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Sean Tikkun
Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
All knowledge gained must be shared. Dr. Sean Tikkun has been a teacher for more than two decades. He started his career working in private schools teaching mathematics and then moved into the field of visual impairment. Dr. Tikkun has taught in a specialty behavioral disorder school, a private college prep-boarding school, public schools, community colleges, and universities His first academic love remains mathematics, which he received a B.A. in from Lake Forest College. His two Master’s degrees in Special Education and Educational Media Design and Technology, from Northern Illinois University and Full Sail University respectively, inform his practice and approach to teaching with attention to individual needs and digital natives.
Before coming to North Carolina Central University, Dr. Tikkun served as an adjunct instructor and co-principle investigator in support of two federal projects at Northern Illinois University. As part of this work, he helped create the first automated Braille grading program and massively open online course (MOOC) in the field of visual impairments. This training program, named Unified English Braille Online Training (UEBOT), helped hundreds of professionals retrain on a new Braille code across the United States. Project VITALL served as the first training program in the world in assistive technology for individuals with visual impairments. Both of these programs have been replicated at North Carolina Central University.
Dr. Sean Tikkun serves in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction teaching classes in both the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI) preparation program and the Assistive Technology for Individuals with Visual Impairments (ATVI) program. He serves as a senator with the Faculty Senate and is the parliamentarian for that body. Dr. Tikkun serves as PI on three projects at this time. Dr. Tikkun also serves professionally on the Higher Education Accreditation Committee for the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) and the Subject Matter Committee in the area of Assistive Technology for the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP).
Courses
EDEC 5502 - Introduction to the Braille Code
EDEC 5504 - Specialized Braille Code, UEB, Math, and Music
EDEC 5508 - Assistive Technology for the Vision Professional
EDEC 5513 - Advanced Seminar in Visual Impairments
EDEC 5602 - Braille and Communications Skills
EDEC 5604 - Problems Methods and Material in Visual Impairments
EDEC 5631 - Assessment and Planning for Diverse Populations of Students with Visual Impairments
EDEC 5650 - Advanced Seminar in Assistive Technology for the Vision Professional
EDEC 5660 - 21st Century Skills for Workforce Readiness of Individuals with Visual Impairments
EDEC 5678 - Professional Practicum in Assistive Technology
EDEC 5696 - Professional Practicum in Visual Impairments
Publications
Koehler, K. E., Wild, T. A., & Tikkun S. (2018), Implications of 3-D Printing for Teaching Geoscience Concepts to Students with Visual Impairments. Journal of Science Education, 21(1), 49-81.
Kelly, S. M. & Tikkun, S. (2017). Introducing the University Technology Specialization in Visual Impairments. Journal on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, 5, 16-28.
Tikkun, S., Kelly, S. M., & Gentle, F. (2016). International perspectives on the transition to Unified English Braille. Paper accepted for the World Blind Union (WBU)/International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) Joint Assembly, Orlando, FL.
Patents/Copyright/Trademarks
Systems and methods for braille grading tools
S Tikkun, S Kelly, R Adulseranee - US Patent App. 15/807,037, 2018
Grants
Tikkun, S., Wiener, W., & Wall-Emerson, R. (2020) Project C: Enhancing mobility for people with various disabilities. Five-university consortium (PI/director Shay, E., Appalachian State University) Submitted to the US Department of Transportation University Transportation Center, Tier 1. Not Funded.
Tikkun, S., Wiener, W., & Puluguratha, S. (2019) Project 2: IOT Solutions for Near Horizon Challenges in Smart City Pedestrian Travel. Five-university consortium (PI/director, Radwan, UNC-Chape Hill). Submitted to the NC Department of Transportation Center of Excellence in Advanced Technology. Safety and Policy. Funded for $122,794.
Tikkun, S. & Wiener, W. (2019). Professional Collaboration to improve quality of assessment and services, Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Specialist. Submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Funded for $1,250,000.
Tikkun, S. (2018). Guidelines for Effective Use of iBeacons to Support Travel by Individuals with Visual Impairments. Sensible Innovations, LLC. Funded for $35,938.
Kelly, S. M. & Tikkun, S. (2016). Preparing New Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments and Existing Personnel with Certifications in Assistive Technology for the 21st Century Workforce. Submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Funded for $1,250,000.
Kelly, S. M. & Tikkun, S. (2014). Program for Training of Orientation and Mobility Instructors of Students with Visual Impairments with Additional Training in Assistive Technology. Submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Not Funded.
Kelly, S. M. & Tikkun, S. (2014). Preparing the USA for the UEB: A Massive Open Online Course for personnel providing vocational rehabilitation services or educational services to youth and adults who are blind. Submitted to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Funded for $550,000.