Ella’s diverse content supports disability services
Users from instructors to clients praise the Ella app created by the Digital Unit of Disability Services. Ella provides professionals with a wide range of materials that enrich and diversify client work. For clients, Ella offers plenty of enjoyable things to do.
According to Head of the Digital Unit Janne Kortelainen, a great deal of new content has been added to the app during the spring and Ella is now also available in Swedish.
“Our special instructors have worked hard to produce Ella content. They have special responsibilities and expertise, and they have developed multisensory and music-related content, among other things. The Swedish side is now also open and features a lot of content,” Kortelainen says.
The Ella app enables sharing the good practices and expertise related to client work efficiently between units and across organisational boundaries. The app supports client-oriented instruction by making a diverse range of content available to the instructors.
“The fact that Ella provides ready-made content reduces the time groups spend on planning and makes it available for direct client work,” Kortelainen adds.
Ella features two sections: one to support the instruction work of professionals, and the other for clients. This improves the digital engagement among the clients of disability services.
“All the content on Ella is open to everyone. Both sections can be freely explored. Downloading and using Ella is free of charge, and no registration is required,” says Samuli Niemi, the instructor responsible for Ella.
Praise from clients and instructors
Instructor Milla Forström, who works at the Saukkola activity centre in Lohja, says that the staff members use Ella regularly to support instruction work.
"The app provides good tips for arranging art groups, for example. The videos for remote days have also taught new signs to the instructors.”
Forsström says that the Ella app works well and has become clearer with time.
“The service is client-oriented, and I like how clients have been engaged in content production,” he says
Forsström recommends the service to the staff and clients of disability services but also to early childhood education and elderly services.
The clients of Saukkola have particularly enjoyed the sensory content and signs. They said that they use Ella on a weekly basis, and that the colours and images help them find the right content.
The Digigroup customer of the Kuninkaantie activity centre in Espoo enjoy games and news in plain language, for example. Jaana says that she plays the Papunet Papumarket game through Ella and also likes the remote day videos.
“Really nice. It’s easy to find content. I enjoy trying new things. I'd like more games and videos,” Jaana says.
Over the course of the spring, the clients were tasked with rating Ella. After some collective consideration, the average score for Ella landed at 9.5!
