – A Demo of Booost and Luna
- Neil Harrod-Beck from TechAbility – Planning for student transition using assistive technology
- Charlie Dunbar-Aldred from Tellmi – Digital Safety Workshop
- Tom Medley from Liberator Ltd – iOS apps to support a variety of communication needs
- Mike Hazlewood from SensePilot – Introduction to SensePilot: hands-free device and gaming access
- Lauren J. from AT Superstore – AT Superstore showcase
- Mary Wilcox from Aventido Limited – AT to help with reading, note-taking and noise sensitivity
- Becky Fry from Smartbox AAC – US – Unleashing the power of language
- Adam Newson from CareScribe – Empowering learners through Assistive Technology
- Sarah Hutchings and Jamie Dorling from Brain in Hand – Supporting neurodivergent individuals through AT in education and the workplace
- Brittany Watkins from Bodyswaps – Introducing Bodyswaps: VR and AI to transform soft skills
- Kingsley Saba from Sense College Loughborough – From here to there – Transitions across different contexts
- Rosie Marten from Sense College Loughborough – AAC use
On Wednesday 22nd April 2026, our Speech and Language Therapist ran an in-person AAC carousel for our students and staff.
Students rotated through different stalls based on a range of access methods, AAC tools and strategies, getting hands-on time with different approaches to communication in a supported, exploratory environment. An additional stall for some Virtual Reality activities was also present!
It was great to see students and staff engage with AAC, trying things out, and building confidence along the way. A huge thank you to our SLT for designing and delivering such a thoughtful session.
It was also a pleasure to host Mike Hazlewood from SensePilot on Wednesday and it was truly exciting for our students as they tried out hands-free gaming. Using SensePilot for hands-free device control and gaming access was seamless from the start, and the clear, straight-to-the-point setup had students playing within minutes.
Watching students get excited to try out head tracking for gaming was one of the highlights of the week. It’s a reminder that one of the best ways to help students engage with assistive technology is to meet them where their interests already are. And for some of our students, that’s gaming. Thank you, Mike Hazlewood for making it look effortless and for showing our students what hands-free access can really feel like in practice.
Wednesday at AT Week 2026 was busy, as we also had Sarah Woodbyrne from Sense Active Sports showing how assistive technology is used in sports. The Try-It sessions gave our students the chance to get active, get involved, and experience sport in a way that’s designed around them not the other way around.
The smiles said it all. Thank you Sarah Woodbyrne, for a session that reminded us that assistive technology isn’t just about devices, it’s about access to life!
On Friday 24th April students took part in a Esport tournament with students from Portland College. It was great to see the students taking part in the games and we really hope to visit Portland College soon and carry on gaming!
It was great to see so many people taking part in the event and to have so many different workshops covering our themes of AI, VR and Transitions. We have already started planning for next year – so keep April 2027 free – date to be confirmed.
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- This article was written by the Sense College Loughborough Karten Centre
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