Deaf and Hard of Hearing “Computerized”

Problem

Research shows that Deaf and Hard of Hearing students are significantly delayed in language, reading, vocabulary, and communication. Compared to their hearing peers, such delays affect their learning performance across the curriculum. The traditional approaches of instruction offer many effective learning strategies but often lack intrinsic motivation, and they limit the students’ ability to comprehend what is being said, written, or communicated to them. D/HH students have also shown delays in their knowledge of the computer, keyboarding skills, and accessing programs on the computer. A solution to this problem was to develop a program that integrates individual student laptops with other multimedia applications and internet based instruction to provide students with a language-rich, motivating, and visually-oriented interactions.

Solution

One solution to the problem of language, motivation, and access to curriculum is to integrate personal laptops into all activities. This required that the teaching team seek community-based funding in the form of a grant from a local company. The primary goal of our laptop program has been to provide a more motivating, “hands on” and visual classroom setting allowing each student to enhance their reading, writing, communication and computer skills. These in turn have provided our students with a feeling of accomplishment, built self-esteem, increased learning and improved communication with the hearing world.

The classroom is set up to allow teacher instruction and student learning to be integrated through teacher and student computers. Each computer is “online” to allow use of the internet for research and to access a variety of programs to enhance student learning and teacher instruction. The computers are stationed so that signed instruction and communication can still continue and in a manner that allows the students to focus on the teacher’s instruction. The teacher uses a laptop along with an Averkey to project on a large screen television. This allows the students to follow along during instruction and for demonstration of new programs and activities. It is very effective with the students who have vision impairments along with their hearing losses.

The program developed around the laptops has focused on writing, reading, vocabulary and language across the curriculum as well typing skills, basic use and care of the computer and trouble shooting techniques. With the appropriate software and equipment, the program provides efficient and effective individualized instruction to improve identified areas of weakness for each student. Due to the lack of the auditory stimulus and the delays in language, finding materials and equipment that is appropriate has not only been cumbersome but also very expensive. There are a variety of programs and materials that are available to meet the needs of our students. Our focus has been on programs that are of high interest but at a lower reading level for Language Arts, Reading, Vocabulary, and Creative Writing. We are adding software to support curriculum objectives in Social Studies, Science and Math as our budget allows us.

The laptops are connected to the Internet. We also incorporate digital cameras and scanners into the program, and these have also been important tools for our program. There are many times when the “real life” situations arise and “Language Experience Stories” can be created on the spot in the classroom. This equipment allows our students to develop concepts of tense, time, sequencing, multiple meaning, figurative language and many other academic developmental delays.

No educational project will be able to effectively teach the students if it is not appealing. This motivational project has created an exciting classroom that enables the D/HH students to improve in areas that they previously found frustrating and confusing. D/HH classrooms provide the perfect teacher- student ratio for a project of this kind.

Funding has been limited but many grants are available as well large companies who are willing to provide funding and equipment. Consider approaching the managers of local businesses as well as national chains. Know what you want in terms of equipment, how much it costs, and be clear about what you plan to do with it. Have a one-page description ready to put in the hands of the person you are talking to. Be sure your contact information is on the page. Keep at it. Many people are willing to help as long as they know what their money, goods, or services are going for, so be sure you have a clear plan in mind.

Contact Information

For more information about how we incorporate multimedia and laptops into our ongoing instruction, contact:

Eva M. Parks

Sweetwater Middle School